INDIANAPOLIS - UC San Diego has qualified for a second consecutive NCAA Division II Baseball Championship West Regional, it was announced Sunday evening by the NCAA.

The Tritons (33-19) are the No. 5 seed. The six-team, double-elimination tournament will take place at Art Mazmanian Field on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) in Walnut, Thursday, May 14, through either Sunday, May 17, or Monday, May 18. Top-seeded Cal Poly Pomona (39-14), which swept the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season and tournament crowns, nabbing the lone automatic berth in the West with the latter title, serves as the host. CPP's own Scolinos Field is not suitable to host a West Regional, as lights are a requirement.

CPP is followed by Azusa Pacific (32-18), California Baptist (30-20), Dixie State (31-17), UCSD and Point Loma (33-16). Only two of the six West Regional participants appeared in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national poll on May 4, with CPP at No. 18 and UCSD at No. 26.

UCSD and CPP are representing the CCAA, with the remaining four teams all from the Pacific West Conference (PacWest). Dixie State and CBU finished 1-2 in the PacWest standings, with the Red Storm defending their 2014 title. The PacWest and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) currently do not receive automatic bids in the West.

Three games will be contested on each day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 14-16, with start times designated as 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The West Region title game is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 17, at 2 p.m., with the possibility of an if-necessary nightcap at 6 p.m. Should APU, CBU or Point Loma still be alive in the tournament at the conclusion of play on Saturday, however, the final round would shift to Monday, May 18, as those schools are unable to play Sundays.

Thursday's confirmed schedule has CBU and Dixie State opening up at 11 a.m. UCSD will take on Azusa Pacific at 3 p.m. The day's action will conclude with host Cal Poly Pomona playing Point Loma in primetime at 7 p.m.

Thursday's initial match-up for the Tritons has the potential for a mouth-watering showdown on the mound between junior right-handed aces. UCSD is unofficially but likely to send Justin Donatella (9-2) to the hill as the CCAA leader in both ERA (0.78) and strikeouts (103), with APU the same with Josh Staumont (5-2), who, despite a 3.41 ERA, has 100 strikeouts and is a top prospect for the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The teams have played twice already this season, with each side winning at home. The Cougars were 6-2 victors in Azusa on Feb. 24 behind Staumont, with the Tritons producing a punishing 19-2 decision on April 7.

Single-day ticket prices are $8 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors 65 and older. Tournament passes can also be obtained at a rate of $25 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. Children aged seven and younger will be admitted free. Tickets will be available for purchase 60 minutes prior to the start of the first game each day.

Parking permits are required on the Mt. SAC campus at all times on all days. They can be purchased at the machine when entering the facility going south on Mt. SAC Way.

All games of the West Regional will feature a live video stream, free of charge with no subscription required, and live stats.

Eight six-team regionals will be contested in the coming week. The West Region champion will be joined by the other seven regional winners in Cary, N.C., site for the seventh consecutive year of the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. That final round takes place May 23-30.

UCSD will be making its eighth NCAA Division II Championship appearance, with a previous record of 18-14. The Tritons are back in the 48-team field for the third time in head coach Eric Newman's four years. They made six successive regionals from 2007-12. UCSD lost to Chico State in the final round a year ago at Triton Ballpark. The Tritons have made it to Cary twice, back-to-back in 2009 and 2010.