HUNTSVILLE, TX -- Sam Houston State earned an at-large berth as one of the 64 teams in the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.
The Bearkats will face Arkansas in the first round of the Houston Regional Friday. Host team Rice will take on Prairie View A&M, champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, in the other half of the draw.
Sam Houston and Arkansas first pitch will be at 1 p.m. Friday. Rice and Prairie View will play at 6 p.m.
Sam Houston State will be making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Baseball Championship. But this is the first year the Bearkats have earned a spot in the field as an at-large selection out of the Southland Conference.
“It was nerve-racking sitting there watching the selection show. They announced 14 of the 16 regionals before they announced ours,” Sam Houston head coach David Pierce said following the announcement of the field on ESPNU. “My congratulations go to our players who just did a great job this year coming together and building a great body of work.
“Looking back, a key for us had to be our series victory over San Diego the first weekend of the season. That was big.”
Sam Houston State won their first Southland Conference regular season champion since 1989, rolling up a league record-tying 24 conference victories. The 38-20 regular season record included victories over Rice, Dallas Baptist, San Diego, Louisiana-Monroe, Prairie View and UT-Arlington (other teams that received NCAA bids). The Kats are 6-10 against teams in the NCAA Baseball Championship.
“As a senior, this is such a thrill to be going back to the NCAA regionals,” pitcher Justin Jackson said. “It’s really been nerve-wracking since last Friday’s loss in the tournament, knowing your fate was in the selection committee’s hands. It was great when they called out our name.”
Ticket information will be posted on www.gobearkats.com Tuesday. Previous Sam Houston trips to the NCAA Baseball Championship came in 1987, 1989, 1996, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
Baton Rouge Regional hosted by LSU
#1 LSU (43-16) vs. #4 La.-Monroe (31-28)
#2 Oregon St. (38-18) vs. #3 Belmont (39-22)
Chapel Hill Regional hosted by North Carolina
#1 North Carolina (44-14) vs. #4 Cornell (31-15-1)
#2 East Carolina (35-22-1) vs. #3 St. John’s (NY) (37-21)
Charlottesville Regional hosted by Virginia
#1 Virginia (38-17-1) vs. #4 Army (41-13)
#2 Oklahoma (38-22) vs. #3 Appalachian St. (39-16)
College Station Regional hosted by Texas A&M
#1 Texas A&M (42-16) vs. #4 Dayton (31-28)
#2 TCU (36-19) vs. #3 Ole Miss (35-24)
Columbia Regional hosted by South Carolina
#1 South Carolina (40-17) vs. #4 Manhattan (33-25)
#2 Clemson (33-26) vs. #3 Coastal Caro. (41-17)
Coral Gables Regional hosted by Miami (FL)
#1 Miami (FL) (36-21) vs. #4 Stony Brook (46-11)
#2 UCF (43-15) vs. #3 Missouri St. (39-20)
Eugene Regional hosted by Oregon
#1 Oregon (42-17) vs. #4 Austin Peay (38-22)
#2 Cal St. Fullerton (35-19) vs. #3 Indiana St. (41-17)
Gainesville Regional hosted by Florida
#1 Florida (42-18) vs. #4 Bethune-Cookman (34-25)
#2 Georgia Tech (36-24) vs. #3 Col. of Charleston (37-20)
Gary Regional hosted by Purdue
#1 Purdue (44-12) vs. #4 Valparaiso (35-23)
#2 Kentucky (43-16) vs. #3 Kent St. (41-17)
Houston Regional hosted by Rice
#1 Rice (40-17) vs. #4 Prairie View (28-23)
#2 Arkansas (39-19) vs. #3 Sam Houston St. (38-20)
Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA
#1 UCLA (42-14) vs. #4 Creighton (26-28)
#2 San Diego (40-15) vs. #3 New Mexico (36-22)
Palo Alto Regional hosted by Stanford
#1 Stanford (38-16) vs. #4 Fresno St. (30-26)
#2 Pepperdine (34-21) vs. #3 Michigan St. (37-21)
Raleigh Regional hosted by North Carolina St.
#1 North Carolina St. (39-17) vs. #4 Sacred Heart (25-30)
#2 Vanderbilt (33-26) vs. #3 UNC Wilmington (38-21)
Tallahassee Regional hosted by Florida St.
#1 Florida St. (43-15) vs. #4 UAB (32-28)
#2 Mississippi St. (39-22) vs. #3 Samford (39-21)
Tucson Regional hosted by Arizona
#1 Arizona (38-17) vs. #4 Missouri (32-26)
#2 New Mexico St. (35-22) vs. #3 Louisville (39-20)
Waco Regional hosted by Baylor
#1 Baylor (44-14) vs. #4 Oral Roberts (37-23)
#2 Dallas Baptist (39-17) vs. #3 Texas-Arlington (36-23)
