ESPN College Sports

New Orleans Regional
1. Tulane (50-9) -- automatic berth, won C-USA regular season, tournament co-champion, No. 1 national seed, 17th NCAA tournament, eighth consecutive appearance
2. Alabama (38-21) -- at-large berth, fifth in SEC, 14th NCAA tournament
3. Louisiana-Lafayette (47-17) -- at-large berth, won Sun Belt regular season, 10th NCAA tournament
4. Southern (29-16) -- automatic berth, won Southwestern Athletic tournament, seventh NCAA tournament

New Orleans Regional schedule
At Turchin Stadium
New Orleans
Friday, June 3
Game 1 -- Tulane 17, Southern 7
Game 2 -- Alabama 7, Louisiana-Lafayette 5
Saturday, June 4
Game 3 -- Louisiana-Lafayette 9, Southern 1, Southern eliminated
Game 4 -- Tulane 10, Alabama 4
Sunday, June 5
Game 5 -- Alabama 4, Louisiana-Lafayette 3, Louisiana-Lafayette eliminated
Game 6 -- Tulane (52-9) vs. Alabama (40-22), ppd., weather
Monday, June 6
Game 6 -- Tulane 7, Alabama 4, Alabama eliminated
Tulane (53-9) advances to super regionals

Player To Watch
On a Tulane team with three skilled two-way players, junior left-hander/right fielder Brian Bogusevic stands out as the most important. His 12-1, 2.57 record and command of a low-90s fastball, slider and changeup make him the staff ace. A cranky hamstring limited Bogusevic to 30 starts as a hitter, and he owns as much power potential as any Green Wave player despite not homering this season.

The Favorite
Tulane enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time. The preseason No. 1 team has worn the target well all year, and there's no reason to expect that to change now. Depth abounds across the roster, with five capable starting pitchers (3.79 team ERA), a power bullpen, seven hitters with on-base percentages of .400 or better and a .502 team slugging percentage. The team's .975 fielding percentage also ranks among the nation's top 10.

On The Other Hand
Lake Charles, La., natives Gabe Scott and Wade LeBlanc are excited about playing in their home state. They're also Alabama's best players, and each must come through. Scott, a senior outfielder, is the best hitter (.379/.495/.655) on an otherwise average offense that moves runners along to set the table for him and Evan Bush (15 homers). But the Crimson Tide's strength is pitching; they struck out 539 batters in 527 innings led by LeBlanc (96 K's) and freshman closer David Robertson (102 K's).

Bracket Buster
Louisiana-Lafayette climbed into the teens of the Top 25 a few weeks back, but stumbled at the end of the year in losing five of its last eight games. Still this is a dangerous team that batted .330 and averaged 8.3 runs per game with a veteran lineup. Senior aces Kevin Ardoin (10-4, 3.42) and Austin Faught (12-0, 2.45) give the Ragin' Cajuns a one-two punch that could lead them to wins in their first two games. Expect a rabid fan base traveling the 135 miles from Lafayette to New Orleans to add a home-field presence at times.

Don't Forget About Us
It seems like Southern can't ever get out of Louisiana for regional play, and it's back again this year. Don't dismiss the No. 4 seed; the Jaguars topped Louisiana State 9-5 in Baton Rouge on May 3 and dropped an 11-7 decision to Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 18. Led by sophomore Gerard Gouse's .387 average, Southern batted .319 as a team and stole 863 bases.

Will Kimmey covers college baseball for Baseball America.