Arizona baseball's NCAA Regional round set in College Station

Andy Lopez's Arizona baseball team will play its NCAA Regional round tournament in College Station, Texas, it was announced Monday.

As the No. 2 seed, the Wildcats are pitted against No. 3 seed Seton Hall on Friday, and in the double elimination, four-team tournament, both winner and loser will face either No. 1 seed and host Texas A&M or No. 4 seed Wright State.

Ryan Finley, the beat writer for the Arizona Daily Star, tweeted Monday that the tournament, all-in-all, could have ended up worse from the Wildcats perspective. In his news article, he wrote the following:

"However, many believe the short-series nature of the regionals could play to the UA's strengths. Ace Kurt Heyer and No. 2 starter Kyle Simon are a combined 18-6 this season. Reliever Bryce Bandilla and Tyler Hale combined to pitch five scoreless innings in Sunday's win; closer Matt Chaffee, the star of the bullpen this season, warmed up late in the game but was not needed."

The Wildcats finished up a 36-19 season on a hot streak, winning 12 of its last 15 games. They swept a lowly Washington Husky squad in the regular season's final series, but going into a regional that actually seems favorable, Arizona will still need to bring its A-game.

Though that doesn't mean the Wildcats don't have a good shot at winning. Even as a No. 1 seed, Texas A&M and its 42-18 record won 11 of its final 13 contests, surprised many in scrounging through a tough Big 12 Tournament. But like Arizona, the Aggies are turning the heat up when it counts.

Winning four games at the conference tournament, the Aggies posted a 9-8 victory against Kansas State in 11 innings before willing their way to a 10-9 win over Missouri. And that's if the Wildcats can get past Big East Conference Champion Seton Hall (33-23).