FREELAND, Mich. – Two teams from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) star in NCAA postseason competition this week beginning Wednesday evening.
The Kalamazoo baseball team opens NCAA Midwest Regional action travel in La Crosse, Wis. on Wednesday evening on the campus of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Kalamazoo (24-18-1), winner of the MIAA Tournament, will face Concordia Chicago (32-11) in a first round game slated for 8:45 p.m. ET.
The Hornets are one of eight teams in the regional and are seeded seventh. The top six seeds in the regional are ranked or received votes in the latest D3baseball.com Top 25 poll led by host UW-La Crosse at No. 4. Kalamazoo’s first-round opponent, Concordia-Chicago, ranks No. 13, while North Central stands at No. 16. Additionally, St. Scholastica, Saint John’s (Minn.) and Luther all received votes in the latest poll. Kalamazoo will face either North Central or Luther in its second game of the tournament on Thursday in the double-elimination tournament.
After sweeping its three opponents last week in the Angola Regional, the Trine softball team will host an NCAA Division III Softball Super Regional for the first time in program history this weekend. Trine (33-12) will host No. 12 St. Thomas (Minn.) (41-6) on Friday and Saturday in the best-of-three Super Regional format.
The Thunder and the Tommies will meet for game one Friday at 4 p.m. at Trine’s SportONE/Parkview Softball Field. The two teams return to the field Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m., with the if-necessary game following the first contest on Saturday.
St. Thomas, located in Saint Paul, won all three of its games in the Lake Forest Regional last week. They defeated Wisconsin-Whitewater and earned two wins over Lake Forest. St. Thomas has won two National Championships in program history.
Trine capped off its second Regional Championship with a dominating 15-3 victory over Chicago. The Thunder are 2-0 all time in Super Regional competition having swept Emory to advance to the National Championships in 2014.
The winner of the Angola Super Regional advances to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship in Salem, Va., where they would meet the winner of the Super Regional between Emory and Benedictine.
SOFTBALL
Trine Super Regional Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, May 20
Game #1 - Trine (H) vs. St. Thomas- 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
Game #2 - Trine vs. St. Thomas (H) - 1 p.m.
Game #3 (if necessary) - Trine vs. St. Thomas – 3:30 p.m.
BASEBALL
Seeds in NCAA Midwest Region (Hosted by Wisconsin-La Crosse)
1.Wisconsin-La Crosse
2.Concordia Chicago
3.North Central
4.St. Scholastica
5.Saint John's (Minn.)
6.Luther
7.Kalamazoo
8.Beloit
UW-La Crosse Midwest Regional Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Wednesday, May 18
Game #1 – No. 4 St. Scholastica vs. No. 5 Saint John's Univ., Minn. (#5) - 11 a.m.
Game #2 – No. 1 UW-La Crosse vs. No. 8 Beloit - 2:15 p.m.
Game #3 – No. 3 North Central vs. No. 6 Luther - 5:30 p.m.
Game #4 – No. 2 Concordia-Chicago vs. No. 7 Kalamazoo - 8:45 p.m.
Thursday, May 19
Game #5 - Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2 - 11 a.m.
Game #6 - Loser Game #3 vs. Loser Game #4 - 2:15 p.m.
Game #7 - Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2 - 5:30 p.m.
Game #8 - Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4 - 8:45 p.m.
Friday, May 20
Game #9 - Winner Game #6 vs. Loser Game #7 - 11 a.m.
Game #10 - Loser Game #8 vs. Winner Game #5 - 2:15 p.m.
Game #11 - Winner Game #7 vs. Winner Game #8 - 5:30 p.m.
Game #12 - Winner Game #9 vs. Winner Game #10 - 8:45 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
Game #13 - Winner Game #12 vs. Loser Game #11 – 1 p.m.
Game #14 - Winner Game #11 vs. Winner Game #13 - 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 22
Game #15 - Winner Game #14 vs. Loser Game #14 - TBA (If necessary)
