Tampa Chosen to Host NCAA Baseball Regional

INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Tampa baseball team has been awarded the 2014 NCAA Division II South Region Baseball Tournament, which will include a total of six teams. The double-elimination tourney will begin Thursday and end with Sunday's regional title games.

The region will feature several national powers as six of the last 10 NCAA II national champions will be among the field. Tampa won the 2006, 2007 and 2013 championships as fellow Sunshine State Conference opponents Lynn University won in 2009 and Florida Southern won in 2005. Delta State took the 2004 crown as it represented the South Region and Gulf South Conference during its championship season.

Receiving automatic bids for the tournament are Stillman College, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference winners and the University of Alabama in Huntsville after taking the 2014 GSC crown. Top ranked Tampa earned an automatic bid after taking its 16th SSC title (third consecutive) with a 22-1 conference record. The remaining three at-large bids go to Delta State University, Lynn University and Florida Southern College.

The University of Tampa will enter postseason play with an overall record of 47-2 as the squad set the regular season win percentage mark with a .959 showing.

This marks the 15th straight NCAA tournament appearance for Tampa, as head coach Joe Urso has advanced to the tourney in each of his 14 seasons at the helm. UT has hosted the regional a total of 11 times (including 2014) as the last time the regional was at the UT Baseball Field came during the 2013 championship bout.

Please visit TampaSpartans.com for complete information as an official tournament page will be unveiled. All fans are also encouraged to use #NCAASR on Twitter.

Tickets will be available at the gate for $10 (adults) and $8 (students and senior citizens).

Tampa will offer live stats and a video webcast for all South Regional games. A link will be available at the regional Web page, and may also be accessed through TampaSpartans.tv.

Following is the complete schedule for the 2013 NCAA II South Regional.

Thursday, May 15, 2014
Game 1 - No. 1 Tampa vs. No. 6 Stillman, 11 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 2 Lynn vs. No. 5 Alabama Huntsville, 3 p.m.
Game 3 - No. 3 Delta State vs. No. 4 Florida Southern, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 16, 2014
Game 4 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 11 a.m.
Game 5 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 3, 3 p.m.
Game 6 - Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 17, 2014
Game 7 - Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, 11 a.m.
Game 8 - Loser of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 4, 3 p.m.
Game 9 - Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 7 p.m.

Sunday, May 18, 2014
Game 10 - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9, 12 p.m.
Game 11 - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 (if necessary), 3:15 p.m.