2009 The squad competes in the Southeastern Conference's West Division. It is one of the nation's top collegiate baseball schools, ranking seventh all-time with 18 college world series berths and second with six national titles (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2009).
LSU has never been defeated by UCLA during the regular season or tournament play. The Bruins are now 3-0 against the Tigers this year.
In fact, no other team has ever beaten LSU three times during a single season. Even Florida State, which is now 12-1 against the Tigers, hasn't done so since it lost to LSU in both the 1992 and 1993 seasons.
The last time any SEC team went an entire season without being swept was in 1990 when Alabama finished first in the division with a 42-15 record. The Crimson Tide beat each of their opponents twice during that span.
Florida, which has won its last five games against LSU, isn't the only SEC team that has never been swept by the Tigers. Kentucky also remains undefeated against them after winning the series opener 10-3 last week at Baton Rouge. The Wildcats will face Florida State in the SEC Tournament next week in Tampa.
LSU has never been defeated by Florida during the regular season or tournament play. The Tigers are now 3-0 against the Gators this year.
The university has competed in two College World Series, in 1957 and 2002, and has won five conference championships. In addition to its baseball team, Notre Dame also has a softball team that has appeared in one NCAA Tournament game (2001).
Notre Dame's baseball program was established in 1887. The Irish are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which they joined in 2005 after spending most of their history as independents. They have made the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament each year since 1990.
Currently, the Irish play their home games at Louis E. Dierberg School of Architecture & Design on campus in South Bend, Indiana. The stadium is named for Dr. Louis E. Dierberg, a former chairman of the board who donated $5 million for construction of the ballpark. It is here that the Notre Dame baseball team has achieved national fame as one of the best programs in college baseball.
After playing in only six games in 1957, due to the sport being banned by the NCAA until 1965, Notre Dame did not return to the College World Series until eight years later in 1975. Since then, the school has returned to the event every year except 1977, 1983, 1993, and 2002.
College World Series runner-up in 2013; NCAA regional champions in 1971, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2013, 2018, 2019; NCAA Tournament appearances in 1979, 1981, 1985, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019; SEC regular season champion in 1973, 1974, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.
Mississippi State first played in the College World Series in 1959. The Bulldogs finished second that year to California by one game after both teams were forced to settle for no worse than a tie due to the cancellation of the series due to weather conditions. MSU has returned every year since then and is now 9-9 in the tournament. The most recent trip to Omaha came in 2013 when the team fell to Florida in the championship game. Before that, the best showing by the program was in 1971 when the team made it to the finals before falling to USC. In 1979, the program earned its only other appearance in the semifinals before being eliminated by Texas.
In addition to its success in the CWS, Mississippi State has also been very successful at the NCAA Tournament.
The College World Series was a straight double-elimination event until 1987. The 1987 College World Series put a stop to it. The Division I tournament started holding preliminary rounds in 1954 to decide the eight CWS teams. The number of teams in the first round of the overall tournament fluctuated from 21 to 32 from 1954 to 1975. When the number of teams increased to 32 in 1976, the number of games per team was reduced from an average of 14 to 12. In 1980, the number of games per team was reduced to 11.
In 1981, the format was changed again. Now there were three separate single-elimination tournaments: one for each class. The winners of these classes went on to play for the championship. This system continued through 1986. In 1987, the double-elimination format returned to the series.
The 1988 season was the last season that had only three classes. From 1989 to 2015, all seasons have had four classes. Starting with 2016, all seasons will have five classes. The top two classes will be Division I while the other three divisions (Division II, Division III, and Division IV) will have two groups of three schools playing in regional competitions before the winners meet in the final week of the season.
There has been one year where there were six teams in the College World Series. That was in 1978 when Oklahoma State, Miami (OH), North Carolina, California, Texas, and Florida all made the trip to Omaha.
The program, which began play in 1920, is a member of the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference. Its home games are held at Jackie Robinson Stadium. The team has competed in five College World Series and won the National Championship in 2013. UCLA's first CWS was won by Chris Chambliss and Steve Edney in 1969. The current head coach is Tony Gaskins who was hired away from Texas A&M after three seasons there.
UCLA's all-time best finish at the CWS is first place with a record of 14-3 in 1970. Their only loss came to Ohio State in the semifinals. The Bruins' other CWS appearances were in 1989 (finished second), 1990 (finished third), 1991 (finished fourth), and 1992 (finished fifth).
The school's second most successful season in the CWS was in 1973 when they finished second. That year, the Bruins played in their first ever Super Regional before being eliminated by USC. They returned to the CWS two years later and lost in the semifinals to Oklahoma State. In 1977, UCLA made it back to the finals but lost to Southern California. In 1979, the Bruins finished sixth but had one of the biggest surprises of the tournament when they defeated Virginia in the opening round. Then, in 1980, they fell to Florida in the championship game.
UCLA's most recent CWS appearance was in 2012 when they were eliminated by South Carolina in the opening round.
It has finished in the top five in the NCAA Championships in 25 of the last 29 years and has won six national championships: in 1988, 1991, 1996, 2002, and most recently, back-to-back triumphs in 2011 and 2012.
Its 682 total wins are the most of any school other than Texas and Florida State. The Crimson Tide's 12 national titles are also second only to FSU's 14.
Alabama has played in and lost every single College World Series. The Tide's best finish was in 1987 when it went 2-2 in Omaha. It was defeated by Southern California, which would go on to win its third straight title, and by Oklahoma City University (now known as Oklahoma City University-Tulsa).
The Crimson Tide has been ranked No. 1 in the country for all but three weeks of the 1987 season. That year it went 42-4 overall and 24-0 in the SEC.
It's the longest streak of top ranking we've had here at BamaSportsReport.com. If Alabama keeps winning games this year will they be able to defend their title? Will they even make it to game four?
There's only one way to find out...
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