CSNbbs

FORREST MILLER
Tribune Staff Writer

One day after being bypassed over as a host, the Notre Dame baseball program took another hit of disrespect Monday.

The Irish (45-15-1) were branded a No. 3 seed, and will face Southern Conference Tournament champion and No. 2 seed College of Charleston (43-15) Friday at the Lexington, Ky., Regional.

"To hear that we are a No. 3 seed was a shocker," said Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri. "You can tell what the selection committee thinks of us. At some point you would think we would receive some respect."


But as long as the Irish can't host, Mainieri and his squad are happy to be headed for Kentucky.

"A six-hour bus ride to Lexington is a lot more desirable than a two-or-three leg flight to somewhere, not knowing what flights might be available," said Mainieri.

No. 1 seed Kentucky (42-15), the Southeast Conference regular season co-champion with Alabama, will face No. 4 Ball State (37-20) in the other first-round game Friday.

Kentucky went two-and-out in the SEC tournament, losing to South Carolina and Georgia. Ball State won the Mid-American Conference tournament.

"Personally this doesn't disappoint me, but I am disappointed for our fans," said Irish first baseman Craig Cooper.

"There's nothing we can do about," added pitcher Jeff Samardzija, who will pitch the NCAA opener Friday. "We've played well on the road, but we would love to be at home and be able to sleep in our own beds."

Mainieri expressed his disappointment with the committee during ESPN's telecast of the pairings show. He was also disturbed that neither Connecticut nor St. John's were picked.

"Connecticut finished just one game behind us in the Big East," pointed out Mainieri.

"Our goal at the start of the season was to get into the tournament, but history has shown that you have the best chance of advancing when you play at home.

"We don't have anything to prove to anybody. All this makes us mad, and if that makes us play harder, so be it.

"I'll put our four starting pitchers -- Samardzija, Jeff Manship, Tom Thornton and Wade Korpi up against anybody's staff in the country.

"We've got a kid with 16 saves in Kyle Weiland, and both Jess Stewart and Mike Dury have been strong in middle relief."

Kentucky is hosting a regional for the first time.

"Lexington is a great baseball town, and I'm sure the fans will come out and provide a tremendous atmosphere," said Kentucky coach John Cohen.

Notre Dame has never met Charleston. The Irish are 5-5 against Kentucky, but the teams have not met in Mainieri era. Notre Dame and Ball State have played annually in recent years, Notre Dame holding a 15-12 series lead.

The top eight seeds nationally in order are: Clemson (46-14), Rice (50-10), Texas (30-19), Alabama (41-19), Cal State Fullerton (43-13), Nebraska (42-15), Georgia (41-10) and Georgia Tech (45-16).

Those teams, providing they win their own regionals, will host super regionals June 9-12. None could meet each other before the College World Series, which starts June 16 in Omaha.

Staff writer Forrest Miller:
wmiller@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6315

Boo Hoo

FYI...well..if ND was the #2 seed in that tournament at the same location (push College of Charleston to a #3 seed)...they would still be playing College of Charleston....

You can flip-flop a lot of #2 and #3 seeds.

KL

All they have to do is proved it on the field. With that said ND does have a pretty good team and would not be surprised to see them win that Regional

Don't they have enough money to charter a flight???

They have been in their regional's final game every year the past six years, winning their regional and beating Florida State in Tallahassee in the super regional to go to the 2002 College World Series.

This is not just a one year wonder team crying about being disrespected for having a Cinderella season.

ND had the fourth highest win total in the country and won both the conference regular season and tournament titles. They went 45-15-1.

They are ranked #15 in the country but don't get one of the 16 host sites....and are a #3 seed? (I agree there is no difference between a #2 and a #3 seed except some #2 seeds host regionals).

I think he has two good points....one, ND should have been a host....two, UConn or St. Johns should have gotten a bid.

I would have thought you guys would have appreciated Paul Maineri taking a public stance in favor of fellow Big East baseball teams. He didn't have to do that.

Mississippi State was the NINTH team in the SEC and did not even qualify to attend the SEC Tournament...yet, they get an NCAA bid. Southern bias in college baseball?

I think that St. Johns at 40-19 should have gotten in, just like it did last year.

My concern is that after publically griping about being disrespected, the team may perform poorly in the regional.....sort of like a football team like Oregon last year or WVU in 2002 griping about its "lesser" bowl and then getting beat badly.

This is the scenario I've always dreaded. Who to cheer for UKan't or Notre Shame? I guess Ball St. and COC could win but unlikely. Oh, who am I kidding? I could never pull for the Mildcats! So go Notre Shame!