ORONO – The University of Maine baseball team was California dreamin’ Monday, but the Black Bears still erupted with cheers and applause when they found out they’re headed south – to Chapel Hill, N.C.

UMaine, fresh off Saturday’s come-from-behind victory over Stony Brook in the America East title game, has a first-round date Friday with host North Carolina in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.

“As coaches and players, this is what you work for,” said first-year Bears coach Steve Trimper, who will be making his NCAA Tournament debut. “It’s a great experience for the guys. This is postseason. This is the show.”

UMaine (35-20-1) earned the No. 4 seed and will take on the top-seeded Tar Heels (45-13) Friday at 6 p.m. at Boshamer Stadium. Second seed Winthrop (44-16) and No. 3 North Carolina-Wilmington (41-20) meet in the 2 p.m. opener.

“It doesn’t get old. It’s fun,” said UMaine senior co-captain Joe Hough, who has some extra incentive against the Tar Heels.

“It was a little more personal for me because my roommate last summer [third baseman Chad Flack] was from UNC,” he said. “That’ll be fun to see him again and play against him.”

Hough and Flack played together for Harwich in the prestigious Cape Cod League.

The four-team, double-elimination regionals continue Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (if necessary). The 16 winners advance to one of eight best-of-three Super Regionals.

UMaine players, coaches, administrators, support staff, and a handful of parents and boosters gathered in Dexter Lounge at Alfond Arena to watch the “Road to Omaha” NCAA selection show on ESPN-TV.

Viewing the announcement was an exciting moment for America East Rookie of the Year Kevin McAvoy of Brewer.

“It was much-anticipated,” said the Bears’ third baseman, who has sparkled during his freshman season. “I knew it was a good team and we could make a regional, but I didn’t know that I’d be such a [big] part of it.”

At the opposite end of the spectrum is senior pitcher Scott Robinson. Not only is he on a second straight NCAA tourney team, he was on the 2002 UMaine ballclub that played in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional.

“Three out of four times, that’s not too bad, 75 percent going to a regional,” said the affable righthander, who sat out the 2003 season after undergoing shoulder surgery and thus has spent five seasons at UMaine.

“It’s kind of exciting to face potentially the No. 1 pick in the [major league] draft in Andrew Miller, who’s throwing 99 [mph] from the lefthand side,” added Robinson, who, it must be pointed out, doesn’t have to try hitting Miller (11-2).

UMaine, which is making the program’s first back-to-back regional appearances since 1990-91, will play in an NCAA regional for the 15th time since first accomplishing the feat in 1964.

Freshman righthander Mike Powers, another of the Bears’ 14 freshmen and one of several key first-year contributors, is pleased to have the opportunity to share the NCAA experience with this team.

“It’s a great bunch of guys. It’s like a second family,” said Powers, who doesn’t expect to change his approach much as he prepares for the biggest game of his life.

“I think the emotions will be a little bit higher, but I think we’ll try to approach it as a regular game,” he said.

North Carolina will host a regional for the first time since 1983. The Tar Heels posted a school-record 45 regular-season victories but lost to Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals and earned one of 34 at-large berths.

Winthrop advanced as an at-large team after reaching the Big South Conference semifinals and bowing out with a loss to Liberty. UNC-Wilmington was seeded fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association but emerged as the league champion by beating Virginia Commonwealth.

Junior Joel Barrett of Brewer, a mainstay on the 2005 team that earned the Bears’ first regional victory since 1991, expects great things from the Bears, in spite of the tough competition.

“This is probably the best time of our lives and you’ve got to treat it like that,” Barrett said. “All the pressure’s on UNC and the other guys to beat us. We’ve just got to relax and play our game and we’ll be fine.”