Texas lands No. 2 seed in Coral Gables Regional

Following a quick exit from the Big 12 Tournament last week, the Texas Longhorns are set to the play in the Coral Gables Regional hosted by the No. 9 overall seed Miami Hurricanes, the NCAA announced on Monday.

The No. 2 seed in the regional, Texas is set to face No. 3-seed Louisiana on Friday at 1 p.m. Central on the Longhorn Network, followed by Miami versus No. 4-seed Maine on Friday evening. The losers will play an early elimination game on Saturday while the winners meet later in the day with a spot in the regional final on the line.

In contention for a regional bid before after sweeping then-No.6 West Virginia to earn a share of the regular-season conference title, Texas dropped to a mid-tier No. 2 seed following the fast flameout in Arlington while first baseman Jared Thomas and third baseman Peyton Powell dealt with back injuries and left-handed reliever David Shaw left the elimination game with a potentially serious elbow injury.

Louisiana enters the regional with a 40-22 record after losing in the finals of the Sun Belt Championship, though the deep run in Montgomery was enough for the Ragin’ Cajuns to earn the program’s first at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament since 2013. In 2014 and 2016, Louisiana hosted regionals in Lafayette. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 47th in the RPI rankings with a 4-3 neutral site record this season after batting .288 as a team with 66 home runs and a 4.73 ERA.

Host Miami is 40-19 with the No. 12 RPI, but has been particularly excellent at Mark Light Field with a 28-5 record. The Hurricanes are coming off their first appearance in the ACC Championship game in 11 years and a 7-2 win over the Demon Deacons, the No. 1 overall seed.