Diamondhogs Headed to Austin for NCAA Regional

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Arkansas Baseball team is headed to Austin, Texas, for the second time in three years for the NCAA Baseball Tournament. "It wasnt surprising to me at all," Arkansas Head Coach Dave Van Horn said. "I guess deep down that was kind of what I was thinking. A couple of weeks ago I had a feeling we might be going to Austin. I told the guys we have to get used to the heat and start practicing in the middle of the afternoon a little bit." The NCAA Austin Regional will open play on Friday, June 3. The second-seeded Razorbacks (37-20) will open play against No. 3-seed Miami University (Ohio) (44-16) at Disch-Falk Field. "We got matched up against a great team in Miami (Ohio)," Van Horn said. "They have one starting pitcher that is 10-0 and another one that is 10-1. During some of my Team USA conference calls we have been looking at these two pitchers. We have our hands full with this team." Arkansas is making its 18th NCAA postseason appearances overall, and its fourth straight. The Hogs have appeared in a regional in all three of Van Horns seasons in Fayetteville, including a trip to the 2004 College World Series. The Razorbacks went 1-2 in the 2003 Austin Regional, losing two one-run games to Lamar. The Hogs hold a 2-0 edge in the all-time series with Miami, winning both games against the RedHawks during the 2000 season. Miami is 3-1 against SEC opponents this season after taking two-of-three-games from Alabama and beating Kentucky once. "Miami (Ohio) is going to be a tough game," Van Horn said. As a matter of fact, if you look at what they have done and their pitching this game might even be in their favor. We got a No. 2 seed just because of the league we play in, but they did everything they could to deserve a high seed." Texas (45-14) is the top seed in the regional and will play fourth-seeded Quinnipiac (26-22). The Longhorns are hosting a NCAA Regional for the 34th time in school history and making their 47th overall appearance. "Texas has great baseball tradition down there," Van Horn said. "We have been there before, and you have to be pretty tough both mentally and physically to play down there this time of year." The winner of the Austin Regional will be matched up with the winner of the Oxford (Ole Miss) Regional for a chance to advance to the College World Series.