The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region via the NCAA Selection Show. The Prairie Stars will host No. 3 Maryville, No. 6 Ashland, and No. 7 Indianapolis this week for Regional action.
The No. 1 Quincy Hawks will host No. 4 Wayne State and No. 5 Northwood over the same time span. One team will advance from each Regional to compete for the Super Regional trophy. The Prairie Stars were the 2022 Midwest Super Regional Champions over Quincy and advanced to the National Championship in Cary, N.C. for the first time.
|
No. 1 Quincy |
44-9 |
|
No. 2 Illinois Springfield |
35-13 |
|
No. 3 Maryville |
34-18 |
|
No. 4 Wayne State (Mich.) |
41-11 |
|
No. 5 Northwood |
41-17 |
|
No. 6 Ashland |
33-19 |
|
No. 7 UIndy |
34-19 |
Bracket Overview
Three teams earned automatic bids to the regional by winning their conference tournament including Quincy (GLVC), Northwood (GMAC), and Wayne State (GLIAC). The remaining four selections received at-large bids.
The Prairie Stars will meet the Indianapolis Greyhounds in game one of the Regional at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday at the UIS Baseball Field. UIS swept UIndy at home earlier this season in the week after the Greyhounds were ranked No. 21 in NCAA DII. They went 32-17 in the regular season and put up a fight in the GLVC Tournament, defeating Lewis twice but falling to Quincy and Drury.
The Maryville Saints and Ashland Eagles will meet in game two on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. It is Ashland's second consecutive year advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs, and 22nd year overall. The Eagles went 33-19 and fell out of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament after losses to Walsh and Trevecca Nazarene.
Maryville played four games at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament last week. The Saints were upset by six-seeded Drury and met UIS in an elimination game. They took down the Prairie Stars 10-2 and went on to defeat William Jewell 11-9 before losing to Quincy on Saturday.
The Saints have not advanced to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament in the history of their program. They last played in a national tournament in 1985 in their NCAA Division III era.
Fan Information
All games will be streamed live for free via the Great Lakes Valley Sports Network. The Tournament Homepage has links for information on each team and will be updated throughout the week with game results.
Tickets will be sold on site on a daily basis; $10 for adults & $5 for seniors, military/veterans, UIS students with ID, and youth ages 5-17. There is no charge for children under 5. The gates will open one 90 minutes before the first game of the day.
Concession will be open throughout the tournament. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase.