NCAA Championships Site
Regional Brackets

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University baseball team has received an at-large bid to play in the upcoming NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, announced early Monday morning by the selection committee, and will head to the Mideast Regional at Adrian College scheduled for May 17-20/21.

The Cardinals, one of 58 teams in the dance, open against the host Bulldogs come Thursday evening under the lights at Nicolay Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.

"We played a demanding list of games over spring break and also feel our conference prepares us very well," said 19th-year head coach George Powell, whose team had a No. 7 strength of schedule this spring. "We tried to face anybody, anywhere, anytime and are familiar with most of the teams in our regional. It will be an exciting atmosphere."

Otterbein (30-14) will compete in an eight-team, double-elimination bracket that also consists of Wooster, La Roche, Marietta, Shenandoah, Ithaca, Adrian and Wabash. The tournament is broken down into eight regional sites; five that feature eight teams and another three regionals made up of six teams. Forty conference champions qualified automatically, 16 at-large or Pool C bids were awarded and two Pool B (leagues that do not have an automatic bid) entries were chosen.

Adrian (33-10), guided by 26th-year head coach Craig Rainey, repeated as Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champions, and will be making its 12th NCAA appearance as a program. The Bulldogs will likely send 3x MIAA 'Pitcher of the Year' and All-American Tommy Parsons to the hill. The New Albany, Ohio native has a 10-0 record, 1.48 E.R.A., 103 strikeouts and just five walks this season. Offensively, first baseman Hunter Hayes was voted MIAA 'Hitter of the Year' and boasts 55 RBI, 17 doubles and a .362 average.

Otterbein is back in the NCAA's again after falling against a pair of top-10 opponents last year in No. 1 LaGrange and No. 9 Salisbury during the South Regional in Danville, Va. The Cards, also making their 12th NCAA appearance in program history, recently hit 30 wins for the third-straight year en route to capturing the Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season crown. The team had 10 All-OAC selections, headlined by shortstop Ben Beachy (Player of the Year) and a fellow first-team honoree in closer Collin Hoffmann.

This will be the first meeting between the schools since March of 2016, when Otterbein claimed a 4-0 victory at home behind a handful of runs in the late innings. 

"The goal is to make the World Series and have an opportunity to compete for a national championship," added Powell, who was named the OAC's Coach of the Year for a fifth time. "We were disappointed with our showing at this point last year and certainly want to improve on that. We'll be as talented as anyone and genuinely feel we can advance, but it comes down to how you execute within the game because baseball is very unique. I promise we aren't just happy to be here."

Seeding for the bracket will be Wooster (1), Otterbein (2), La Roche (3), Marietta (4), Shenandoah (5), Ithaca (6), Adrian (7), and Wabash (8). All games will feature live stats and live video webcasts, with links being made available in the coming days.

Winners of the eight regional tournaments advance to the College World Series, slated for May 25-30, at Neuroscience Group Field and Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis.

Ticket prices for the Mideast Regional are $8 for adults and $5 for students/seniors, and will grant admission for all games that particular day. See full schedule below:

Thursday, May 17
10 a.m. – Marietta vs. Shendoah
1:15 p.m. – Wooster vs. Wabash
4:30 p.m. – La Roche vs. Ithaca
7:45 p.m. – Otterbein vs. Adrian

Friday, May 18
10 a.m. – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
1:15 p.m. – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser
4:30 p.m. – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
7:45 p.m. – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner

Saturday, May 19
10 a.m. – TBD
1:15 p.m. – TBD
4:30 p.m. – TBD
7:45 p.m. – TBD

Sunday, May 20
12 p.m. – TBD
3:30 p.m. – TBD

Monday, May 21
TBD * (if necessary)