UConn fell short of its initial goal - winning a Big East Conference championship - but the Huskies still have a shot at a greater prize: a national championship.

UConn received an at-large bid to the 64-team NCAA Division I baseball tournament Monday and will open play Friday against Oregon at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.

The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

"The ultimate goal isn't making it, but winning in Omaha and we talked about that," UConn coach Jim Penders said during a phone conversation Monday night. "We're one of 64 that has the honor of pursuing that prize right now."

The Huskies (47-14) are the host school in the four-team double-elimination regional and are seeded No. 2. The Ducks (38-22) will be make their cross-country journey as the No. 3 seed.

Florida State (42-17), fresh off a win in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, is the top seed and will face No. 4 Central Connecticut (33-21) in Friday's opener at 2 p.m.

Central, coached by former UConn-Avery Point assistant Charlie Hickey and featuring Waterford's Pat Epps, came out of the losers' bracket to win the Northeast Conference title on Sunday behind Epps, who was named tournament MVP.

Epps comes into the tournament batting .425 (91 for 214) with 18 home runs (a single-season school record), 65 runs scored and 73 RBI.

"I have a ton of respect for Charlie," Penders said. "He's an Avery Point guy and a UConn guy ... and he's also one hell of a coach. He seems to maximize his guys this time of year."

UConn, meanwhile, will try to bounce back from Sunday's 3-0 loss to St. John's in the Big East championship game in Clearwater, Fla.

The players were down, Penders said, until they learned prior to the flight home that they had been selected to be one of the 16 regional hosts.

"I told them, 'You just earned the right to host due to a pretty good body of work during the regular season,'" Penders said. "And that's fantastic because I think we earned it. Only two of the other hosts (Louisville and Coastal Carolina) have more wins than us, so you better believe we belong."

In fact, Penders told the Huskies to "prepare with a chip on your shoulder because you have that No. 2 next to your name. Honestly, we've always done our best when we're considered underdogs ... even though that hasn't been the case a lot this year."

UConn has eight regulars hitting over .300, led by first baseman Mike Nemeth, who his batting .380 (92 for 242) with 14 home runs and 80 RBI, a single-season school record. Third baseman Mike Olt leads the Huskies with 21 home runs, also a single-season school record.

Penders hasn't decided on a starting pitcher against Oregon, but it will likely be either lefty Elliot Glynn (7-3, 2.66 ERA), righty Matt Barnes (8-2, 3.87) or lefty Greg Nappo (8-5, 4.62).

UConn will be making its 16th NCAA tournament appearance, but first since 1994, when Penders was a senior. The last time a Division I regional was held in Connecticut was 20 years ago in 1990 when the Huskies were part of a regional at Waterbury's Municipal Stadium that included eventual national champion Georgia.

"I'm really excited that southeastern Connecticut is going to get a chance to embrace college baseball," Penders said. "It's the best area for amateur baseball in the state, historically, and now some of the best college players in the country come from southeastern Connecticut.

"I want to reach out for those fans, who might be cheering for a Matt Harvey at North Carolina or Jesse Hahn at Virginia Tech, to come out and cheer on the Huskies and enjoy college baseball for three of four days."

• Tickets are $28 for the entire four-day package, while single tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens and $5 for children 18-under. Tickets can be purchased online at UConnHuskies.com or by visiting the Dodd Stadium ticket office or UConn ticket office in Storrs.

• The four teams in the Norwich Regional will all hold practices at Dodd on Thursday that are open to the public at no charge. UConn will practice from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., followed by Florida State from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Oregon will then practice from 1 to 2:15, followed by Central Connecticut from 2:30 to 3:45.