From Gogriffs.com
The Canisius baseball team, the 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament champions, will play No. 14 Minnesota Friday, June 1 at 8 p.m., in the 2018 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, it was revealed during the selection show Monday afternoon on ESPNU. Minnesota, the 2018 Big Ten Tournament champions, will serve as the host school for the four-team Minneapolis Regional, which also features UCLA and Gonzaga. All games in the Minneapolis Regional will be played Minnesota’s Siebert Field.
Friday’s game between Canisius and Minnesota will be the first in program history, and the game will be broadcast to a live national audience on ESPNU and through the WatchESPN APP.
The Golden Griffins (35-20) will enter the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on an eight-game win streak, the program’s longest winning streak since 2016. Canisius won the MAAC Tournament crown on Saturday, when the Blue and Gold defeated Monmouth 11-0 in the league’s championship game. This marks the program’s third NCAA appearance, with all three coming since 2013.
“When we saw our name on the screen, there was some gratification and the respect that comes with being in the NCAA Tournament,” Canisius first-year head coach Matt Mazurek said. “I think this is a competitive regional. I believe this is a good opportunity for us and we are excited to have the chance to keep playing together as a group.”
The Golden Gophers will be making their 32nd NCAA Tournament appearance, and the first since 2016. Minnesota enters the national postseason with an overall record of 41-13, and the team won both the Big Ten regular-season championship and the conference tournament title last weekend. UCLA, the second seed in the Minneapolis Regional, will be making its 22nd trip to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The Bruins (36-19) earned an at-large bid into this year’s field of 64, and they will play West Coast Conference Tournament champion Gonzaga on June 1 at 5 p.m. The third-seeded Bulldogs are 32-22 this year, and the program is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Griffs are led by senior pitcher J.P. Stevenson, the 2018 MAAC Championship MVP and the 2018 MAAC Pitcher of the Year. Stevenson enters the national postseason with a record of 10-1 to go with a 2.54 ERA in 16 appearances. Fellow senior Tyler Smith, who earned a save and a win in last week’s MAAC Championship, was honored as the 2018 MAAC Relief Pitcher of the Year. He is the third Canisius reliever to win that award, and he also earned All-Tournament honors last week. Senior Liam Wilson is hitting a team-high .360 on the season, and his 27 doubles set a new MAAC record for two-base hits in a single season.
