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SEC invades Omaha in force
By ERIC OLSON
Associated Press Writer
College World Series Preview
OMAHA — For the second time,
four Southeastern Conference teams are among the final eight vying for the
national championship at the College World Series.
Louisiana State, Georgia,
South Carolina and Arkansas all will be at Rosenblatt Stadium, where the
tournament opens with first-round games Friday and Saturday.
``I thought when I walked in
here that we were in Birmingham at the Southeastern Conference tournament,''
Arizona coach Andy Lopez said Thursday.
In Friday's games, Arizona
(35-25-1) plays Georgia (43-21) at 2 p.m. EDT and Arkansas (45-22) meets
top-ranked Texas (55-13) at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Cal State Fullerton
(42-21) faces South Carolina (50-15) at 2:30 p.m. and Louisiana State
(46-17) meets Miami (49-11) at 7 p.m.
No conference has had as many
teams in a single CWS as the SEC. Four SEC teams — LSU, Alabama, Auburn and
Mississippi State _ made the field in 1997.
Nine of the 12 SEC teams made
the 64-team national tournament this year.
``It's a conference that has
administrators who care about baseball and resources are provided, and they
try to put you in the best situation to win,'' South Carolina coach Ray
Tanner said.
Lopez, in his third year at
Arizona after coaching Florida the previous seven, said college baseball is
good in the West, Southwest and Southeast.
But there is something special
about the SEC, he said. Every weekend conference series is a big event in
modern stadiums with big crowds, he said.
``That's what really is
missing on the West Coast,'' Lopez said. ``It's an electric conference. It
inspires young guys to play even better than they can at times. . . I lived
it for seven years. There is no margin for error, no mercy, no grace.''
Arizona is back at the CWS for
the first time since winning the national title in 1986. Lopez is one of
three coaches to take three different schools to the series. He brought
Pepperdine in 1992 and Florida in 1996 and '98.
Georgia is in the CWS for the
second time since 2001. Bulldogs coach David Perno played on the 1990
Georgia team that won the national title.
Arkansas, picked before the
season to finish last in the SEC West, reached the final eight for the first
time since 1989. They are coached by Dave Van Horn, who guided Nebraska to
the CWS in 2001 and '02.
Texas is in the CWS for a
record 31st time and for the fourth time in five years.
Cal State Fullerton, which
brings in a CWS-leading .385 batting average, made it back to Omaha for the
fourth time since 1999 after getting off to a 15-16 start.
``The '04 version is one of
the greatest comeback seasons in Cal State Fullerton history,'' Titans coach
George Horton said.
South Carolina has beaten 10
straight opponents in winning the SEC tournament title, its regional and its
super regional against East Carolina.
LSU is back in Omaha for the
13th time in 19 years. But this will be the Tigers' first meeting with Miami
since Warren Morris hit his bottom-of-the-ninth homer to beat the Hurricanes
9-8 in the 1996 national championship game.
``That was the biggest
nightmare of my life as a coach in that last inning,'' Miami coach Jim
Morris said. ``I really want to beat LSU.''
Copyright 2004
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 10:37:22 AM
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