INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA Division II Baseball Committee has released its national championship bracket and Tusculum College will be the No. 2 seed in this week's Southeast Regional, which will be hosted by Mount Olive College in Mount Olive, N.C.
The Pioneers (46-8) will open regional play this Thursday against No. 5 seed Catawba College from Scarborough Field on the Mount Olive campus. Game time has yet to be determined.
Mount Olive (44-8) claimed the top seed and will open against sixth-seeded Lander University on Thursday. No. 3 seed Armstrong Atlantic State University and No. 4 seed Francis Marion University complete the six-team, double-elimination regional field.
Tusculum (South Atlantic Conference), Mount Olive and Armstrong Atlantic State University (Peach Belt Conference) all earned automatic berths by winning their respective conference tournaments. All three also claimed their respective regular-season conference championships. Francis Marion, Catawba and Lander claimed the three at-large bids.
Tusculum is making its sixth NCAA Division II postseason appearance in school history. The Pioneers advanced to the NCAA South Regional four times in 2003 (Lakeland, Fla.), 2005 (Lakeland, Fla.), 2007 (Tampa, Fla.) and 2008 (Tampa, Fla.). TC posted its fifth NCAA appearance in 2009 at the Southeast Regional in Aiken, S.C.
Of their six NCAA postseason trips, this will mark the fourth time the Pioneers have been the No. 2 in the regional (2005, 2007, 2008, 2012).
Tusculum's bid to become the first South Atlantic Conference
school to host a NCAA II regional falls short, after being ranked
No. 1 in Wednesday's NCAA regional poll. This will mark the second
time that TC and Catawba have met in the NCAA postseason. Catawba
defeated the Pioneers 5-1 on May 16, 2008 in the second round of
the South Regional in Tampa, Fla.
TC's 46 wins are currently the most in the nation, second most in
school history and tied for the third most in conference history,
matching the 46-win campaign by Wingate in the 1995 season. TC
needs one more victory to match Catawba's 47 wins in 2006 and four
more to match the 50-14 slate posted by the Pioneers in 2007.
Tusculum's .852 won-loss percentage is on-pace to be a new
single-season school and league mark. The school record is .781 by
the 2007 squad, while Catawba's 38-7 record in 1992 was good enough
for a .844 winning percentage.
- NCAA -
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional
Scaborough Field ● Mount Olive College ● Mount
Olive, N.C.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Game 1: TBA - No. 1 Mount Olive vs. No. 6 Lander
Game 2: TBA - No. 2 Tusculum vs. No. 5 Catawba
Game 3: TBA - No. 3 Armstrong vs. No. 4 Francis
Marion
Friday, May 18, 2012
Game 4: 11 a.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5: 3 p.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 6: 7 p.m. - Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3
(If FOUR teams remain after Game 6, the following procedures will be observed)
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Game 7: 11 a.m. - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 8: 3 p.m. - Loser Game 6 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 9: 7 p.m. - Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
Sunday, May 20, 2012 (Championship Sunday)
Game 10: Noon - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11: TBA - Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 10 (if necessary)
(If FIVE teams remain after Game 6, the following procedures will be observed)
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Game 7: 11 a.m. - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 8: 3 p.m. - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 9: 7 p.m. - Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7
(If TWO teams remain after Game 9, the following procedures will be observed)
Sunday, May 20, 2012 (Championship Sunday)
Game 10: Noon - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11: TBA - If necessary, same teams as Game 10
(If THREE teams remain after Game 9, the following procedures will be observed)
Sunday, May 20, 2012 (Championship Sunday)
Game 10: Noon - Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9
Game 11: TBA - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
