May 31, 2004

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane University baseball team claimed its seventh consecutive NCAA Regional bid on Monday as the NCAA Selection Committee announced the Green Wave would be the No. 3 seed in the 2004 Oxford Regional, hosted by the University of Mississippi at Swayze Field.

The Green Wave, who will be making their 16th trip to the NCAA postseason, will open the Oxford Regional vs. second-seeded Washington on Friday, June 4 at 3 p.m. Other teams in the regional are the top-seeded Rebels, who are hosting for the first time in school history, and No. 4 seed Western Kentucky.

"Washington is a very tough matchup," head coach Rick Jones said, "but in the NCAA Tournament you're always going to have tough matchups. We felt we were in. There was no question in my mind that with 38 wins, especially with the non-conference schedule that we played.

"We didn't play well late, but the record indicates we played well most of the year. In some respects, you could say `We're due to get back on track.' It's about getting hot. If we get hot in the NCAAs, especailly with the field we're in, I think we've got a good chance."

Tulane (38-19) is one of four Conference USA schools and two teams from the state of Louisiana to earn bids to the NCAA postseason. Joining the Green Wave from C-USA are No. 1 seed East Carolina (Kinston Regional), second-seeded Southern Miss (Baton Rouge Regional) and third-seeded TCU (Austin Regional). LSU is the only other state squad to be selected to the NCAA postseason, and will host Southern Miss, College of Charleston and Army next weekend at Alex Box Stadium.

The berth into the NCAA Regionals marks the ninth time in 11 years under Jones that Tulane advanced to the postseason, including a College World Series appearance in 2001. The trip to Oxford, Miss., is the first for the Green Wave and just the third trip to "The Magnolia State" for NCAA action as Tulane played in the 1979 South Regional and 2000 Starkville Regional hosted by Mississippi State.

Tulane has not faced any of the three Regional partners during the 2004 regular season, and is 51-84-1 all-time against the field. The Green Wave are 3-0 lifetime vs. the Huskies and 49-84-1 vs. Ole Miss. Tulane and Western Kentucky, meanwhile, have never met on the diamond.

The winner of the Oxford Regional will advance to take on the winner of the Fullerton (Calif.) Regional in the NCAA Super Regionals which begin on Friday, June 10. The winner of the Super Regional matchups moves on to the College World Series.

NCAA Oxford Regional Bracket
Friday, June 4
Game 1  No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Tulane              3:00 p.m.
Game 2  No. 1 Mississippi vs. No. 4 Western Kentucky   7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 5
Game 3  Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2                 11:00 a.m.
Game 4  Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2                3:00 p.m.
Game 5  Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4                 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 6
Game 6  Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5                1:00 p.m.
Game 7  Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (if necessary) TBA