The 2011 NCAA baseball regionals get under way on Friday and the California Golden Bears will travel to Houston to play in a regional hosted by Rice. Cal opens play against the Baylor Bears. The Battle of the Bears got me thinking about Jackie Moon’s battle with Dewey the Killer Bear.
While many teams do not have to travel too far, the mix of teams has required some teams to travel a bit. Cal joins Georgia who has to travel to Corvallis, Oregon as teams with a bit of a gripe about the travel schedule. The Houston region consists of Cal, Rice, Baylor and Alcorn State.
We’ll have more preview information in the next day or two, but for now here is a breakdown of the schedule of games. The regional consists of a double-elimination bracket from June 3 to June 5 or 6 (if necessary). The games kick off on Friday at Reckling Park. If Sunday’s winner’s bracket leaves two teams with one loss, the teams will play a final game on Monday evening. The winner of the Houston regional would then advance to the super regional round to face the winner of the Fort Worth regional.
Houston regional schedule (all times PDT)
Game 1: California vs. Baylor, 12 p.m. Friday
Game 2: Rice vs. Alcorn State, 4 p.m. Friday
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 12 p.m. Saturday
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4 p.m. Saturday
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 12 p.m. Sunday
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 4 p.m. Sunday
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 4 p.m. Monday