Regional Rivalries...

Have arrived safely in South Florida...beautiful area and gorgeous day...if the rest of the week is like today we are in great shape for the tournament.

The team will be arriving around 3pm and will practice either at the Roger Dean Complex or at a High School field nearby later this afternoon. I am going to be getting with Coach Henson for an interview later today. After we meet up I'll update with the expected rotation and any other information he may provide.

In the meantime, there are a couple of story lines I wanted to go ahead and throw out there related to developing rivalries between NGU and the other teams here at the regional...

---First is #1 seed Southeastern...
If you have kept an eye on North Greenville baseball at all over the last couple of seasons you have some awareness of how important this match-up has become. Southeastern has really become the Crusaders biggest rival. This may very well be the most intense rivalry in NCCAA baseball- it certainly is the biggest one in the south regional.

Keep in mind North Greenville defeated Southeastern three times during the 2010 National Title run. The Crusaders were victorious twice in the South Regional (including the regional championship) and once in the World Series.

Southeastern answered with a sweep of North Greenville in Tigerville back on March 21st. These were the only two games played between the teams this season. Both games were decided by one run.

One final note on NGU-Southeastern: 4 of the 5 games detailed here were run one affairs.


--- Next is first round opponent (and regional host) Palm Beach Atlantic...
Though their record doesn't really show it, this is an excellent baseball team. They are coached by Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter and have navigated a very difficult schedule.

The potential rivalry here is more between the athletic programs than the baseball team specifically. Congratulations to the 2011 Lady Crusaders who just upset the #1 seed in last weekend's regional in Tigerville to earn a spot in this year's Women's World Series.
Just who was the #1 seed they defeated to get there? Palm Beach Atlantic.

You might want to keep an eye on this rivarly baseball-wise also, the Sailfish are very well coached and we should be in for a great game tomorrow afternoon with the potential of a rematch somewhere later in the Regional.

So those are some story lines to watch...

The best news is we are now less than 24 hours away from the first pitch of the 2011 South Regional...more info as I receive it...