Gonzaga passed over as regional baseball host

All eyes were on the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee on Sunday evening as it announced the 16 regional sites for the 74th championship.

Unfortunately for the Gonzaga baseball team, it will have to wait to play postseason baseball at home for at least another year.

GU was selected as one of the final 20 potential host sites but failed to secure the regional hosting duties.

It would have been a program-first to host regionals in the NCAA Championship. The closest host city to Spokane is Eugene, Oregon, home of the Oregon Ducks.

Before the weekend series against San Diego, the Bulldogs appeared to be in the driver’s seat for one of the spots, but after a 10-0 win on Thursday night the Zags dropped Game 2 (9-0) and Game 3 (10-2) to the Toreros, respectively.

The team sounded confident after the first game of the series. It was a special moment as the Bulldogs celebrated the West Coast Conference title at home.

But San Diego played spoiler and won comfortably on Friday and Saturday.

The Zags have grown into one of the top programs on the West Coast after earning another at-large berth to the tournament.

Their 33-17 record and .660 winning percentage are the fourth-highest in the past 40 years for the program and the second-highest in the coach Mark Machtolf era.

Most bracketology websites have GU heading to the Eugene pod as the No. 2 seed.

Each regional pod will feature four teams, playing in a double-elimination format. Regionals will take place between June 4-7 on the ESPN family of networks.

The Bulldogs will find out their matchup Monday during the NCAA Selection Show at 9 a.m. on ESPN2.