Never say die. There could always be another day. This season’s Illinois Baseball team is moving forward!
The 2013 season will continue for the Illinois Baseball team as they have been selected by the NCAA to move on to the Regional Tournament. Despite their early exit from the Big Ten Baseball Tournament, the NCAA Selection Committee was most likely more impressed by the team’s overall record and more specifically, their RPI which is ranked 30th in the nation. Illinois was chosen as the #3 seed in the Nashville Regional and join Indiana as the only two Big Ten teams to play in the Regionals.
The first round of the Regionals will be a double-elimination tournament and will pit Illinois against #2 seed Georgia Tech (34-25) this Friday. #1 seed Vanderbilt and #4 seed East Tennessee State are the two other teams in the Nashville Regional.
Here is the full 64-team tournament bracket leading up to the College World Series.
Indeed, the Illini players were quite excited when their name was called as they watched at the Illinois Field clubhouse:
Congrats to the team and the coaching staff. This is indeed an exciting moment!
The Illini will take on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at 1pm CT on Friday in their first game of the Regionals. Mark your calendar!
Way to go, Illini!
Follow-up from the Big Ten Tournament
Speaking of Indiana, congrats to the Hoosiers for winning the Big Ten Tournament. They defeated Nebraska 4-3 on Sunday on a walk-off single to win the Tournament championship.
Also, some recognition is due to Illini shortstop Thomas Lindauer who was named to the 2013 All-Tournament team. Lindy was 4 for 11 with two runs and rbi plus a stolen base.