May 31, 2004
LAS VEGAS - UNLV earned its second straight and ninth overall trip to the NCAA Tournament after capturing the conference tournament title last week in Las Vegas. The Rebels earned one of 30 automatic bids as the NCAA announced the 64-team bracket today for the 2004 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
A No. 4 seed UNLV (37-22) in the Palo Alto, Calif., regional, the Rebels will play No. 1 seed and No. 1-ranked Stanford (44-12) on Friday, June 4 at Sunken Diamond (time TBA). The Cardinal, one of eight top national seeds at No. 5, are making their 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. No. 2 seed and 18th-ranked Long Beach State (36-19) battles No. 3 seed St. John's, N.Y. (36-21) to round out the regional.
The Rebels captured the Mountain West Conference championship last week with a 6-3 win over San Diego State to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In its last NCAA appearance in 2003, UNLV posted a 2-2 record at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The Rebels are 9-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. UNLV and BYU (2001, 2002) represented the MWC in the NCAA Tournament the past three years, posting a 4-6 record in that span. Overall, MWC teams are 57-100 in 45 NCAA appearances, including four trips to the College World Series.
Each of the 16 NCAA regionals feature four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The regionals will be conducted from Friday, June 4, to Sunday, June 6. Selection of the eight super regional hosts will be determined and announced on Sunday, June 6 live on ESPN during the 10 p.m. (CDT) SportsCenter. The best two-of-three super regionals will be played from Friday, June 11, to Sunday, June 13. The 58th College World Series begins play Friday, June 18, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. This year's championship features a best-of-three series format for the finals.
The NCAA Regional at Sunken Diamond will begin with two games next Friday, June 4 (2 pm, 6 pm, PDT). Three games will be played on Saturday, June 5 (11 am, 3 pm, 7 pm, PDT) with the regional championship slated for Sunday, June 6 (1 pm, 5 pm if necessary, PDT). All-session passes for the event will go on sale Tuesday, June 1, at the Stanford Athletics Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-STANFORD. Stanford Athletics Ticket Office hours this Tuesday-Friday are 9 am - 4 pm. Prices for all-session passes are $50 (Reserved), $35 (Adult General Admission) and $20 (Child/Senior/Student General Admission). Single game tickets will be available on the day of the game only. Prices for single-game tickets are $15 (Reserved), $12 (General Admission Adult) and $8 (Child/Senior/Student General Admission).
