JOURNAL SPORTS
Grambling State won the SWAC Tournament championship Sunday to get an automatic berth into the NCAA baseball playoffs while LSU and Louisiana Tech earned at-large invites to the tournament.
All three begin regional play on Friday, joining three more state programs (UL Lafayette, Tulane and Nicholls) in the 64-team field. That equals an all-time best representation from the Bayou State, matching the six that made the 2000 NCAA bracket.
Grambling won’t have to venture too far in playing in the College Station Regional at Texas A&M. The Tiger are the No. 4 seed and open play against the host top-seeded Aggies at noon Friday. Texas is the No. 2 seed and will play the No. 3 seed UL-Lafayette at 5 p.m.
Texas A&M is the No. 3 seed among the National Top 16 seeds of the tournament.
LSU is the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional and plays No. 3 Wofford in an 11 a.m. (CT) game Friday. That game is followed by host top-seed North Carolina facing No. 4 Long Island at 5 p.m. Carolina Is the No. 4 national the tournament.
Louisiana Tech is the No. 2 seed in the Fayetteville Regional and plays No. 3 Kansas State at 7 p.m. Friday. Top-seed Arkansas will face No. 4 seed Southeast Missouri State to open the regional at 2 p.m. The Razorbacks are the No. 5 seed overall in the tournament.
NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
Chapel Hill Regional
FRIDAY
G1: No. 3 Wofford vs. No. 2 LSU, 11 a.m.
G2: No. 4 LIU vs. No. 1 North Carolina, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY
G3: loser G1 vs. loser G2, 11 a.m.
G4: winner G1 vs. winner G2, 4 p.m.
SUNDAY
G5: winner G3 vs. loser G4, 11 a.m.
G6: winner G5 vs. winner G4, 5 p.m.
MONDAY
G7: (If necessary), winner G6 vs. loser G6, TBD
College Station Regional
FRIDAY
G1: No. 4 Grambling vs. No. 1 Texas A&M, noon
G2: No. 3 La-Lafayette vs. No. 2 Texas, 5 p.m.
SATURDAY
G3: loser G1 vs. loser G2, 2 p.m.
G4: winner G1 vs. winner G2, 8 p.m.
SUNDAY
G5: winner G3 vs. loser G4, 2 p.m.
G6: winner G5 vs. winner G4, 7 p.m.
MONDAY
G7: (If necessary), winner G6 vs. loser G6, TBD
Fayetteville Regional
FRIDAY
G1: No. 4 SE Missouri State vs. No. 1 Arkansas, 2 p.m.
G2: No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 2 Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
G3: loser G1 vs. loser G2, 2 p.m.
G4: winner G1 vs. winner G2, 8 p.m.
SUNDAY
G5: winner G3 vs. loser G4, 2 p.m.
G6: winner G5 vs. winner G4, 6 p.m.
MONDAY
G7: (If necessary), winner G6 vs. loser G6, TBD