The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced its NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round field on Wednesday, and the Loyola University New Orleans Wolf Pack will stay in-state for the five-team double-elimination tournament.
The Pack (36-17) was given the No. 3 seed in the Shreveport Opening Round, and they’re joined by top-seeded LSUS (41-12), No. 2 Mid-American Christian (39-13), No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan (36-17), and No. 5 Huston-Tillotson (33-18). Loyola will match up with MACU (Okla.) on Monday in the first round, but the game time isn’t scheduled yet.
There are 10 opening-round sites across the country, and the winners of each will advance to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
After a tough stretch to close the regular season, Loyola won four games in four days at the SSAC Championship in Jackson, Tennessee, to claim the program’s second straight title. With wins over Thomas and Tennessee Southern starting the week, the Wolf Pack took down No. 19 William Carey in the final pool-play game before defeating No. 17 Abraham Baldwin for the title.
LSUS (Red River Athletic Conference) and MACU (Sooner Athletic Conference) were also tournament champions of their respective leagues, while Oklahoma Wesleyan (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) and Huston-Tillotson (HBCUAC) were both runner-ups. The Pilots enter the week as the 12th-ranked team in the NAIA, and the Evangels are 18th, while the Wolf Pack is just outside the Top 25 in the receiving votes category.
Seven members of the Wolf Pack earned All-SSAC honors last week, too. Jake Cohen (P), Jaxon Buratt (3B) and Nathan McDonald (CF) were all named to the SSAC All-Conference First Team, Frank Fernandez (P) and JJ Garcia (LF) both made the Second Team, Lee (C), Garcia and Buratt were given Gold Glove recognition at their positions, and James Guidry (P) is joined with Garcia on the All-Freshman Team.
Buratt was also named the SSAC Championship Most Valuable Player, as Hunter Ponson, Cohen, and Fernandez were also placed on the All-Tournament Team for their efforts at the SSAC Championship.
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