The road to Omaha begins Friday, as the 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament starts at 16 different regional sites which each will feature four teams playing a double-elimination tournament. Now, if you're a college baseball fan there's a lot of action to follow, so SB Nation New York figured to put together some capsules together to help you get acquainted with each of the local programs. Here's a rundown of the St. John's Red Storm.
Regional: Chapel Hill -- Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, NC.
Opponents: North Carolina (44-14), East Carolina (35-22-1), Cornell (31-15-1).
Breakdown: St. John's will begin its NCAA Tournament playing East Carolina in their first game at 1 p.m. ET, Friday. This will be the third straight year, fifth in six season, the Red Storm will be playing in the NCAAs.
Last year, the Red Storm played the Pirates in the regional round, and won the opening game, 2-1, but lost a day later in the elimination contest.
Players to watch: St. John's outfielder Jeremy Baltz (.342 batting average, seven home runs, 49 RBI) and Game 1 starting pitcher Kyle Hansen (4-5, 3.44 ERA). Left-handed hurler Sean Hagan (8-2, 2.58 ERA) earned first-team All-Big East Conference honors.
Watch/listen: Red Storm CWS Central.
For more on the NCAA Baseball Tournament, check back to this SB Nation New York StoryStream. For everything St. John's, visit the SB Nation blog Rumble In The Garden.