OMAHA, Neb. — Over the last 10 years, Omaha has strived to put its best face on the national image fans get from the College World Series.
Rosenblatt Stadium has been home to the Division I baseball championships since 1950.
Dennis Poppe of the NCAA said work to rebuild the stadium began in 1993, with expanded stadium seating and a new playing surface.
A stadium club with enclosed seating and a restaurant was added. Parking has expanded. In 1994, a state-of-the-art press box replaced an old wooden structure.
Larry Foster, city acting parks and recreation director, said $35 million has been spent since the start of the renovation.
This year, Foster said, more than $7 million was spent to replace wooden bleachers with high-quality plastic ones.
VISITING LASORDA: Former Los Angeles Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda is in Omaha to share encouraging words to inner-city youths and College World Series players.
The Hall of Famer shared how he came from humble beginnings in Norristown, Pa., but knew from the time he was young he wanted to be a baseball player. He told about 400 youths from the Hope Center, Boys and Girls Club, Girls Inc., the Boy Scouts, YMCA and a homeless shelter that they can become what they want to be if they are willing to work hard for it.
"All you have to do is pay the price. Nobody's going to hand it to you," he said.
Lasorda also was expected to talk to Notre Dame, which qualified for its first CWS since 1957. The Irish play tournament veteran Stanford on Saturday.
FRIENDLY ADVICE: Nebraska coach Dave Van Horn was asked if he had any advice for Notre Dame's Paul Mainieri about getting a school to the College World Series for the first time in decades.
Nebraska qualified for the first time in school history a year ago, but went home early with two losses. Notre Dame qualified this year for only the second time in school history. The first was in 1957.
Van Horn joked that he was planning to tell Mainieri his tips for a first CWS showing after the tournament. Then he said he would recommend trying to keep his team a little more grounded.
Van Horn admitted his team had been bouncing with so much enthusiasm about qualifying a year ago that they were tired when it came to playing. He said the bats were slow and legs were tired.
Mainieri said he appreciated the advice but he was "not going to discourage our kids from being too hyped up."
TECH PITCHING: How good has Georgia Tech pitching been in the postseason? Awfully good, according to the statistics.
With Kyle Bakker and Brian Burks combining for the first College World Series shutout since 1995, the Yellow Jackets have allowed just three earned runs.
Bakker has allowed two earned runs in his 24 innings, an ERA of 0.75. The team has an ERA of 0.61 in those games. Opponents are hitting just .174 against Bakker and .179 against all Tech pitchers.