Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | 9:15 a.m.
Friday
Tempe, Ariz.
Double elimination
Winner plays Fullerton regional champion
(1) Coastal Carolina (48-14)
vs. (4) UNLV (34-27)
(2) Arizona State (34-22)
vs. (3) East Carolina (35-24)
After learning early Monday morning that his team will open the NCAA baseball tournament Friday against Coastal Carolina, UNLV coach Buddy Gouldsmith said he didn't believe that the Rebels will be happy just to be in Tempe, Ariz.
That could be a danger for any team that started its season losing 14 of its first 17 games.
"I would say, with a different team, yeah, maybe that would be a concern for me ... (or) if these guys didn't think or feel like they belonged here," Gouldsmith said.
"It's a different atmosphere. But as much as we've raised our level of play over the last couple of months, we have to continue to raise that level in the tournament. Maybe the stars are aligned, but we've really played well."
UNLV's 10th NCAA tournament bid is also Gouldsmith's second in as many years as the Rebels' head coach.
It was locked up Saturday when the Rebels (34-27) defeated Brigham Young twice to win the Mountain West Conference tournament title in Salt Lake City. UNLV also won the league's regular-season crown.
After learning of his team's Friday draw with his players at an area restaurant, Gouldsmith was in his office by 10 a.m. Monday, seeking information on the Chanticleers (48-14) and arranging for the simple jaunt south to the Phoenix area.
He said he knows a bit about Coastal Carolina's staff and how the team plays.
"It's a quick club," Gouldsmith said. "They will try to steal bases and put pressure on our defense. We've played good defense over our last 30 games. I don't think I could have asked for a better matchup. We're looking forward to the challenge.
"And I couldn't have picked a better regional to be in."
Gouldsmith gave the Rebels Monday off, and they were scheduled to practice this morning and again at 10:30 Wednesday morning at Wilson Stadium.
Postseason scouting reports and travel arrangements seemed to be folly for the Rebels in early March, when Texas had swept UNLV and the Rebels only won one of three games against both Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton.
Florida Atlantic came to Las Vegas and swept a three-game series from UNLV. When it lost the first game of a series to California, 13-2, in Berkeley, Calif., UNLV's record sunk to 3-14.
"And the way we did it," Gouldsmith said of that embarrassing loss to the Golden Bears.
Then UNLV beat Cal twice and split a two-game series against Arizona -- a top-10 team at the time -- in Tucson. The Rebels followed that by taking three from Air Force by a combined score of 34-4, at Wilson.
"Yeah, that was the turning point," Gouldsmith said. "The series with Air Force fell at the most opportune time and we put some wins together. If there is such a thing as a turning point, that was it. A confidence builder."
Fourth-seeded UNLV advances to familiar territory in Tempe, where several of the Rebels played in the NCAAs in Diablo Stadium two years ago.
It is the lone regional in which the top-seeded team, Coastal Carolina, was not awarded hosting rights. Arizona State (34-22) is seeded second but retained home-field advantage.
East Carolina (35-24), the former employer of UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick, is the No. 3 seed in the Tempe Regional and will play ASU on Friday.
The winner of the regional advances to a Super Regional, and a site to be determined, to play the winner of the Fullerton Regional. The College World Series will take place June 17-27 in Omaha, Neb.
"As long as you're still playing at this time of the year, you're excited," Gouldsmith said. "We came back from a long way. Three and 14 is a long, long time ago. That makes the accomplishment a little nicer.
"But it also prepares us. We played that tough (early) schedule to prepare for the postseason opportunity, and that was part of the reason why we were able to beat BYU."
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