Mitchell Heads to NCAA Regional Tournament for First Time

Mitchell baseball seeded eighth in New York regional

Mariners will make NCAA postseason debut against host SUNY Cortland

INDIANAPOLIS – The Mitchell College baseball team is one of 55 squads which will compete in the 2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, as announced by the NCAA on Monday.

The Mariners (23-9-1 overall) will be the eighth seed in the New York regional and will face top-seeded SUNY Cortland (33-8) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 18. Game time is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. at Falcon Park in Auburn, N.Y. SUNY Cortland will serve as the regional host for all games.

Wednesday's other games feature fourth-seeded College at Brockport (27-12) against fifth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University (32-11) at 10 a.m., third-seeded Keystone College of Pennsylvania (32-10) against sixth-seeded Ramapo College of New Jersey (30-12) at 4:30 p.m. and second-seeded Farmingdale State College (26-15) against seventh-seeded Clarkson University (19-17) at 7:45 p.m.

Tournament action continues with four games on both Thursday and Friday, starting at 10 a.m. each day, along with two games Saturday and one, if necessary, on Sunday. The winner of the regional advances to the eight-team NCAA Division III World Series, which will be held May 27-31 at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis.

Mitchell was one of 38 teams in the field that qualified automatically by winning its conference championship. The Mariners, under first-year head coach Scott Kingston, battled to four straight wins in the 2011 New England Collegiate Conference Baseball Championship to claim the title and automatic berth. Cortland also earned an automatic bid by winning the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) postseason tournament.

Cortland, last season’s national runner-up, will be a formidable first opponent for the Mariners. The Red Dragons are led by 12th-year head coach Joe Brown, who helped Cortland to the 30-win plateau for the 17th time in the last 18 seasons. Cortland's run of 19 straight NCAA appearances is the longest active streak in Division III.

Cortland has won regional titles in 10 of the last 16 years. Cortland advanced to the World Series in 1995, five straight years from 1997-2001, as well as in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2010. Cortland placed second in the region in 1996, 2003 and 2006. The Red Dragons finished second nationally at both the 2010 and 2005 World Series, third in both 1997 and 1998 and fourth in 2007.

Tickets are $3 for adults and $2 for students (with valid ID) for each day of the tournament. Seating is general admission and tickets can be purchased at the gate.

2011 NCAA Division III Baseball Regional
Hosted by the State University of New York at Cortland, Auburn, New York

1.            Cortland State (33-8)
2.            Farmingdale State (26-15)
3.            Keystone (32-10)
4.            College of Brockport (27-12)
5.            Eastern Connecticut State (32-11)
6.            Ramapo (30-12)
7.            Clarkson (17-17)
8.            Mitchell (23-9-1)

Courtesy of Mitchell Baseball