Coogs Win Tempe Regional

The Coogs rode strong pitching and hitting again today, to win the NCAA baseball regional at Tempe. They pretty much dominated the field, despite having to play on the road.

Next weekend, they go to Austin for a Super Regional against Texas.

It's irritating that the NCAA has managed to shortchange Texas baseball this year. There are three top ten teams in this state, each with a real chance to make it to the College World Series in Omaha, but because of the way the NCAA schedulers set it up, only two of them are going to have a chance to make it. Houston got a raw deal this year -- with their record and RPI, they deserved to host at least a regional, as they demonstrated by kicking some serious ass at Tempe.

But maybe they can go win a couple at Austin. Sometimes being a disrespected underdog can fire up a team.

(06-02-2002 Update) The NCAA Tourney Committee may not have given UH much respect, but Arizona State's head coach is impressed:

"They're a very confident team right now,'' said Arizona State coach Pat Murphy. "They've played a great schedule and beaten everybody in the country. Look at what they've done. That's an impressive bunch. It's kind of neat to see a team play together like that. I like the way they competed this weekend, but they didn't get challenged much.''

[Posted at 18:25 CST on 06/02/02] [Link]