Kentucky Faces Ohio University in NCAA Tournament Opener; Lexington Regional Features UK, Ohio, Indi
Credit: Brandon Kolditz, UK Creative Services
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Top-seeded Kentucky will open the NCAA Tournament at home against No. 4 seed Ohio University on Friday afternoon, June 2 as the first game of the Lexington Regional, it was announced on Monday. No. 2 seed Indiana and No. 3 seed North Carolina State will square off in the nightcap at Cliff Hagan Stadium (pictured).
First pitch for the Wildcats and Bobcats is 12 noon ET and the game will be aired on ESPNU. Indiana and N.C. State will begin at 7 p.m. ET. Times for Saturday and Sunday are tentatively set for 2 and 7 p.m., but subject to change. Monday’s regional final, if necessary, is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Kentucky will stage its first baseball postseason games since 2006 this week after being selected one of 16 schools to host the NCAA Tournament Regional round. The games will take place Friday, June 2, to Monday, June 5, at Cliff Hagan Stadium. It will be just the second time the program hosts the four-team regional bracket.
The Wildcats earned the right to host with a 39-win season that surpassed preseason media predictions. Despite losing the first four games of the season by a total of five runs, the Cats bounced back with a stretch of 21 wins in 24 games that included three-game sweeps of No. 23 UC Santa Barbara and at No. 11 Texas A&M. They also took two of three games from No. 11 Ole Miss and No. 22 Vanderbilt during that stretch.
UK won 19 Southeastern Conference games -- the second most in school history -- and played for the league title on the final day of the regular season. The Cats’ entered Sunday with the No. 10 RPI in the country against the nation’s 13th-most difficult schedule and have 18 wins against the RPI Top 50, the fourth most of any team.
The Cats last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and have advanced to the regional final in each of their four appearances -- 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014.
LEXINGTON REGIONAL TICKET INFORMATION
All-session tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, May 29 at 10 a.m. ET. All-session packages include admission for all six/seven games of the regional tournament. Each session will consist of a single game, and the stadium will be cleared between each game. Fans are encouraged to purchase all-session ticket packages to secure the best seats and to guarantee a ticket to every game of the regional tournament. Based on availability, single-session tickets will go on sale Thursday, June 1 at 9 a.m. ET.
Tickets may be purchased online at UKathletics.com/NCAATickets, in person at the Joe Craft Center ticket office, or by calling the UK Ticket Office at (800) 928-2287. The Joe Craft Center ticket office will be open Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, and Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Any remaining tickets will be sold on-site beginning three hours prior to the first game on Friday, June 2 at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
All pre-purchased tickets and parking permits must be picked up at Will Call. UK Employee IDs, Junior Wildcat Club Passes and Wildcat Sports Passes are not valid for free admission to postseason events. Children ages one and under will be admitted free.
UK Athletics will provide a limited number of complimentary tickets to UK students, for the games that UK plays in. These tickets will be good for the general admission bleachers or outfield deck admission, and each student will be limited to picking up one (1) ticket with their valid student ID. Students may begin to pick up tickets for Friday’s game on Tuesday, May 30th at the Joe Craft Center. Based on availability, tickets also may be picked up at the ticket booth on game day, beginning three hours prior to the first game each day. Students who want reserved seats are encouraged to purchase all-session tickets.
EIGHT SEC TEAMS IN NCAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT; TWO SELECTED AS NATIONAL SEEDS
A nation-leading eight Southeastern Conference teams, including UK, were selected to compete for the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball championship. Two teams from the SEC -- Florida and LSU -- were selected as national seeds.
The top eight national seeds are Oregon State, North Carolina, Florida, LSU, Texas Tech, TCU, Louisville and Stanford.
SEC schools earning bids include Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. In addition to Kentucky, three other conference schools -- LSU, Arkansas and Florida -- will serve as regional hosts.
Each regional field features four teams, playing in a double-elimination format. All 16 regionals are scheduled to be played Friday, June 2 to Monday, June 5 (if necessary).
The 71st Men's College World Series begins play Saturday, June 17, at the TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
UK Athletics Photo
