The following is a press release from the Athletic Department.
West Chester University’s 13th-ranked Golden Rams baseball squad learned who they would be playing next and where that game would take place as the 2012 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament field was revealed late Sunday night.
West Chester (38-10) will face West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Shepherd (32-17) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Owls Field at Ted Palka Park in West Lawn, Pa. The Golden Rams are the second seed in the Atlantic Region. Owls Field at Ted Palka Park hosted the Atlantic Regional in 2008 and 2009. The Golden Rams won the regional on that field in 2009.
Ticket prices for the four-day regional tournament are $10 for adult daily pass, or $30 for adult tournament pass; $5 student or senior daily pass, or $15 student or senior tournament pass. The tournament pass will be available on the first day of the tournament only.
Top-seeded Seton Hill (42-8) takes on Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Winston-Salem State (27-16) while host institution and third-seeded Kutztown (35-17) goes up against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference rival Mercyhurst (38-15) in the other regional first round matchup.
West Chester, Shepherd and Winston-Salem State all earned automatic bids to the 2012 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament by virtue of winning their respective conference postseason tournaments. The other three schools were at-large bids.
The Golden Rams are making their 11th appearance all-time in the NCAA Tournament. West Chester had an eight-year run snapped last spring when it did not qualify for the postseason. The Rams are 23-21 all-time in the NCAAs, including two trips to the national semifinals in 2006 and 2009. This marks the third time since 2004 that West Chester has been tabbed as the second seed entering the regional tournament.
From 2005 to 2010, West Chester reached the regional final each year, topping Kutztown on the final day in 2006 and defeating Mercyhurst in 2009.
West Chester shows a 10-5 record in NCAA Tournament play against this year’s Atlantic Region field. The Golden Rams are 5-5 against rival Kutztown while knocking off both Mercyhurst and Shepherd twice and beating Seton Hill in 2010. West Chester and Shepherd last met in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 where the Golden Rams topped the Rams, 10-1. WCU also defeated Shepherd, 9-5, in the regional opener in 2006.
A total of 48 teams make up the 2012 NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament bracket. Eight regional tournaments are set up as double-elimination formats over a four-day span. The Atlantic Regional will take place May 17-20 with Monday, May 21 serving as a rain date, if necessary. The eventual champion of each regional tournament earns a berth in the national semifinals at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary, N.C. May 26 – June 2.
