Baseball Earns Top Seed in NCAA Tourney; Takes on George Fox

Fresh off Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships, the UW-Stevens Point baseball team has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division III baseball tournament and will open regional play this weekend in Oshkosh.

The Pointers are 34-8 overall and will take on sixth-seeded George Fox University of Newberg, Ore. in the first round Thursday at 10 a.m. at Tiedemann Field, which is located next to Titan Stadium.

UW-Stevens Point is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance in six years and also participated in last year�s regional in Oshkosh. George Fox is the Northwest Conference champion with a 26-13 record. The Bruins are making their second tournament appearance, having also participated in the 2000 tournament. UW-Stevens Point has never played a school from the West Coast in its 48-year baseball history.

Defending national champion St. Thomas (Minn.), which handed the Pointers a loss in last year�s regional, is the No. 2 seed and takes on fifth seed Blackburn (Ill.). Lakeland (Wis.) is the third seed and meets fourth seed Calvin (Mich.).

The tournament is a double elimination format and runs through Sunday. The winner of the regional advances to the NCAA Division III championship at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton May 24-28.

NCAA Division III Baseball Regional Pairings
at Tiedemann Field, Oshkosh
Thursday, May 16
Game 1 - #1 seed UW-Stevens Point (34-8) vs. #6 seed George Fox, Ore. (26-13), 10 a.m.
Game 2 - #2 seed St. Thomas, Minn. (29-10) vs. #5 seed Blackburn, Ill. (26-12), 1 p.m.
Game 3 - #3 seed Lakeland, Wis. (29-14-1) vs. #4 seed Calvin, Mich. (28-11), 4 p.m.

Friday, May 17
Game 4 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 5 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 6 - Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 18
Pairings TBA