Dartmouth's first game will take place on June 4 at 4:00 p.m. when team takes on Miami (40-17, 21-12 ACC) who earned the right to host the regional as the number one seed.
The Hurricanes, ranked 20th in the country by Baseball America, are making a 38th consecutive appearance in the tournament, an NCAA record. Miami's storied baseball history includes 23 trips to the College World Series (second only to the University of Texas) and four national championships. Miami's last title came in 2001, and it last went to the College World Series in 2008.
"The history of their program is steeped in college baseball tradition," head coach Bob Whalen said. "I just want our kids to have the experience to play somewhere like that."
The Hurricanes are led offensively by the ACC Player of the Year, catcher Yasmani Grandal. Grandal leads the team in hitting with a .422 average and ranks second on the team in home runs with 14 and RBIs with 56.
Junior Chris Hernandez, a first team All-ACC selection, leads the Miami pitching staff. Hernandez went 8-3 for the Hurricanes with a 3.02 ERA while striking out a team-high 95 batters this season.
"[The Hurricanes] are going to be great and its going to take a great game to beat them," shortstop Joe Sclafani '12 said.
Dartmouth will send Kyle Hendricks '12 to the mound against the Hurricanes, according to Whalen. Hendricks is 4-5 on the season with a 6.09 ERA, but pitched very well in a crucial late season game against Harvard University. Captain Rob Young '10 will pitch the Big Green's second game, which will take place the following day.
The team has not seen such celebrated competition since it lost two games to the University of Virginia early in the season. Still, the Big Green hopes to perform at a high level and compete with some of the best collegiate baseball players, Young said.
"You've got to prepare like you would any other team," he said. "You just control what you can control. Everybody's a good team at this point."
Texas A&M University (40-19-1, 19-12-1 Big 12), the regional's number two seed, earned it's bid in walk-off fashion, defeating Baylor University in the Big XII championship game thanks to a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10 inning by Brodie Greene. En route to the title, Texas A&M knocked off #3 ranked Texas, a perennial power in college baseball.
The #22-ranked Aggies boast a strong pitching staff, headed by Big 12 Newcomer of the Year John Stilson and junior righthander Barret Loux. Both were named to the first team All-Big 12. Stilson, a dominant reliever, went 8-1 on the year with a 0.87 ERA and nine saves. He struck out 106 batters in just 72.1 innings of work and held opponents to a .172 average.
Florida International University (36-23, 22-14), the three seed, has received national media attention recently due to the 54-game hitting streak of sophomore infielder Garrett Wittels. Wittels is four games shy of tying the Division I record, held by Oklahoma State University's Robin Ventura. The Panthers will have to win at least two games at the double-elimination regional for Wittels to have a chance to tie the record.
The trip to Coral Gables will be a homecoming of sorts for three Big Green players. Infielders Ezra Josephson '10 and Sclafani, as well as pitcher Kyle Hunter '13 are all natives of the Sunshine State.
Dartmouth is making second consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament. Dartmouth lost both games at the Chapel Hill regional last year and, after a hard-fought 5-2 loss to the top-seeded University of North Carolina, was eliminated with a 16-0 loss to the University of Kansas. The Big Green has advanced to the College World Series only once in its history in 1970.
The Big Green will play its second game on June 5, with the opponent dependent on the outcome of its first game. Should Dartmouth win, it would play the winner of the Texas A&M, Florida International game. If Dartmouth loses to Miami, it would play the loser of the matchup in an elimination game. All of the regional games will be broadcast on ESPNU.
