(Updated with schedule) Columbus State set to host NCAA baseball regional

It has been 22 years since the Columbus State baseball team has hosted an NCAA regional.

But starting Thursday, the fifth-ranked Cougars will host the 2016 Southeast Regional at Burger King Stadium.

The NCAA made the announcement Sunday night that CSU would the No. 1 seed and the host for the seven-team regional.

CSU won the Peach Belt Conference tournament on Sunday by beating Lander 9-4.

That win gave CSU (42-12) the PBC’s automatic bid into the regional. It also moved CSU past Lander in the regional rankings.

“This is obviously very special for us,” CSU coach Greg Appleton said. “These guys have had an outstanding year and put themselves in good position to earn this host spot.

“We have to make sure that we aren’t just satisfied with being the host though. We still have goals that we want to accomplish.”

The Cougars, who also won the PBC’s regular-season title, will receive a first-round bye in the regional, which expanded from six teams to seven this year.

The other six teams will all play their first-round games Thursday.

CSU will play the winner of the 4-5 game (USC Aiken vs. Tusculum) on Friday at 3 p.m. That is a change from what was announced on Sunday.

The other first-round matchups will be No. 2 seed Lander vs. No. 7 Mount Olive and No. 3 Belmont Abbey vs. No. 6 Catawba.

This will be CSU’s 25th trip to the NCAA tournament. The Cougars have been to the College World Series seven times, winning a national championship in 2002.

CSU had been in the NCAA tournament 10 times in between hosting opportunities.

The last time CSU won a regional and advanced to the world series was in 2007. That season, the Cougars finished as the national runner-up.

Note: Daily tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, ages 3-18. Children under 2 will be admitted free.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "(Updated with schedule) Columbus State set to host NCAA baseball regional."