CAA TEAMS OPEN PLAY IN NCAA BASEBALL REGIONALS ON FRIDAY
The NCAA Baseball Regionals begin on Friday with a pair of CAA teams in action. Third-seeded George Mason, which finished atop the CAA regular-season standings, takes on #2 South Carolina at 3 p.m. in Greenville, N.C. At 7 p.m. in Atlanta, CAA champion Georgia State makes the short trip to Georgia Tech to face the top-seeded Yellow Jackets.
It's the ninth time in the past 12 years that at least two CAA teams have participated in the NCAA Regionals. Conference members have won nine regional games since 2003, with UNC Wilmington reaching the regional finals in 2003, 2004 and 2008.
George Mason will make its sixth postseason
appearance when it meets the Gamecocks at 3 p.m. at
Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, N.C. East Carolina, the Regional's
top seed, is hosting the event and they will play fourth-seeded
Binghamton at approximately 7 p.m. The Patriots enter the NCAA Tournament having earned an
at-large berth after going 42-12, the second-best winning percentage in
the nation. Mason is batting .322 as a team with a .972 fielding
percentage, both the highest marks in team history. The pitching staff
has a 4.24 ERA, the 24th best mark in the nation. The Patriots will
send Mike Modica
to the mound on Friday. On Thursday, Modica was named Louisville
Slugger Second-Team All-America. He is 11-1 with a 4.17 ERA and a .226
opponent's batting average.
Mason has been led this year by its two-three-and-four hitters. Chris Henderson
hits in the second spot in the order. The junior catcher was named a
first-team All-American on Thursday, the first Mason player in school
history to achieve that honor. He is hitting .416 with 14 homers, 54
RBI, 69 runs scored and 94 hits. Scott Krieger
bats in the third spot. He was named a second-team All-American on
Thursday and he is batting .378 with 20 homers, 80 RBI and 67 runs
scored. He leads all active players in NCAA Division I in career
homers, RBI and total bases. Justin Bour bats in the fourth spot. He's hitting .336 with 17 homers and 65 RBI.
Georgia State will face top-seeded Georgia Tech at 7 p.m.
at Russ Chandler Stadium in the second game of day one of the Atlanta Regional. State earned a 10-1 victory over the No. 3 Yellow
Jackets on their home field on March 24th, the second time in three seasons the
Panthers have won at Russ Chandler Stadium. The two Atlanta schools will be joined by Elon and
Southern Miss in the four-team, double-elimination tournament. The Phoenix and
Eagles will face off in the first game on Friday at 3 p.m.
The Panthers (39-20) earned an automatic NCAA berth, the
first in school history, by winning the CAA
championship with four straight victories. Georgia State has already posted a
school-record victory total and enters NCAA play with an eight-game winning
streak, equaling a school record. The Panthers have won 13 of their last 15
games.
Junior Bradley Logan, who earned CAA Most Outstanding
Player honors at last week’s CAA Championship after hitting four home runs in
four games, leads the veteran laden team. A total of 11 seniors round out the
roster, led by senior catcher Marc Mimeault who led the Panthers with a .394 batting average and 14 home runs.