Utah Utes baseball: Utes are Fullerton bound in tourney

Utah will face a familiar foe in its first NCAA tournament game in 49 years.

The Utes (26-29) are headed to Cal State Fullerton to face the highly touted Titans (42-14) Friday night. The programs share common ground. Their coaching staffs are good friends. They even went on a retreat together last summer and have spent a lot of time discussing each other's teams.

After the sixth-seeded Utes' improbable run through last week's Mountain West Conference tournament, a member of Fullerton's staff sent Utah coach Bill Kinneberg a congratulatory text message — with what turned about to be a ironic twist.

"Great job," it read. "But we don't want you to come here."

The NCAA, apparently, didn't get the message.

Utah will join Georgia Southern (42-15) and Gonzaga (35-16) in the double-elimination Fullerton Regional at Goodwin Field. The tournament begins Friday and continues through Monday, if necessary.

"It'll be fun for us," Kinneberg said. "We've got some guys from the L.A. area, and it'll be fun to play Fullerton."

Dave Serrano, the Titans' head coach, is one of Kinneberg's best friends.

Many years ago, Kinneberg recruited Serrano in the junior college ranks.

"We must have talked three times last weekend," Kinneberg said. "... So it'll be great to see them."

The Utes, who secured the MWC's automatic bid, gathered Monday morning at the Burbidge Center on campus to watch the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN.

"It was awesome to see their reaction," said Kinneberg, who noted that the Utes would practice later in the day to begin preparations for the team's first NCAA postseason appearance since 1960.

"We're going there to compete," he added. "We've got to get our mindset back and get ready to play one of the best teams in the country."

Senior Corey Shimada acknowledged the team is eager for the opportunity.

"Cal State Fullerton is a great team, and it's going to be exciting to try to see how we stack up against the best," he said.

Though the Utes are the only team in the NCAA tourney with a losing record, they're on a roll with a 5-1 showing in Fort Worth. Their quest for perfection was stymied by just one bad inning in a setback to runner-up San Diego State.