OIT, C of I Head to NAIA West Baseball Qualifying Tourney
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two Cascade Collegiate Conference baseball programs – Oregon Tech and College of Idaho – will join independents University of British Columbia and Cal State San Marcos in the NAIA West National Qualifying Tournament May 4-6 in Vancouver, B.C. The winner will earn the NAIA West’s automatic bid to the NAIA Championships.
The NAIA’s 45-team national tournament is scheduled for May 12-15 at nine opening-round sites across the country. The nine opening-round winners will join host Lewis-Clark State in the NAIA World Series May 22-29 in Lewiston, Idaho.
UBC (32-10), which won the NAIA West’s North Division, earned the right to host by having a higher rating than South Division winner Oregon Tech (32-23). Both the Thunderbirds and Hustlin’ Owls earned automatic berths in next week’s double-elimination tournament by virtue of their division championships.
College of Idaho 28-18) and Cal State San Marcos (25-13) earned at-large bids to the NAIA West tourney based on being the highest ranked teams in the nine-team grouping outside of the division champions. C of I was ranked second and Cal State San Marcos third. UBC was the grouping’s top-rated team.
C of I and Cal State San Marcos will open the three-day tournament on Monday when they square off in a 2 p.m. contest at Nat Bailey Stadium. UBC will meet Oregon Tech in a 6 p.m. contest Monday.
The tournament schedule:
| Day 1 (Monday, May 4, 2009) |
| Game 1: |
2 p.m. |
#2 College of Idaho vs. #3 Cal State San Marcos |
| Game 2: |
6 p.m. |
#1 University of British Columbia vs. #4 Oregon Tech |
Day 2 (Tuesday, May 5, 2009) |
| Game 3: |
10 a.m. |
Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (loser eliminated) |
| Game 4: |
2 p.m. |
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 |
| Game 5: |
6 p.m. |
Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (loser eliminated) |
Day 3 (Wednesday, May 6, 2009) |
| Game 6: |
Noon |
Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 |
| Game 7: |
3 p.m. |
Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary) |