NCAA RELEASE | DULUTH REGIONAL BRACKET

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The 58-team field for the 2018 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was announced late Sunday night and six teams will take part in the Duluth Regional beginning on Thursday at historic Frank Wade Municipal Stadium, hosted by The College of St. Scholastica.
 
This will be the first NCAA Division III postseason event St. Scholastica has hosted in the school's history. It will be one of eight regional tournament sites.  The double-elimination regional takes place Thursday thru Sunday.
 
The eight regional winners will advance to the 2018 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. The finals will be held May 25-29 at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin.
 
Teams arriving to Duluth this week feature two reigning regional champions, as well as, three teams making their first-ever regional appearance.
 
Last year's Whitewater Regional Champion Concordia University Chicago (Ill.) will make trip up north after receiving an at-large berth into the regional. Concordia-Chicago is currently ranked No. 10 by D3baseball.com and was No. 1 in the most recent publicized regional rankings. The Cougars enter with a 33-12 record and finished runner-up in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament.
 
Their opening-round opponent will be Bethany Lutheran College, who will be making its first-ever NCAA Regional appearance. The Vikings received an automatic qualifier from the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) after winning two games over St. Scholastica on Saturday to capture their first-ever UMAC Tournament crown. Bethany Lutheran will enter with a 23-10 overall record.
 
Another Illinois school and reigning regional champion will make the trip up to Duluth as College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) champion North Central College (Ill.) will make its third consecutive regional appearance. The Cardinals won the Sauget, Illinois Regional last year and captured both the CCIW regular season and tournament championships to earn an automatic qualifier. North Central will enter with an overall record of 28-12.
 
They will face Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) champion University of Dubuque. Like Bethany Lutheran, the Spartans will be making their first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament appearance. Dubuque was the regular season and tournament champions of the IIAC to earn the automatic qualifier. The Spartans will enter play on Thursday with a record of 24-15.
 
The final matchup of the regional will feature the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Tournament champion Bethel University.
 
The Titans received one of the two Pool B bids as the WIAC does not have an automatic qualifier this season. Oshkosh, who is ranked seventh by D3baseball.com, finished runner-up to current No. 1 UW-Whitewater in the conference during the regular season. The Titans will enter the regional with a 31-8 record.
 
Bethel will be another team making its first NCAA Regional Tournament appearance. The Royals entered the MIAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and went undefeated to capture an automatic qualifier into the regional. The Royals will enter the regional with a 32-9 overall record.
 
"We are beyond excited to host our first-ever NCAA Regional," said St. Scholastica Director of Athletics Brian Jamros. "We look forward to providing a first-class experience and look forward to welcoming the teams and their fans to the great city of Duluth."
 
Wade Stadium was built in 1941 and holds 4,200 people. It is home of the Duluth Huskies of the Northwoods League as well as the Saints. In the fall of 2014, the stadium received a $4.6 million renovation, which included the installation of field turf throughout the field, along with new lights and scoreboard.
 
"Wade Stadium is now one of the premier ballparks in the Midwest region after the renovation," said St. Scholastica Head Coach Corey Kemp. "It will provide an amazing venue not only for the student-athletes who will be competing, but also for their fans who will be supporting them and filling the seats."
 
Concordia Chicago and Bethany Lutheran will open the regional at 11 a.m. on Thursday. North Central and Dubuque will follow at 3 p.m. and the nightcap will feature UW-Oshkosh vs. Bethel at 7 p.m.