KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Southern Polytechnic State University baseball team opens play at the 58th annual Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series as the No. 8 seed among 10 squads and takes on the ninth-seeded Tabor College Bluejays from Hillsboro, Kan., in the tournament's first game next Friday at 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (noon Eastern). No. 2-seed Lewis-Clark State College is hosting the double-elimination event beginning on May 23 in Lewiston, Idaho, with the winner being crowned either on May 29 or 30, depending upon if the eventual champion drops one of its earlier-round contests.
Nine of the 2014 World Series participants advanced through NAIA National Championship Opening Round sites that were completed on Thursday while Lewis-Clark State received an automatic berth as the tournament host. Joining Southern Polytechnic, No. 10-ranked Tabor (49-11 overall record) and No. 2-rated LCSC (43-7) at this year's NAIA World Series are top-seed Oklahoma Baptist University (ranked No. 1, 53-7), No. 3-seed Oklahoma Wesleyan University (third, 55-6), No. 4-seed and defending national champion Faulkner University (fourth, 49-14), No. 5-seed Georgetown College in Kentucky (fifth, 46-9), No. 6-seed Georgia Gwinnett College (sixth, 52-11), No. 7-seed San Diego Christian College (eighth, 42-18) and No. 10-seed Cumberland University in Tennessee (23rd, 44-19). For more information, check out the official website of the 2014 NAIA World Series, which includes the tournament bracket, schedule, links to live video streaming and statistics, and more.
Southern Poly, rated ninth nationally, earned its bid to the NAIA World Series after coming out on top at the Daytona Beach Bracket. The Hornets, the 2014 Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament champions, are making their third trip to the World Series after also qualifying in 1986 and 2009. SPSU, under second-year head coach Marty Lovrich, is 45-17 overall with wins in 21 of its last 24 games.
Tabor, which has been victorious in 15 of its past 16 contests, hosted and won the Hutchinson Bracket. The Bluejays also claimed both the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title and the KCAC regular-season crown.
