The mild-mannered UCSB Gauchos looked like Supermen in the final baseball game of the NCAA’s Nashville Regional. They pounded Xavier by a score of 14-5 and earned themselves a ticket to the Super Regionals for the first time. They will play a best-of-three series hosted by the Louisville Cardinals this weekend, and the winner will join seven others at the College World Series in Omaha starting June 18.
The opener of the Louisville series will be televised by ESPN2 at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 11. The second game, at 9 a.m. on Sunday, will appear on ESPN2 or ESPNU. The third game, if necessary, will be played Monday, with time and carrier to be announced.
More typical of the Gauchos this year were the scores of their other two games in Nashville. They edged Washington, 3-2, on Austin Bush’s home run leading off the bottom of the 14th inning, and they held off Xavier, 5-4 — forcing the Musketeers to play an extra game before the championship rematch.