The UCSB baseball team won 34 games this season but won’t be playing in the NCAA Tournament. (Presidio Sports Photo)
UCSB’s baseball team was left out of the NCAA Tournament on Monday as the 64-team field was announced.
The Gauchos were on the bubble with a record of 34-17-1, but needed to sweep UC Davis in the final series of the season to finish 12-12 in Big West Conference play. Each of the four teams ahead of the Gauchos in conference play made the tournament: Cal Poly, UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.
Cal Poly is hosting a Regional for the first time. Heading to San Luis Obispo to face off with the Mustangs are Arizona State, Sacramento State and Pepperdine. Oregon State, Florida, Virginia and Indiana are the top four seeds overall in the tournament, which begins with the Regional rounds on Friday.
The Gauchos were seeking their second straight appearance in the postseason after a 12-year drought. UCSB was skipped over by the selection committee despite having a better winning percentage (.667 to .597) and RPI (51 to 57) compared to last season. The Gauchos won five of their last six games.
Against teams that made the tournament, UCSB was 3-1 against non-conference teams Missisipi State and Pepperdine. But against the four teams ahead of UCSB in the Big West, the Gauchos were 4-8.
