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Who: K-State (41-17) vs. Wichita State (39-26)
What: NCAA Baseball Championship, Manhattan Regional
When: May 31, 2013 | 2:00 p.m. CDT
Where: Manhattan | Tointon Family Stadium (2,331 plus brand-new portable bleachers)
Media: 1350 KMAN, 1490 KTOP (Topeka), 1410 KGSO (Wichita), 1190 KVSV (Beloit) | ESPNU/WatchESPN/ESPN3
Start your engines. The BatCats are set to compete on the national stage in their very own yard as they open NCAA play against in-state rivals Wichita State.
Expected starters are freshman Levi MaVorhis (5-0, 3.51) for the Cats and Cale Elam (7-4, 2.60) for the Shockers. The Cats swept a home-and-home this season, winning 7-6 and 4-1; while the Shockers lead the overall series 51-33, the Cats actually have a winning record against Wichita State in Manhattan at 19-18.
After the Cats take care of business (they're going to, right? right), Arkansas (37-20) will face Northeast Conference champions Bryant (44-16-1) at 7pm CT. That game will only be available on ESPN3/WatchESPN, but everyone's welcome to hang around this thread for that contest as well. It's Bryant's first trip to the NCAA Championship; it's most definitely not the first rodeo for the Razorbacks. The Cats will face the winner of that game tomorrow at 7pm, unless they lose, which we won't even contemplate. In that case, it'll be another 2pm game tomorrow againt tonight's loser.