Baseball to Host First Ever NCAA Regional
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College baseball team will serve as the host for a Regional Round in the upcoming 2023 NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament for the first time in program history, as announced by the NCAA on Monday afternoon.
The Mariners (31-8 overall), who recently won their third consecutive and ninth overall New England Collegiate Conference Championship, will welcome Wheaton College (MA), Tufts University, and Husson University to New London for the three-day double elimination Regional which is set to begin on Friday, May 19. Third-seeded Mitchell will begin their quest for their first Regional title when they play second-seeded Tufts on Friday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 pm. Prior to that game, the weekend will kick off when top overall seed Wheaton battles Husson at 10:00 am. Tournament action continues with three games on Saturday and the title round on Sunday.
Mitchell was one of 41 teams in the field that qualified automatically by winning its conference championship. The Mariners, under 12th-year head coach Travis Beausoleil, claimed the 2023 New England Collegiate Conference Championship by defeating second-seeded Eastern Nazarene College 15-2. Mitchell is making its eighth overall NCAA appearance (2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011) and seventh under Beausoleil.
Wheaton (MA) was ranked #8 in the final d3baseball.com Top 25 Poll of the regular season and earned an automatic bid by defeating Babson College 10-2, to capture the New England Women's & Men's Athletic ConferenceTournament Baseball Championship, while the Jumbos also earned an automatic bid by capturing their seventh New England Small College Athletic Conference title with a 12-1 win over Middlebury College. The Eagles of Husson are making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance after edging SUNY Cobleskill 4-1 in the North Atlantic Conference championship game.
The Mariners are 0-1 all-time against Tufts, having suffered an 8-1 setback on the opening day of play at the 2016 NCAA Division III New England Regional. Meanwhile, Mitchell has never faced Wheaton (MA), and is 8-1 all-time against Husson, most recently sweeping a doubleheader against the Eagles at home in late March.
General admission tickets are $5 each day and can be purchased at the gate.
2023 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship
New London, Conn. Regional
Hosted by Mitchell College
May 19-21, 2023
Friday, May 19
Game 1 - #1 Wheaton College vs. #4 Husson University - 10:00 am
Game 2 - #2 Tufts University vs. #3 Mitchell College - 1:30 pm
Saturday, May 20
Game 3 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 8:30 am
Game 4 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 12:00 pm
Game 5 - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 - 3:30 pm
Sunday, May 21
Game 6 – Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 – 11:00 am
Game 7 – IF NECESSARY – 45 minutes after Game 6
Tournament homepage
