The UVA baseball team opens play in the Charlottesville Regional of the NCAA Tournament Friday night, June 1 against Patriot League champion Army (41-13) at 4:00.
The other teams coming to Davenport Field this weekend and matching up in the other game Friday night at 8:00 will be Oklahoma (38-22) and Appalachian State (39-16).
As the host, the Cavaliers (38-17-1) are the #1 seed in the regional. Army is the #4 seed. These two teams haven't met since 1913. The Black Knights have won a school-record 41 games this season.
Oklahoma, the Big 12 school that eliminated Virginia in the NCAA Super Regional in 2010 to advance to the College World Series, is the #2 seed. The Sooners lost to Missouri in the Big 12 Tournament championship game.
Appy State, the Southern Conference regular season co-champion, is the #3 seed and has never played Virginia. The Mountaineers haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 1986.
The regional is a double-elimination format with two games Friday, two Saturday, two Sunday, and one Monday if necessary.
The 'Hoos are hosting an NCAA Regional for the third straight year and sixth time in program history.
UVA has made it to the College World Series twice in the last three years (2009 and 2011).
The Cavaliers are 14-3 in their last 17 games.
UVA head coach Brian O'Connor said, "We certainly earned this regional host for what we did in the last four or five weeks of the year. That's satisfying, obviously, that we came out, and we earned it, and we deserve this opportunity. A lot of teams faded down the stretch, and this club got better, and that gives us a lot of confidence moving into this weekend."
The Wahoos haven't lost back-to-back games since April 14 and 15. After losing to eventual ACC Tournament champion Georgia Tech 17-5 by ten-run mercy rule Friday, the 'Hoos bounced back to shutout #1 Florida State 7-0.
O'Connor said, "They had an opportunity, like they've done all year. This club has suffered some tough losses, and every time, they've bounced back. What a great quality for a ball club to have, and I'm sure we'll need that quality again at some point in the remainder of the season."
Virginia has not played Army, Appalachian State, or Oklahoma the last two seasons. The 'Hoos are 2-2 all-time against the Sooners.
2012 NCAA Charlottesville Regional Schedule
Friday, June 1
4:00 Game 1 - No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 4 Army
8:00 Game 2 - No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Appalachian State
Saturday, June 2
1:00 Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
6:00 Game 4 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Sunday, June 3
1:00 Game 5 - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
6:00 Game 6 - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 4
Monday, June 4
6:00 Game 7 - Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
