Florida, Austin Peay, Valpo in IU regional

IU will welcome Florida, Austin Peay and Valparaiso to Bart Kaufman Field this weekend for the first NCAA baseball regional in Bloomington.

The No. 1 seed Hoosiers (43-14) will open the double-elimination regional with the No. 4 seed Crusaders (31-26), winners of the Horizon League Tournament.

Florida and Austin Peay are expected to play Friday afternoon, with IU and Valparaiso squaring off later that evening.

Of the three other teams, IU only played Florida during the regular season, taking two of three from the Gators in early March in Gainesville, Fla.

The Hoosiers gathered for a watch party Monday afternoon at Yogi's Grill and Bar. The biggest ovation came after it was announced that Florida will also be in the team's regional as the 2-seed.

IU missed earning a national seed, something IU Coach Tracy Smith said the team had looked at, but was not disappointed that it didn't get. He said the team is focusing all of its energy on Valparaiso now.

It is just the third time IU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and the first time since 2009. IU won the Big Ten regular season and tournament championship, the latter giving it an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

If IU wins the regional, it would advance to the super regional, with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.