Point Park, IU Southeast representing RSC Baseball in NAIA Opening Round
Point Park, IU Southeast representing RSC Baseball in NAIA Opening Round
NAIA BASEBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING ROUND
May 14-17 at Campus Sites
NATIONAL QUALIFIERS I NAIA OPENING ROUND SCHEDULE I NAIA TOP 25 POLL (MAY 1)
Williamsburg Bracket
May 14 -- No. 3 Point Park (45-7) at No. 2 Cumberlands (Ky.) (46-9), 3:30 p.m.
Hattiesburg Bracket
May 14 -- No. 3 IU Southeast (40-12) vs. No. 2 Westmont (Calif.) (34-16), 3:30 p.m.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The brackets for the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round were announced on May 10, and the River States Conference has two teams in the 45-team national tournament field. RSC Tournament champion Point Park (Pa.) University and RSC regular-season champion IU Southeast are representing the conference as the RSC's automatic qualifiers.
Point Park (45-7, 23-4 RSC) drew the No. 3 seed in the Williamsburg (Ky.) Bracket and faces No. 2 seed Cumberlands (Ky.) (46-9), the bracket host. The Pioneers are ranked No. 16 in the latest NAIA Top 25 while Cumberlands is ranked No. 11. The No. 1 seed in that bracket is Bryan (Tenn.) (40-15) along with No. 4 Northwestern Ohio (38-18) and No. 5 Marian (Ind.) (24-25).
IU Southeast (40-12, 23-4 RSC) earned the No. 3 seed in the Hattiesburg (Miss.) Bracket and squares off against No. 2 seed Westmont (Calif.) (36-14). The Grenadiers are "receiving votes" in the last NAIA Top 25 while Westmont is ranked No. 20. The No. 1 seed in the bracket is St. Thomas (Fla.) (53-7) along with No. 4 LSU-Shreveport (39-20) and No. 5 William Carey (Miss.) (33-23).
The NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round takes place May 14-17 at campus sites around the country. Each site features a five-team, double-elimination tournament.
The nine opening round champions join Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at the 62nd annual Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, May 25 – June 1. For more information on the World Series, click here.
The field consists of 31 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions or tournament runners-up – and 14 at-large teams. Conferences with 10-or-more members receive two automatic qualifiers, while leagues with less than 10 get one.
At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC consists of one representative from each geographic area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, the president of the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
For more details on the national champion and World Series, click here.