Red Raiders to Face Kutztown in Opening Round of North Atlantic Region Championship

May 14, 2007

Selections | Championship Web Site | Listen Live!

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - With its PSAC championship victory, the Shippensburg baseball team earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II North Atlantic Region Tournament. On Thursday, the Red Raiders will face a familiar foe in No. 1-seed and tournament host Kutztown at 12:30 p.m.

Tickets are $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for students and seniors, per day. A tournament pass for $20.00 will be sold on Thursday only.

Shippensburg (27-22) enters the tournament as the No. 6-seed and is making its first trip since 2004. However, it is the 19th overall appearance in school history. In the previous 18 trips to the NCAA regional tournament, the Red Raiders are a combined 25-38 with three Division II championship appearances. The team's last championship appearance came in 1996.

While first-year head coach Matt Jones is making his first appearance as head coach of the Red Raiders, he led Division III Elizabethtown to three NCAA regionals in seven seasons, including an appearance in 2006.

Shippensburg is one of five PSAC teams to make the field. Kutztown (44-5) holds the top-seed while WVIAC champion West Virginia State earned the No. 3-seed, rounding out the six-team regional field.

Shippensburg and Kutztown are hardly strangers, having met twice already this season with Kutztown winning a pair of closely contested contests. The Golden Bears earned a 2-1 victory at Shippensburg on April 11 and then won 2-0 in the opening round at the PSAC championship.

Kutztown is tied with Cal State Los Angeles as the No. 3 team in Division II according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Golden Bears were actually the nation's No. 1-ranked team for the first time in school history and the two-time defending conference champions heading into the PSAC championship, but was eliminated with two-straight defeats at the hands of East Stroudsburg and California (Pa.).

Kutztown has appeared in the regional each year since 1999 and has made made three Division II championship appearances during that span. Last season, the Golden Bears came within one game of advancing to the finals, but were defeated in the regional title game by West Chester, 14-3. This year, however, will be the first time Kutztown will host the tournament.

Eight regions with six teams in each region (48 total teams) comprise the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship with the eight region winners advancing to the finals at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama May 25 through June 1.

Shippensburg's games will be broadcast live on student radio station WSYC 88.7 FM and on the Internet at raiders.ship.edu.

NCAA Division II North Atlantic Baseball Region Championship
at Kutztown University - Kutztown, Pa.

Thursday May 17
Game 2 - 9:00 AM - #2 West Virginia State (36-15) vs. #5 West Chester (30-15)
Game 1 - 12:30 PM - #1 Kutztown (45-5) vs. #6 Shippensburg (27-22)
Game 3 - 4:00 PM - #3 California (Pa.) (36-15) vs. #4 Slippery Rock (33-15)

Friday May 18
Game 4 - 9:00 AM - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 - 12:30 PM - Winner Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3
Game 6 - 4:00 PM - Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3

If four teams remain after Game 6, the following schedule will be used:
Saturday, May 19
Game 7 - 9:00 AM - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 8 - 12:30 PM - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 9 - 4:00 PM - Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 7

Sunday, May 20
Game 10 - Noon - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11 - to follow, if necessary - same teams as Game 10

If five teams remain after game 6, the following schedule will be used:
Saturday, May 19
Game 7 - 9:00 AM - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 8 - 12:30 PM - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 9 - 4:00 PM - Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 7

If two teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used:
Sunday, May 20
Game 10 - Noon - Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9
Game 11 - to follow, if necessary - same teams as Game 10

If three teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used:
Sunday, May 20
Game 10 - Noon - Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 9
Game 11 - 3:30 PM - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10

- Red Raider Baseball -