The NCAA Division III Baseball Committee has announced the 54 teams that will compete in the 2008 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. Six teams will compete at five first-round sites; eight teams will compete at three first-round sites. All first rounds will use a double-elimination format. Thirty-four conference champions qualified automatically. Winners of the eight first-round tournaments will qualify for the double-elimination championship at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin, May 23-27.

DATES/SITES/SEEDINGS:

May 14-18
Hosted by Eastern College Athletic Conference, Harwich, Massachusetts
1. Trinity (Connecticut) (37-0)
2. Wheaton (Massachusetts) (32-8)
3. Keene State (33-9)
4. Southern Maine (32-12)
5. Western New England (31-11)
6. St. Joseph's (Maine) (28-16)
7. Worcester State (23-16)
8. Castleton State (20-10)

Hosted by USA South and Old Dominion, Danville, Virginia
1. Salisbury (38-2)
2. Johns Hopkins (34-5)
3. Piedmont (33-12)
4. Lynchburg (30-11)
5. Christopher Newport (28-12)
6. Randolph-Macon (25-15)

Hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana
1. Heidelberg (37-8)
2. Wooster (34-9)
3. Calvin (32-8)
4. Rose-Hulman (31-13)
5. Adrian (30-10)
6. Transylvania (31-12)

Hosted by Kean University, Newark, New Jersey
1. Kean (35-9)
2. Rowan (30-12)
3. The College of New Jersey (28-10)
4. Penn State-Behrend (34-10)
5. Messiah (27-16)
6. DeSales (24-18-1)
7. Keystone (30-10)
8. Gwynedd-Mercy (21-18)

Hosted by Ithaca College, Auburn, New York
1. Cortland State (38-3)
2. Ithaca (28-11)
3. Rensselaer (30-10)
4. Montclair State (26-18)
5. Eastern Connecticut State (29-13)
6. Farmingdale (23-13)
7. Ohio Wesleyan (28-17)
8. Grove City (18-16)

Hosted by Augustana College (Illinois), Moline, Illinois
1. Illinois Wesleyan (33-9)
2. Wisconsin-Stevens Point (28-14)
3. Augustana (Illinois) (32-11)
4. Wartburg (26-13)
5. Linfield (30-10)
6. Webster (28-13)

Hosted by McMurry University, Abilene, Texas
1. Chapman (35-3)
2. George Fox (28-12)
3. McMurry (29-17)
4. Cal State East Bay (26-14)
5. Trinity (Texas) (32-13)
6. La Verne (25-14-1)

In a wild, back-and-forth affair which saw five lead changes, 21 runs, 24 hits and nine errors, the fourth-seeded Grove City Wolverines completed their Cinderella run through the President Athletic Conference Tournament with an 11-10 decision over rival Thiel in the 2008 PAC title game. With the victory, Grove City captured its first PAC baseball crown since winning back-to-back league titles in 2001 and 2002, while also securing the PAC's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.

Grove City led 4-0 in the middle of the fourth, only to see Thiel score three in the fourth and four more in the sixth for a 7-4 advantage. The two teams continuedto exchange the lead, with the Tomcats taking a 9-8 advantage after eight frames. The Wolverines would not be denied, scoring three times in the top of the ninth for an 11-9 lead, then withstanding a pair of errors in the bottom of the ninth to end the game with the potential game-tying run on third base for the Tomcats.

The winning pitcher for Grove City was Matt Tindall, after pitching the final inning. On offense, Brian Moran was 4-for-5 with a home run an six RBIs for the victors, while Butch Kriger was also 4-for-5 with a double. The Thiel offense was a balanced attack, as four players posted multi-hit games, led by David Nypaver, who went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs in the loss.

After two years of missing the NESCAC tournament, Trinity (Conn.) came in at a perfect 34-0 and the top seed in the West Division. The Bantams made their unbeaten record stand up, downing Amherst 9-1 in Saturday morning's opener and Tufts 5-1 in the afternoon game. After losing to Trinity, Amherst came back to beat archrival Williams 9-8 in 10 innings. Amherst will play Tufts tomorrow, with Trinity awaiting the winner. For audio links, check out Saturday's D3baseball.com scoreboard.

The Bantams are the last undefeated team in the nation, having passed Johns Hopkins' record of 33 consecutive wins to start the season and Texas-Tyler's 35-0 start last season in their last year of provisional status.

The NESCAC championship is just one of five tournaments scheduled to end on Sunday. Who's clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament already? Check out Playoff Central. That includes Castleton, which swept Husson on Saturday to win the NAC. NCAA Tournament selections will come out late Sunday night/early Monday morning.

Illinois Wesleyan defeated Carthage 17-7 in the CCIW championship game this afternoon to claim the conference's automatic bid. Wartburg lost the first championship game to Loras 4-2 but came back to win 10-2 to win the IIAC tournament and advance to the regional playoff round. Rockford won the Northern AC 8-3 over Concordia (Ill.) and although no automatic bid comes with the win, both teams are in the running for a Pool B or C bid.

Keene State beat Southern Maine twice to win the Little East Conference tournament. The Owls pounded the Huskies in the opener, 21-2 and won the second game 14-7.

Transylvania captured the HCAC championship with a 16-10 win over Rose-Hulman. The Marietta Pioneers were swept by Heidelberg and Heidelberg claims the OAC championship ending Marietta's playoff bid. Also in the Mideast, Cinderella made her appearance as Grove City won the PrAC championship with a 11-10 win over Thiel.

St. Olaf advanced to the MIAC championship game against St. Thomas, but will need a break in the weather to win the title. The Oles beat Gustavus Adolphus 15-6 (photo gallery) in Saturday afternoon's eliminating game, but rains forced the championship to be pushed back until Sunday at noon. St. Olaf must win twice. If the game or games don't get played tomorrow, St. Thomas gets the automatic bid.

UW-Stevens Point won the WIAC championship game 3-0 over UW-Whitewater. Ripon's powerful offense was silenced for much of the day by tournament host Knox, who defeated the Red Hawks 4-2 and 5-4 to win the MWC crown, putting the Prairie Fire into the NCAA Regional Tournament for the first time in school history.

For Friday's news, scroll down.

A.J. Dote drove in 3 runs and Joey McDaniel held Denison to 2 runs over 8.0 innings as the Bishops defeated the Big Red in Game 3 of the NCAC tournament championship series on Friday in Granville. With the win, Ohio Wesleyan takes the series, 2 games to 1, and wins its second consecutive NCAC championship. This marks the first time since 2000-01 that the Bishops have won back-to-back NCAC titles, and is Ohio Wesleyan's eighth NCAC tournament championship, the most among conference institutions. The win also gives Ohio Wesleyan the NCAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III tournament. In the three game series, Ohio weslyean won game one 5-2 and Denison forced a third game with a 4-2 win in game two.

Carthage, ranked seventh in the May 6 Top 25, stayed alive in the CCIW Baseball Tournament by winning two games in the loser's bracket at Illinois Wesleyan's Jack Horenberger Field in Bloomington, Ill. The Red Men first eliminated Wheaton, 9-1, before eliminating Augustana by a 12-5 margin. No,. 12 Illinois Wesleyan shut out No. 14 Augustana, 6-0, in Friday's earlier winner's bracket contest. Illinois Wesleyan needs to win only one game today to caputure the CCIW tournament and automatic playoff bid.

Ripon looks to run its streak of MWC championships to five as they won twice on Friday defeating Knox 6-3 and St. Norbert 4-2 at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Ripon will face the winner of the same two teams as Knox eliminated Monmouth in the last of the four game set on Friday.

The third-seeded Southern Maine scored four runs in the fifth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit and went on to defeat top-seeded Keene State 8-4 on the third day of play at the 2008 Little East Conference Baseball Championship Tournament. The win advances the Huskies into the championship game on Saturday against Keene State. Keene State eliminated Eastern Connecticut 1-0 on a walk-off single in the ninth by a score of 1-0 to reach the championship game. Eastern Connecticut defeated Mass-Boston 9-6 earlier. Follow tournament action from the D3baseball.com scoreboard.

Calvin swept Kalamazoo to claim the MIAA championship and automatic playoff bid. Calvin defeated the Hornets 9-2 in the first game as the offense delivered the game. The win in game two came on the strength of the pitching as Calvin won 2-0. Adrian finished second in the MIAA and must wait until late Sunday to see if their season extends into the regional playoff.

Joe Zongol struck out seven while allowing just five hits in a complete game to lead the RPI to a 6-1 win over St. Lawrence in the first game of the Liberty League Tournament. RPI followed this with a 5-3 victory over Rochester to advance to the championship game. Rochester will play the winner of Saturday's elimination game between St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

Marietta shut down the Heidelberg after the Heidelberg plated four in the third inning to take the game in Game 3 of the OAC Baseball Tournament 8-4. The no. 1 seeded Student Princes will play Otterbein later today, a 5-3 winner over Mount Union in an elimination game.

UW-Whitewater, the WIAC champion, opened play in the WIAC Tournament at Witter Field in Wisconsin Rapids with a 14-9 win over UW-La Crosse behind a pair of home runs and six runs batted in by Kevin Zalnis. The Warhawks lost to UW-Stevens Point 7-5 in the late game. The Pointers defeated UW-Oshkosh 10-0 in 8 innings.

Loras eliminated Simpson 7-4 in the loser's bracket of the Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament. Tied 4-4 going into the ninth inning, Loras score two runs on Don Pirkle double and an insurance run on a wild pitch to send second seeded Simpson home. With two losses with no wins in the tournament, Simpson might have lost their chance of a Pool C bid to next week's regional playoffs. In other IIAC action on Friday: Coe eliminated Luther, 6-2; Wartburg defeated Central, 7-1; Loras eliminated Coe, 16-3 (7 innings). Wartburg awaits the winner of the Central/Loras game to decide the IIAC champion.

The eight regionals will be played at:

Mid-Atlantic Regional: Hosted by Kean University at Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium, Newark, New Jersey.
1. Kean (35-9)
2. Rowan (30-12)
3. The College of New Jersey (28-10)
4. Penn State-Behrend (34-10)
5. Messiah (27-16)
6. DeSales (24-18-1)
7. Keystone (30-10)
8. Gwynedd-Mercy (21-18)

Central Regional: Hosted by Augustana College at Brunner Field at Duane R. Stadium, Rock Island, Illinois.
1. Illinois Wesleyan (33-9)
2. Wisconsin-Stevens Point (28-14)
3. Augustana (Illinois) (32-11)
4. Wartburg (26-13)
5. Linfield (30-10)
6. Webster (28-13)

Mideast Regional: Hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at Art Nehf Field, Terre Haute, Indiana.
1. Heidelberg (37-8)
2. Wooster (34-9)
3. Calvin (32-8)
4. Rose-Hulman (31-13)
5. Adrian (30-10)
6. Transylvania (31-12)

New England Regional: Hosted by the ECAC at Whitehouse Field, Harwich, Mass.
1. Trinity (Connecticut) (37-0)
2. Wheaton (Massachusetts) (32-8)
3. Keene State (33-9)
4. Southern Maine (32-12)
5. Western New England (31-11)
6. St. Joseph’s (Maine) (28-16)
7. Worcester State (23-16)
8. Castleton State (20-10)

New York Regional: Hosted by Ithaca College at Falcon Field/Auburn Double Days, Auburn, New York.
1. Cortland State (38-3)
2. Ithaca (28-11)
3. Rensselaer (30-10)
4. Montclair State (26-18)
5. Eastern Connecticut State (29-13)
6. Farmingdale (23-13)
7. Ohio Wesleyan (28-17)
8. Grove City (18-16)

South Regional: Hosted by USA South Athletic Conference/ODAC at American Legion Memorial Post 325 Stadium-Dan Daniel Park, Danville, Virginia.
1. Salisbury (38-2)
2. Johns Hopkins (34-5)
3. Piedmont (33-12)
4. Lynchburg (30-11)
5. Christopher Newport (28-12)
6. Randolph-Macon (25-15)

West Regional: Hosted by McMurry University at Walt Driggers Field, Abilene, Texas.
1. Chapman (35-3)
2. George Fox (28-12)
3. McMurry (29-17)
4. Cal State East Bay (26-14)
5. Trinity (Texas) (32-13)
6. La Verne (25-14-1)

Midwest Regional: Hosted by UW-Oshkosh at E.J. Schneider Field, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
1. St. Thomas (Minnesota) (31-7)
2. Wisconsin-Whitewater (35-8)
3. Carthage (35-8)
4. Wisconsin-Oshkosh (29-9)
5. St. Scholastica (32-4)
6. Knox (15-23)


Starting on Sunday April 20, teams started qualifying for the 2008 plyoffs. The playoff field consists of 54 teams. The 34 Pool A bids will be awarded through May 11. On May 11, the selection committee decided who gets the six Pool B and 14 Pool C bids.

The teams which have qualified in Pool A (34 bids) are:
AMCC: Penn State-Behrend (34-10)
ASC: McMurry (29-17)
CC: Johns Hopkins (34-5)
CCC: Western New England (31-11)
CCIW: Illinois Wesleyan (33-9)
GNAC: St Joseph (Maine) (28-16)
HCAC: Transylvania (31-12)
IIAC: Wartburg (26-13)
LEC: Keene State (33-9)
LL: RPI (33-10)
MACC: Messiah (27-16)
MAFC: DeSales (24-18-1)
MASCAC: Worcester State (23-16)
MIAA: Calvin (32-8)
MIAC: St. Thomas (30-7)
MWC: Knox (15-23)
NAC: Castleton (20-10)
NCAC: Ohio Wesleyan (28-17)
NEAC: Keystone (30-10)
NESCAC: Trinity (37-0)
NEWMAC: Wheaton (Mass.) (32-8)
NJAC: Kean (35-9)
NWC: Linfield (30-10)
OAC: Heidelberg (37-8)
ODAC: Randolph-Macon (25-15)
PnAC: Gwynedd-Mercy (21-18)
PrAC: Grove City (18-16)
SCIAC: La Verne (25-14-1)
SCAC: Trinity (Texas) (32-13)
SKY: Farmingdale State (23-13)
SLIAC: Webster (28-13)
SUNYAC: Cortland State (38-3)
USA South: Christopher Newport (28-12)
WAIC: UW-Stevens Point (28-14)

The teams which have qualified in Pool B (6 bids) are:
Cal State East Bay (26-14)
Chapman (35-3)
Ithaca (28-11)
Piedmont (33-12)
Salisbury (38-2)
St. Scholastica (32-4)

The teams which have qualified in Pool C (14 bids) are:
Adrian (30-10)
Augustana (Illinois) (32-11)
Carthage (35-8)
Eastern Connecticut State (29-13)
George Fox (28-12)
Lynchburg (30-11)
Montclair State (26-18)
The College of New Jersey (28-10)
Rose-Hulman (31-13)
Rowan (30-12)
Southern Maine (32-12)
Wisconsin-Oshkosh (29-9)
Wisconsin-Whitewater (35-8)
Wooster (34-9)

Kalamazoo lost a pair of games at Calvin, 5-1 and 9-3. Kalamazoo was held to just two hits while committing five errors in the 5-1 loss. Kalamazoo held a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning before Calvin took the lead for good. Eddie Barclay and Kyle Kilpatrick each had a double. Calvin needs to sweep Kalamazoo tomorrow to win the MIAA. With a Calvin loss, Adrain will receive the conference's automatic bid.

Bats came alive for Heidelberg in the seventh inning against Mount Union in a first round game of the OAC Tournament. It resulted in a 10-7 victory for the Student Princes, the program's 11th-straight. Offensively for Heidelberg, Jeremy Wentworth led the way from the leadoff spot going 3-for-4 with four runs. For Mount Union, Greg Ferrell led the offensive push going 3-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs, and a double. In the first game of the OAC tournament, the Marietta Pioneers defeated the Otterbein Cardinals 5-2. Marietta moves onto Game 3 of the tournament against Heidelberg. Otterbein plays again in the double-elimination tournament tomorrow as well against Mount Union.

The Southern Maine Huskies pounded out 21 hits and Mark Schmidt hurled his first career complete game as the Huskies defeated second seeded Eastern Connecticut 14-3 in the second day of play at the 2008 Little East Conference Baseball Championship Tournament being hosted by Keene State College. The win was the Huskies' ninth straight. The Huskies will take on top-seeded Keene State in a battle of 2-0 teams and the Warriors will move into an elimination game against Mass-Boston.

Lehman fell in their opening game of the 2008 CUNYAC Postseason Championship Tournament, falling to the No. 1 seeded Staten Island, 9-5, in a nine-inning contest earlier this evening at the tournament's host site, the CSI Baseball Complex.

St. Joe's (Maine) defeated Suffolk twice, 8-1 and 2-0, in a non-conference doubleheader to wrap up the team's regular season schedule. Ben Grant-Roy and Wade Oliver both connected for two-run home runs in the opener with Mason Roberge picking up the victory in relief to improve to 6-2 this season. In the nightcap, Andrew Keirstead tossed a complete game two-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks to earn his sixth victory of the year.

Winning for the second time in back-to-back games, Central defeated Simpson in the first day of the Iowa Conference Baseball Tournament in Cedar Rapids. Earlier in the Central defeated Coe 5-0. Luther fell to Loras 6-3.

Slugging first baseman Tim McMenamin of Gwynedd-Mercy and ace right-hander Brent Kulavic of Illinois Wesleyan have been named the NCAA Division III National Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 28-May 4, the ninth and final awards of the season, as chosen by members of the NCBWA.

McMenamin batted .600 (6-for-10) with three home runs, 15 total bases, eight runs scored, 12 runs batted in, and a 1.500 slugging percentage en route to being named the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Tournament Co-Most Valuable Player. The Griffins won their second straight PAC title last weekend, going 3-0 in the tournament. He hit a two-run homer in the 7th to ice a 6-1 first-game win over Centenary and drove in three runs. In a 15-8 semi-final win over Alvernia, he went 2-for-4 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, scored four runs and drove in three. In a 14-1 championship win over Centenary, he was 3-for-3 with a grand-slam home run, six RBIs and three runs scored. He also picked up the win on the mound in the title game, going the first six innings while allowing three hits and a run with six strikeouts.

Kulavic struck out eight batters and allowed only two hits, none after the 3rd inning, and one unearned run in a 2-1 win at 5th-ranked Carthage on May 1. He went the distance in the seven-inning game, raising his record to a perfect 6-0. The win gave 12th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan a one-game lead over the Red Men en route to winning two-of-three games during a weekend series, which earned the Titans the CCIW regular season title.

Senior Day is a special moment but the moment for six seniors was sour as visiting Alma pulled off a 5-4 upset in game two of a doubleheader. Adrian won the first game 10-6 and will await the Calvin-Kalamazoo four-game series to see if they can grab a MIAA title. Adrian is three wins up in the standings and need one Kalamazoo win to share for the title. If they at least claim a share, it will mean a trip to the NCAA regionals for the third time in four seasons.

A winner of eight straight, second-seeded Eastern Connecticut (28-11-1) advances in the winners' bracket of the six-team double-elimination tournament to face No. 3 seed Southern Maine Thursday. Southern Maine advanced by an identical 6-5 in Wednesday's late game against No. 4 seed Rhode Island, scoring four runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull out the win. Top-seeded Keene State avoided an upset with a 2-1, 10-inning win over No. 6 seed Western Connecticut State in Wednesday's first game and will meet Rhode Island. Western Connecticut faces Mass-Boston Thursday in an elimination game. Follow these and other games today on the D3baseball scoreboard.

John Giametta Jr. homered twice and drove in five runs in the opener and Ryan Benson hit his first collegiate homer in the nightcap as nationally second-ranked Cortland completed the regular season with 14-0 and 12-4 victories over visiting Hamilton. The Red Dragons (38-3) will bring a school-record 34-game winning streak into next week's NCAA Division III tournament.

Tim Doyle scattered seven hits and allowed one earned run over 6 1/3 innings of work as Suffolk extended its winning streak to four straight with a 3-2 non-league college baseball victory over Endicott Wednesday afternoon at North Field. The winning streak after losing their conference bid has strengthen Suffolk's playoff chances.