RICHARDSON, Texas –– Texas Lutheran, Hardin-Simmons, Texas-Tyler and Mississippi College will each serve as first round hosts of the 2010 American Southwest Conference Baseball Championship Tournament Series, to be held April 30-May 1, after locking up one of the top two seeds from their respective divisions, but the news of the day for LC baseball fans is that the Wildcats now know where they will travel in the opening round.
Hardin-Simmons, the team that finished No. 2 in the ASC West, will host LC, the No. 3 team in the East, in Abilene, Texas, this Friday and Saturday in a best-of-3 series.
Game one will take place Friday with games two and three (if necessary) taking place on Saturday. All tournament games are nine innings. Game times and admission charges will be announced Monday afternoon.
First round series will be West Division champion Texas Lutheran (29-11) vs. East No. 4 seed Texas-Dallas (23-14) in Seguin, Texas; West No. 2 seed Hardin-Simmons (21-19) vs. East No. 3 seed Louisiana College (18-21) in Abilene, Texas; East Division champion Texas-Tyler (30-10) vs. West No. 4 seed McMurry (21-19) in Tyler, Texas; and East Division No. 2 seed Mississippi College (32-7) vs. West No. 3 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor (22-17) in Clinton, Miss. Game 1 for all series will be on Friday, while Game 2 and any if necessary Game 3 will be on Saturday.
The winners from the four, best-of-3 series will advance to the championship round, a double elimination format to be held May 7-9 at the site of the top remaining West Division seed. The ASC champion will earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
Texas-Tyler enters as the defending ASC champion after pulling out a dramatic 8-5 victory over Mississippi College in a winner-take-all title game in Clinton, Miss. Both UT Tyler and MC come into this year's tournament nationally-ranked by both national polls.
NOTES
This is the 14th year of the ASC baseball tournament. . . . The West Division has produced the ASC champion 11 times. The only East teams to prevail were Mississippi College in 2003 and Texas-Tyler last year. . . . McMurry has won the most ASC titles with four. . . . MC has the most ASC tournament appearances with 11 – including a record-10 straight – followed by McMurry (10) and Hardin-Simmons (9). . . . The hosting rights for the Championship Round rotate each year between each division's top remaining seed. . . . For the third straight year, live statistics and live audio will be available for all first round games. They can be linked to from the conference's website and the athletics websites of all host institutions.
2010 AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE
BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SERIES
-FIRST ROUND-
APRIL 30-MAY 1 (FRIDAY-SATURDAY)
(Times to be announced Monday afternoon)
[West #4] McMurry (21-19) @ [East #1] Texas-Tyler (30-10)
Irwin Field / Tyler , Texas
Game 1: Friday
Game 2: Saturday
Game 3: Saturday, If necessary
[East #3] Louisiana College (18-21) @ [West #2] Hardin-Simmons (21-19)
Hunter Field / Abilene , Texas
Game 1: Friday
Game 2: Saturday
Game 3: Saturday, If necessary
[West #3] Mary Hardin-Baylor (22-17) @ [East #2] Mississippi College (32-7)
Frierson Field / Clinton , Mississippi
Game 1: Friday
Game 2: Saturday
Game 3: Saturday, If necessary
[East #4] Texas-Dallas (23-14) @ [West #1] Texas Lutheran (29-11)
Katt-Isbel Field / Seguin , Texas
Game 1: Friday
Game 2: Saturday
Game 3: Saturday, If necessary
-CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-
MAY 7-9 (FRIDAY-SUNDAY)
(Hosted by highest remaining seed from West Division)
FRIDAY, MAY 7
Game 5: Winner McM/UT TYLER Series vs. Winner LC/HSU Series
Game 6: Winner UMHB/MC Series vs. Winner UTD/TLU Series
SATURDAY, MAY 8
Game 7: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 (Semifinal)
SUNDAY, MAY 9
Game 10 (Championship): Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9
If necessary, Game 11: 30 minutes after Game 10
