St. Scholastica received its fifth consecutive bid to the NCAA Division III baseball tournament today and will play St. Norbert College in the first round at 4 p.m. Wednesday at E.J. Schneider Field in Oshkosh, Wis.
The Saints (35-5), winners of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference for a 13th straight year, were given a No. 3 seed in the six-team Oshkosh Regional. St. Norbert (23-13) of the Midwest Conference is seeded fourth.
Other first-round matchups in the double-elimination tournament include No. 1 seed and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament champion St. Olaf vs. No. 6 Beloit (Wis.) College, tournament champions of the Midwest Conference; and No. 2 St. Thomas, MIAC regular-season titlists, facing No. 5 Wisconsin-Stevens Point, winners of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
St. Scholastica wrapped up an emotional home season by winning three games Friday at Wade Stadium to continue as the only UMAC postseason champions since the tournament's inception in 1997. The season began with the passing of longtime head coach John Baggs from cancer.
This marks the Saints' sixth NCAA appearance, with last season's runner-up finish in the regional to Wisconsin-Whitewater being the school's best result. The players hope to make it to the next level this time.
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"After last year's finish, we definitely feel we can take it one step further and make it to the [College World] Series," senior shortstop Kyle Wojtysiak said.
Tickets may be purchased at E.J. Schneider Field on each day of the tournament.
