No. 3 seeded Jaguars to play Southern Miss

BATON ROUGE — A loud breath of relief was let out as the Southern University Jaguars baseball team, after waiting more than three weeks, finally can make travel plans to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on the Golden Eagles of the University of Southern Miss, in the NCAA Baseball Regional, at 3 p.m., on Friday.
The No. 3 seed for the Southern Jaguars marks the highest seed that the team has ever attained in its five-year regional history.
The 43-5 Jaguars, and its fans gathered at the Ralph and Kacoos on Bluebonnet to watch the announcement show on ESPN2. The Hattiesburg Regional includes No. 1 seed Baylor (41-21), No. 2 Southern Miss (45-14), and No. 4 seeded Murray State (25-29).
The Jaguars are ranked No. 29 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll and have a 24-1 record at home, 19-4 away and 31-1 in conference play.
The winner of the double-elimination Hattiesburg Regional will next travel to play the winners in the Baton Rouge Super-Regional hosted by Louisiana State University.
“It’s a great feeling to be a No. 3 seed,” said Roger Cador, the Jaguars head baseball coach. “It shows that they have some respect for our program. Our players have worked extremely hard for this seeding.”
The Jaguars winners of the Southwestern Athletic Conference are lead by second-baseman Rickie Weeks, who is batting .493 with 15 homeruns and 75 hits this season. Weeks is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the collegiate baseball player of the year.
Dewan Day and Corey Poret both are a perfect 8-0 this season on the mound for the Jaguars. Day has a 2.01 ERA and as a staff the Jags have a 3.61 ERA.
USM, the winners of Conference USA is hosting its first regional ever after winning the conferences automatic bid with in a victory over Tulane. USM is the only host in the NCAA Tournament who is not a No. 1 seed.
“It’s feels good to be going to Mississippi,” said Jaguar third baseman Antwoin Gray. “We have a couple of guys from Mississippi and I am from that area so I am very excited.” Gray is batting .369 with 50 RBI’s and 70 runs. Day is a native of Jackson, Miss.
SU has played only two other teams who made the 64-team field. SU defeated McNeese State 9-4 on Feb. 11 and lost to Lamar 8-13 on Feb. 16. A game with LSU was rained out in the fifth inning with SU trailing 3-4. Both teams could not reschedule a make up game, so a promise was made to schedule in 2004.
Practice for the Jaguars at USM’s Taylor Park is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., on Thursday. Practices are closed to the public.
The Jaguars are making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and have collected a 134-27 record over the last three seasons. SU defeated Cal State — Fullerton in 1987 and beat UL-Monroe in 1999. LSU and Tulane defeated SU in last years regional in Baton Rouge.
Forty of the 64 were in the regional last year. Three teams made the field for the first time in school history, UC Riverside, Ill.-Chicago and UNC Wilmington. Murray State is in the field for the first time since 1979.
Tickets may be purchased by calling the SU Ticket Office at (225) 359-9328 or by calling Ticketmaster at 601-268-8948 or by calling the USM Ticket Office at 601-266-5418 or 1-800-844-TICK. Individual tickets will go on sale on Thursday, May 29. $10 for reserved chair backs, $8 for adult general admission and $5 fro youth (14 & younger). Internet orders can be made at www.southernmiss.com.
Friday, May 30Game #1 — Southern University vs. Southern Mississippi — 3 p.m.Game #2 — Murray State vs. Baylor — 7 p.m.