Tulane-Rice to Meet in NCAA Super Regional

Micah Owings

No. 1 national seed Tulane, fresh off its third NCAA Regional victory in the last five seasons, will play host to Rice, an upset winner over LSU as the No. 2 seed in Baton Rouge, this Saturday, Sunday and Monday (if necessary) in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional at Turchin Stadium. Game times, as set by the NCAA in cooperation with ESPN, are Noon (Central Time) Saturday and Sunday, June 11 and 12, while Monday's game time is dependent on the number of games that will be played on that day.

ESPN and ESPN2 will air a minimum of 33 hours of Super Regional television and will be at every Super Regional site. Different games will air in different areas of the country as the networks will regionalize the coverage. Consult local listings for specific games to be shown in each area of the country. In addition, ESPNU will provide bonus coverage of numerous Super Regional games.

Tulane advanced to the Super Regional round for the second straight year with a rain-soaked 7-4 victory over No. 2 seed Alabama Monday night. Tulane also defeated Alabama 10-4 after opening the regional with a 17-7 win over No. 4 seed Southern. The Green Wave, which advanced to the Super Regional along with all seven other national seeds, owns a record of 53-9 on the season.

Rice, defeated host LSU, 5-4, Monday in Baton Rouge after previously sending the Tigers into the loser's bracket with a 9-7 win Saturday. The Owls, who will join the Wave in Conference USA next season, opened the Baton Rouge Regional with a 7-3 win over Northwestern State.

Tulane will play host to an NCAA Super Regional for the second time in school history, but for the first time at Turchin Stadium. In 2001, the Green Wave claimed its first regional title at Turchin, then met LSU in a classic Super Regional match-up at Zephyr Field which set NCAA Super Regional attendance records. Last year, Tulane won the Oxford (Miss.) Regional as the No. 3 seed, then advanced to play the Super Regional at Cal State Fullerton.