Baseball Earns Sixth Seed in NCAA New England Regional
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team is one of 56 squads which will compete in the 2016 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, as announced by the NCAA early Monday morning.
The Mariners (27-9 overall) will be the sixth seed in the New England regional and will face third-seeded Tufts University (32-6 overall) in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 18. Game time is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Eastern Connecticut State University Baseball Stadium in Mansfield, Conn.
Wednesday's other games feature fifth-seeded Suffolk University (33-11 overall) against fourth-seeded Keystone College (33-9 overall) at 10 a.m., eighth-seeded Salem State University (23-18-1 overall) against top-seeded Wheaton College (30-11 overall) at 1:15 p.m. and seventh-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University (23-17 overall) against second-seeded SUNY Oswego (32-9 overall) at 7:45 p.m.
Tournament action continues with four games on both Thursday and Friday, starting at 10:00 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 40 teams in the field that qualified automatically by winning its conference championship. The Mariners, under fifth-year head coach Travis Beausoleil, went 3-0 to claim the 2016 New England Collegiate Conference Baseball Championship and earn the automatic berth. Mitchell is making its fourth overall NCAA appearance (2015, 2014, 2011) and third under Beausoleil.
Tufts punched its NCAA ticket by winning the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship this past weekend. The Jumbos went 3-0 in the tournament to earn their fourth NESCAC title (2011, 2010, 2002) and are making their sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The game will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
General admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, students and children (under the age of five are free) and can be purchased at the gate.
2016 NCAA Division III Baseball New England Regional
Hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University in Mansfield, Conn.
1. Wheaton (30-11)
2. SUNY Oswego (32-9)
3. Tufts (32-6)
4. Keystone (33-9)
5. Suffolk (33-11)
6. Mitchell (27-9)
7. Eastern Connecticut State (23-17)
8. Salem State (23-18-1)