CONWAY – Coastal Carolina is back in the NCAA baseball regionals after missing the tournament a year ago.
The Chanticleers are the No. 2 seed in the College Station regional. They’ll face No. 3 seed Cal in their opener Friday at 1 p.m. Texas A&M is the regional host and top seed. The Aggies open against Texas Southern.
Coastal Carolina (36-19) is making its 13th regional appearance since 2001. Last year’s miss broke a seven-year streak of tournament appearances.
“We all took it very hard,” coach Gary Gilmore said of missing out last year. “This program is very proud. It’s had a lot of regional opportunities, super regional opportunities. This group wanted to get us back up on that stage, give us a chance again.”
The Chanticleers have faced Cal just once previously. The Bears won 17-0 in the 2011 Baseball at the Beach tournament. Coastal has never faced Texas A&M or Texas Southern.
