May 14, 2001
Lafayette, La. - The Western Kentucky baseball team (31-25, 14-13 SBC), which clinched the fourth seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament this weekend, will open tournament play against fifth-seed New Orleans on Wednesday.
UNO (23-30, 13-14 SBC) finished in the number-five position with a win Sunday against Arkansas State, coupled with a loss by Louisiana-Lafayette at New Mexico State. With their loss, the Ragin' Cajuns did not qualify for the tournament. The Western / New Orleans matchup will take place at 4 p.m. (CDT) at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field on the campus of Louisiana-Lafayette. The winner of that game will face the winner of #1-seed Middle Tennessee and #8 Arkansas State at 7 p.m. on Thursday., while the losers of those first-round games will meet at 1 p.m.
The opposite side of the bracket pits #2 South Alabama versus #7 Arkansas-Little Rock and #3 Florida International versus #6 Louisiana Tech in first round games on Wednesday.
Western won two of three from UNO during the 2001 regular season in New Orleans. It will mark the first time the Hilltoppers and Privateers have ever met in the SBC Tournament.
