MONARCHS OPEN CAA TOURNEY PLAY WEDNESDAY

The Baseball Monarchs (26-26, 13-11) will open the 2004 Colonial Athletic Assocation (CAA) Championship Tournament against the Seahawks of UNC-Wilmington (33-20, 17-6) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Wilmington, N.C.

ODU defeated UNCW Thursday night 3-2 behind the strong pitching of Justin Verlander and Donnie Smith, but the Seahawks ended ODU's 11-game winning streak and won the last two games of the regular season.

The rest of the CAA Championship pairings, which will be held May 26-29. The winner of the six-team, double-elimination tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball Championship.

Top-seeded George Mason (37-15, 20-4 in CAA) will face No. 6 Delaware (30-22, 12-11) at noon on Wednesday in the tournament's first game, followed by No. 3 Virginia Commonwealth (33-22, 14-10) against No. 4 William and Mary 37-18, 14-10) at 3:30 p.m. The final game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday will feature No. 2 UNC-Wilmington (33-20, 17-6) against No. #5 Old Dominion (26-26, 13-11).

For adults, tournament passes are $20, a single-day pass is $10 and admission to the final game of the day is $5. For youth (6-12 yrs), tournament passes are $12, single-day passes are $6 and the final game of the day is $3. Kids 5 years and younger are free. Tickets can be ordered online at www.uncwsports.com or by calling (910) 962-3233.

For complete coverage of the tournament, including live stats and links to internet radio broadcasts, visit the official CAA Baseball Championship Web Site, which can be accessed from both www.caasports.com and www.uncwsports.com.