OSU Faces Western Kentucky In NCAA Regional

Oklahoma State earned the top seed in the 2008 Stillwater Regional baseball tournament – and the 13th seed overall – when the pairings for the 64-team NCAA Baseball Championship were announced Monday. The host Cowboys, 42-16, will face fourth-seeded Western Kentucky, 32-25, in a first-round game of the double elimination tournament at 7 p.m. Friday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater.

The other two teams in the four-team field are second-seeded Wichita State (44-15) and third-seeded Texas Christian (43-17). The Shockers and Horned Frogs will meet in the tournament’s other first-round game at 1 p.m. Friday in Stillwater.

The winner of the Stillwater Regional will face the winner of the Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional in a Super Regional June 6-8, with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Florida State (48-10) is the No. 1 seed at Tallahassee, and the No. 4 seed overall. The Seminoles are joined in the four-team field by No. 2 seed Florida (34-22), No. 3 seed Tulane (37-20-1) and No. 4 seed Bucknell (29-22-2).

“It’s a quality regional, and a good field for the fans because of the proximity of Wichita State and TCU,” OSU head coach Frank Anderson said. “Western Kentucky won (the Sun Belt) conference tournament so they’re coming in here pretty hot.

“It’s going to be a tough field, but we’re excited about the opportunity and the challenge.”

Oklahoma State is hosting a regional for the first time since 1997. The Cowboys have hosted nine previous regional tournaments at Reynolds Stadium. The facility opened in 1981 and has played host to 80 NCAA regional games.

Of the nine regionals hosted by the Cowboys at Reynolds Stadium, OSU has won six and finished second in the other three. The last regional championship OSU won on its home field came in 1993.

“We’re disappointed we didn’t get a national seed because we felt like we put ourselves in a good position to get that, but now we’ve got to take care of business,” OSU junior shortstop Jordy Mercer said. “It’s a tough regional, and we’ve got a lot of unfinished business left to do. We’re excited about playing at home and ready to go out and prove what we can do.”

All-session tickets for the event are $50 and can be purchased throughout the week. Single-game tickets can only be purchased on the day of the game. Those tickets are $10 for reserved seats and $8 for general admission seating (left field bleachers).

Tickets can be purchased online at www.okstate.com or by calling 1-877-All-4-OSU (877-255-4678).

NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Bracket Information