Tusculum will be in familiar territory when the Pioneers begin the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament on Thursday in Tampa, Fla.

Not only will the Pioneers be making their fourth NCAA appearance in the last six years, they will play South Atlantic Conference rival Carson-Newman in the first round.

"This will be a big challenge for us," said Pioneer coach Doug Jones. "Carson-Newman is a quality team that is well coached, and we know them very well as they know us. I expect Thursday's game will be hard played and an exciting one, as the others have been this season."

The Pioneers, ranked No. 14 in the nation, are the number two seed for the tournament.

Tusculum posted a 3-1 record against Carson-Newman (41-16) this season. In their most recent meeting, the Pioneers won 4-1 in the second round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

Jones feels good about the Pioneers' chances in this year's NCAA Tournament. Tusculum is 40-13 this year heading into the tournament and won this year's SAC tournament title.

The coach said hopefully the Pioneers can carry that momentum right on.

"Coming off the conference tournament, we played our best baseball of the year," Jones said. "We finally got some pitching performances and had some guys really step up and do well. Offensively, we had some guys really perform the way they are capable. If we can play that solid, I think our chances are really good."

All-American senior second baseman Maikol Gonzalez, who was named SAC Tournament MVP, leads the Pioneers into the tournament ranked second in the nation in batting average (.476).

Jones noted freshman first baseman Sean Cotten and sophomore third baseman Paul Finger for their efforts in the conference tournament. Both earned spots on the all-tournament teams.

Cotten went 7-for-16 in the tournament with two home runs and eight RBIs. Finger had his best game against Carson-Newman, going 3-for-4.

Jones likes the top of the Pioneers order -- led by Gonzalez, senior Christian Rosa and senior Carlos Rivera -- to put some runs on the board early.

"I think offensively we match up as well as anybody that is going to be there," said Jones, in his 11th season at Tusculum.

The key, as always, will come down to pitching.

"All the teams are very comparable, but they have more depth," Jones said. "It's not a situation where we go in and feel overmatched or anything like that. We just have to play our best baseball. If we drop a game and get into the loser's bracket, we are going to have to have some guys step up."

Tusculum's rotation is strong. Junior Boo Morrow is 7-0 on the mound and has a 1.87 ERA. Senior Eric Donahue carries a 7-1 record and has thrown a team-best 64 strikeouts.

The Pioneers likely won't have the advantage of surprising anyone in the NCAA Tournament. In addition to Tusculum and Carson-Newman, SAC member Catawba also earned a spot. The Pioneers have also played tournament qualifier Stillman this season.

Rounding out the bracket will be two-time defending national champion and tournament host Tampa, along with Florida Tech.

Jones knows from past tournament experience, with a field this strong, there is virtually no room for error.

"We have been on the verge a couple of times. You have to play almost perfect baseball down there," he said. "Each time we have made a mistake, and most of the time it's been a little mistake."

The coach believes the Pioneers have eliminated many of their mistakes as the season progressed. Tusculum began this year ranked as high as second in the nation. Injuries hurt the team's progression early on, but Jones feels Tusculum has a shot at making a strong NCAA Tournament run.

"I knew when all those publications came out ... there were a lot of expectations," he said. "I knew it would take us some time to come together. The injuries kind of set us back ... but I'm really proud of the way our guys have responded. Right now, we are playing with a lot of confidence. We've come together, and they believe in one another. That's what it's all about. Right now we are playing our best baseball as a team."