Baseball

INDIANAPOLIS - The No. 4 Salisbury University baseball team received the top-seed in the South region of the 2008 NCAA Division III baseball championship. The Sea Gulls (38-2) will travel to Danville, Va., where SU opens the regional against sixth-seed Randolph-Macon College (25-15) on Wednesday, May 14, at 11 a.m. Dan Daniel Memorial Park. The Yellow Jackets won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship this season for the first time since 1987.

Salisbury is making its ninth straight NCAA tournament appearance and 14th in program history. The Sea Gulls, the Capital Athletic Conference champions, have been in the College World Series twice (2001, '04). Salisbury was last the No. 1 seed in a regional in 2006. Last season, the Sea Gulls were the second-seed in the South where the maroon and gold posted a 1-2 record.

There are six teams in the 2008 South Regional double-elimination tournament and two of them are familiar with Salisbury. The Sea Gulls faced fifth-seed Christopher Newport University (28-12) last month (April 26) and defeated the USA South Athletic Conference champions 8-3. The second-seed in the region is No. 10 Johns Hopkins University (34-5), the Centennial Conference champions. SU and JHU were slated for a regular-season match-up but the game was rained out. The two teams met last season in Salisbury, Md., where the Sea Gulls trampled the Blue Jays, 21-6.

Christopher Newport and Johns Hopkins will meet in Game 2 on May 14 at 3 p.m. Third-seed Piedmont College (33-12) is making it's first-ever NCAA appearance as they captured the Great South Athletic Conference championship. The Lions will square off with fourth-seed Lynchburg College (30-11) an at-large NCAA selection that hails from the ODAC. The No. 12 Lions and No. 20 Hornets will play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. The tournament is slated to last from May 14 until May 17.

Salisbury will play on Thursday, May 15, regardless of a win or loss on Wednesday.

Dan Daniel Memorial Park has served as the home stadium for the Danville Braves, a minor league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, since 1993. The Braves compete in the Appalachian League, which is a rookie-advanced league primarily for those players beginning their professional careers. The stadium seats 2,588 and features a permanent roof that covers the reserved seating area.

2008 NCAA Division III South Regional Information

• Regional Web site
• Schedule and Results
• Ticket Information
• Driving Directions
• Dan Daniel Memorial Park

Also see:

• 2008 NCAA Division III baseball field announcement