UMO earns 6th consecutive bid to NCAA D2 Southeast Regional

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on May 11, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- The tournament bubble didn't burst after all. University of Mount Olive is headed to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional baseball tournament for the sixth consecutive year.

One of three at-large teams in the regional, the Trojans (37-14 overall) will face in-state foe Wingate -- the South Atlantic Conference automatic qualifier -- in opening-round play Thursday at Catawba College. UMO swept Wingate in regular-season play.

At-large recipient Catawba, the top seed, opposes Conference Carolinas champion North Greenville -- which is making its first-ever postseason appearance. Peach Belt foes North Georgia and Georgia College & State University meet in the other first-round game.

North Georgia is an at-large selection.

Double-elimination play continues through Sunday. The regional champ advances to the NCAA Division II College World Series, which begin May 23 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary.

UMO and the Town of Cary are co-hosts for the event.

"The team and I thought we had a good chance of getting in," said UMO junior Joe Koehler, who watched the selection show inside the clubhouse with his teammates late Sunday evening.

"When we played the last two games, we just went out there, had fun and the played the game the way our coaches tell us."

The Trojans earned two key in-region wins against Catawba and Francis Marion within a three-day period. Although those two results were not reflected in the final regional poll, the selection committee paid attention to those outcomes.

The committee rewarded the three regular-season champs -- Catawba, UMO and North Georgia. But the tournament upsets knocked out Columbus State, UNC Pembroke and Armstrong State.

"As far as regionals, there's five tough teams," Koehler said. "It's not going to be easy but I think our coaches have prepared us and have done a great job this year. I think we will do well."

A total of 20 teams earned AQs to the 48-team field. The remaining spots for the eight regionals were filled by at-large selections.

University of Southern Indiana, the 2014 CWS champ, did not make the field. Colorado Mesa, which lost to s in last year's title game, is the top seed in the South Central Regional.