Abilene Christian claimed a spot in the NCAA Division II South
Central Regional Baseball Championship, which begins Thursday on
the campus of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo.
ACU, the Lone Star Conference champions, is the No.
2 seed in the double-elimination six-team event May 13-16.
The Wildcats will play No. 5 seed St. Mary's at 12
p.m. Thursday in the first game of the tournament at Crane Stadium
at Tompkins Field.
Thursday's other games will pit No. 1 seed Central
Missouri against No. 6 seed Nebraska-Omaha at 3:30 p.m., followed
by No. 3 seed Emporia State against No. 4 seed Incarnate Word at 7
p.m.
UCM, ACU, ESU and UNO were all in the field last
season with ESU eventually winning the regional championship and
advancing to the NCAA Division II national championship tournament.
ACU, which last week won its second straight
conference championship and fifth in 14 seasons under head coach
Britt Bonneau, carries a 46-13 record into Thursday's first-round
game against the Rattlers of St. Mary's (39-17), who won the
Heartland Conference regular-season championship before dropping
its first two games in the conference tournament.
The Wildcats are 22-11 all-time against St. Mary's,
including an 11-7 win last year in Abilene in the last meeting
between the teams.
Regional Schedule
Thursday, May 13th
Game 1: (12:00 p.m.) #2 Abilene Christian vs. #5 St. Mary's
Game 2: (3:30 p.m.) #1 Central Missouri vs. #6 Nebraska-Omaha
Game 3: (7:00 p.m.) #3 Emporia State vs. #4 Incarnate Word
Friday, May 14th
Game 4: (12:00 p.m.) Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5: (3:30 p.m.) Winner Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 6: (7:00 p.m.) Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3
Schedule subject to change if more than four teams remain
after Game #6
Saturday, May 15th
Game 7: (12:00 p.m.) Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 8: (3:30 p.m.) Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 9: (7:00 p.m.) Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
Sunday, May 16th
Game 10: (12:00 p.m.) Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11: (3:30 p.m.) If Necessary
South Central Regional at Warrensburg, Missouri
1.
*Central Missouri 47-8
2.
Abilene Christian 46-13
3.
Emporia State
42-14
4.
Incarnate Word
40-16
5.
St. Mary's (Texas) 39-17
6.
Nebraska-Omaha 32-18