30 May 2010

Vanderbilt Will not Host NCAA Baseball Regionals


Vanderbilt's NCAA baseball regional options have been debated on a national scene perhaps more than any other team.


Vanderbilt was not chosen to host an NCAA baseball regional.
 

Sunday, the picture cleared up.

Vanderbilt was not named as one of the 16 regional host sites Sunday. The tournament will start Friday at Tempe, Ariz.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Auburn, Ala.; Fullerton, Calif.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Norwich, Conn.; Gainesville, Fla.; Atlanta; Louisville, Ky.; Coral Gables, Fla.; Norman, Okla.; Columbia, S.C.; Austin, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; Los Angeles; Charlottesville, Va.

Hawkins Field's seating capacity of 3,700 is larger than the 3,532 it held with portable bleachers while hosting a 2007 regional, but it's smaller than most stadiums with teams bidding to host in the eastern part of the country.

Vanderbilt (41-17) finished fifth in the SEC regular-season standings and went 1-2 in the tournament this week.

Only twice have five SEC teams hosted regionals in the same year, in 2003 and 2006.

"It's out of our hands," Commodores catcher Andrew Giobbi said Saturday. "Do we deserve it? Maybe. I mean, you win 40 games in the SEC ... maybe. But there's nothing you can do about it. There's a lot more to it than how many games you win."

The Commodores are ranked 24th by Baseball America, yet have a national RPI of 12 because of their strength of schedule.

Vanderbilt may travel to Connecticut to start the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies will host a regional off-campus at 6,000-seat Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn. The 64-team regional bracket will be announced Monday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN.

"I have no expectations," Vanderbilt Coach Tim Corbin said after Friday's 5-2 elimination-game loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament. "I just want to close this tournament down as quickly as we can so we can move on to the next one."

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