INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA released the regional brackets for the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament Monday afternoon. The Rider University baseball team will be traveling to Ruston, LA to face the 18^th-ranked and host Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. The other two teams playing in the double-elimination regional are Alabama and North Carolina State.
 
"It's exciting wherever you're going," said Rider Head Coach Barry Davis. "I think it's a new spot, a new place we've never been and it'll be a great experience. I don't think anybody on our team has been to Louisiana and, if they have, it wasn't to play Louisiana Tech. We're excited and looking forward to the people and the fans. It's another exciting experience for our players, our coaches and our staff. We're excited to go to Louisiana Tech."

The Broncs punched their ticket into the tournament by going 5-0 in the MAAC Tournament, starting with sweeping the best-of-three series against sixth-seeded Niagara to advance to the double-elimination championship round. There, Rider came from behind to top second-seeded Monmouth and fourth-seeded Canisius, before blasting five home runs in a 7-2 victory over top-seeded Fairfield to clinch the MAAC Championship.
 
Jordan Erbe (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South) went 7-for-13 with two runs and three RBIs in the championship round to earn tournament MVP honors. Joe Papeo (Matawan, NJ/Old Bridge) finished the game against Canisius on the mound and started the game against Fairfield to earn a pair of victories.
 
Louisiana Tech earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after falling in extra innings in the Conference USA Championship Game to Old Dominion. The Bulldogs enter the tournament with a 40-18 record. They are led by second baseman Taylor Young, who was named First-Team All-Conference and was also selected as the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Rider is playing in the NCAA tournament for the 14^th time in program history and 11^th time in the regional era (since 1975). The Broncs are making their first appearance in the tournament since the 2010 season. Rider advanced through district play in 1967 to reach the College World Series.