Houston Teams Set for NCAA Regionals

It's official. Your great city of Houston is the baseball capitol of America. How many other cities can say they have three colleges in the NCAA Regionals? None! The action gets started Friday as Texas Southern, the University of Houston and Rice, all prepare for their journey to Omaha, Nebraska, home of the College World Series.

Texas Southern is the surprise of the bunch. On the season, the Tigers were 16-32, but they won the SWAC Tournament and received an automatic bid after upsetting two-time defending SWAC Champion Prarie View in the title game. TSU faces a daunting task on Friday; they travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU, who is currently no. 5 in the nation with a 20-game winning streak. This will be TSU's second ever appearance in an NCAA regional. The last time was in 2004 when they shocked Rice on their home turf 4-3. With that in mind, TSU knows anything can happen in baseball.

Next, we have the Houston Cougars. The Houston team was on the bubble coming into the C-USA tournament, but they punched their ticket by winning five games in four days and beating Marshall 3-2 on Sunday to capture their third C-USA title and their first in eight seasons. The Cougars will face Dallas Baptist on Friday. DBU is an independent team which is making their first appearance ever in an NCAA Regional. They are not to be taken lightly. DBU did it by playing on of the nations toughest schedule which included five wins over ranked teams such as Rice, Texas A & M and Oral Roberts. This game won't be a walk in the park for either team and there's nothing like an I-45 rivalry to get things under way.

Finally, we have the Rice Owls. There are three things in Houston that are guaranteed. Heat, humidity and Rice baseball in postseason play. The Owls are looking to make another College World Series run and they have a chance by doing that as they host a regional on their home field. This is Rice's 14th straight season of 40 wins or more and also their 14th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance. The Owls take on Sam Houston on Friday and they're hoping for some improved play. At the C-USA tournament in New Orleans this past weekend, the no.9 ranked Owls went two and out; losing to Alabama-Birmingham 8-2 and East Carolina 4-3. We're pretty sure Wayne Graham gave a nice pep talk to the players after that showing in the Big Easy.

Since the Astros are out of town this weekend, you have your choice to choose from this baseball buffet which is all within traveling distance. Whatever you choose, be safe and best of luck to all Houston teams.

Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rogue, LA

Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Texas Southern Tigers (16-32) v. LSU Tigers (43-16-1)
Tickets: Sold Out!
Internet Radio: LSUSports.net

Olsen Field in College Station, TX

Friday at 12:30 p.m.
Houston Cougars (39-22) v. Dallas Baptist Patriots (37-17)
Tickets: Houston Cougars Tickets or 1-888-99-AGGIE
Internet Radio: UHCougars.com

Reckling Park in Houston, TX

Friday at 6:00 p.m.
Rice Owls (42-13) v. Sam Houston St. Bearkats (37-23)
Tickets: Rice Owls Tickets or 713-522-OWLS
Radio: KTRU 91.7 FM

Photo: Flickr user almadenmike