LAKE ELSINORE: Fans group to NCAA ball informal diversion – Press
racen Calica, 18, left, of San Diego and his grandmother, Dee French, 85, of Menifee, base for UCSB. The group played USC in Lake Elsinore Saturday. NEWS 17
THOMAS KELSEY, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
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NCAA Regional during The Diamond
Sunday’s schedule:
• 3 p.m.: USC vs. crook of Virginia-San Diego State game
• 7 p.m.: leader of Virginia-San Diego State diversion vs. leader of 3 p.m. game
Tickets: Reserved $10, box $15, elite box $20
Capacity: Approximately 8,000 with 6,066 bound seats
Address: 500 Diamond Drive, Lake Elsinore
As Tod and Colleen Severson were unloading their SUV in a parking lot of The Diamond in Lake Elsinore after a four-hour outing from Santa Barbara on Saturday, May 30, they had dual dire questions.
“What’s a understanding with a traffic?” asked Tod.
“Where’s everybody going?” pronounced Colleen.
Welcome to a Inland Empire, Gaucho fans.
When a UC Santa Barbara ball group played itself into a position to horde an NCAA Regional with a 40-win unchanging season, there was one problem. Its ball margin did not have lights and couldn’t accommodate a criteria to horde a four-team, double-elimination informal – a initial step on a highway to a College World Series.
Eventually a school’s jaunty officials staid on hosting a contest during The Diamond, a home of a Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm, that is a good 170 miles from campus.
USC, San Diego State and Virginia filled out a four-team margin that non-stop play on Friday.
UC Santa Barbara finished a 12-year NCAA contest drought dual years ago. This year’s group warranted a right to horde a informal for a initial time in a 69-year story of a NCAA tournament.
“We’re flattering vehement about a whole deal,” pronounced Tod Severson, 48, who serves as a ball group chaplain. “The bummer partial is – could we only have it in a possess backyard?”
Andy Graham, 30, also done a outing from Santa Barbara. A former Gaucho ball player, he indeed pitched during The Diamond when he played for Modesto in a California League in 2008.
Graham, who late from veteran ball in 2011 and now works for a university, done a outing with his relatives and a handful of former teammates.
They were partial of a throng of 3,236 that showed adult Friday night for UC Santa Barbara’s opening diversion opposite San Diego State, a 4-3 detriment that put them in Saturday’s 3 p.m. elmination diversion opposite USC, that mislaid to Virginia in a initial diversion on Friday.
“I consider this is an sparkling thing for a program,” pronounced Graham. “I consider it’ll be a good movement boost. People will wish to get behind it and comprehend that a group is this good – though a comforts are still lacking – so suppose how good they could be if we had a facilities. If we had lights we could horde a informal like this during a home stadium.
“That being said, this had been a good venue. It’s a pleasing ballpark and we’re happy to transport down and support a team. And everybody that works here with a Storm has been good so far.”
The Storm Store was rather still about 30 mins before initial pitch. While only outward a store on a track confluence a businessman offered NCAA rigging did a sprightly business.
