May 31, 2004
Stanford, Calif. - Top-ranked Stanford will open the 2004 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship by hosting Long Beach State, St. John's and UNLV in an NCAA Regional at Sunken Diamond this Friday, June 4 - Sunday, June 6. College Sports Television has announced that it will broadcast every game of the Regional live. Stanford is hosting an NCAA Regional for the ninth consecutive year and the 13th time in school history. The Cardinal also earned the No. 5 national seed, marking the sixth straight season the Cardinal has been awarded with a national seed.
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Stanford (44-12) is the top seed in the double-elimination Regional and will play fourth-seeded UNLV (37-22) in its 2004 postseason opener on Friday at 6:00 pm, PDT (Game 1). Second-seeded Long Beach State (36-19) and third-seeded St. John's (36-21) will square off on Friday at 2:00 pm, PDT (Game 2) to open the Regional.
"At this stage of the season every Regional is going to be tough," said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess about the Regional field at Stanford. "I think our Regional is difficult but all of them are."
The Regional will continue on Saturday with three games. Saturday's first matchup (Game 3) will feature the losers of Friday's two contests in an elimination game at 11:00 am, PDT. The winners of Friday's games will play Saturday at 3 pm, PDT (Game 4) for the right to advance to Sunday's Regional championship. The winner of Game 3 will play the loser of Game 4 in an elimination contest (Game 5) at 7 pm, PDT.
Sunday's championship game (Game 6) will begin at 1:00 pm, PDT. A second championship game (Game 7), if necessary, will follow at approximately 5:00 pm, PT.
All-session passes for the event will go on sale Tuesday, June 1, at the Stanford Athletics Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-STANFORD. Stanford Athletics Ticket Office hours this Tuesday-Friday are 9 am - 4 pm. Prices for all-session passes are $50 (Reserved), $35 (Adult General Admission) and $20 (Child/Senior/Student General Admission). Single-game tickets will be available on the day of the game only. Prices for single-game tickets are $15 (Reserved), $12 (General Admission Adult) and $8 (Child/Senior/Student General Admission).
Stanford is making its 25th NCAA Tournament appearance and its 11th in a row after earning an automatic berth by winning the outright regular season Pac-10 title for the second consecutive year. The Cardinal is also looking to extend its school record string of consecutive College World Series trips to six. Stanford has made 15 trips to the College World Series and five appearances in the CWS championship game, winning the national title in 1987 and 1988 and finishing as runners-up in three of the last four seasons (2000, 2001, 2003). Stanford has an all-time postseason record of 113-54 (.677) and is 61-21 in 21 Regional appearances.
Long Beach State spent most of the season ranked among the nation's Top 10 but finished the year by losing its final seven contests, its longest losing streak since 1988, and heads into the postseason ranked No. 18 by Baseball America. The 49ers finished second in the Big West with a 14-7 conference record and received an at-large berth. Long Beach State is making its 15th appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship and has an all-time record of 36-19 in the event. The 49ers will be making their third consecutive postseason trip to Stanford. Long Beach State reached the final of the 2002 Regional at Stanford before being beaten by the Cardinal in the first and only Regional title game. In 2003, Stanford swept both games of an NCAA Super Regional against Long Beach State.
St. John's received an at-large berth to the 2004 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship after finishing tied for second in the regular season Big East standings with a 17-9 conference mark and third in the postseason tournament. The Red Storm is making its 28th appearance in the postseason and its first since 1997. St. John's has an all-time record of 51-48 in the event.
UNLV won the Mountain West Conference Tournament to earn the league's automatic berth to the postseason. The Rebels finished tied for second in the regular season MWC standings with a 20-10 conference mark, just percentage points behind regular season winner San Diego State. UNLV is making its ninth appearance in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship and has a 9-16 record in the event.
2004 NCAA REGIONAL SCHEDULE (at Stanford, CA)
FRIDAY, JUNE 4
2 pm, PDT (Game 2) - No. 3 St. John's (36-21) vs. No. 2 Long Beach State (36-19)
6 pm, PDT (Game 1) - No. 4 UNLV (37-22) vs. No. 1 Stanford (44-12)
SATURDAY, JUNE 5
11 am, PDT (Game 3) - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser ... elimination game
3 pm, PDT (Game 4) - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
7 pm, PDT (Game 5) - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser ... elimination game
SUNDAY, JUNE 6
1 pm, PDT (Championship - Game 6) - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner
5 pm, PDT (Championship - Game 7, if necessary) - If Game 5 Winner Defeats Game 4 Winner In Game 6
*All Games To Televised Live By College Sports Televsion (CSTV)