Baseball Heads to Missouri for NAIA Opening Round
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(RV) University of Northwestern Ohio | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
|
#10 Hope International | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 7 | 3 |
KANSAS CITY, MO - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 46-team field and groupings for the 2024 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. There will be ten host sites around the nation consisting of four and five-team double-elimination pods that begin play May 13 and conclude May 16. The winner of each site will advance to the 2024 Avista NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho on May 24-31. This year's championship field includes 30 automatic qualifiers, awarded to conference regular season and tournament champions or conference tournament runners-up, as well as 15 at-large bids and one host berth allocation.
The University of Northwestern Ohio received an automatic bid after winning the WHAC regular season title and will play in the Fayette Bracket, hosted by Central Methodist University, as the 4-seed. The top seed will be No. 10 Hope International, while host team No. 8 Central Methodist will play as the 2-seed. (RV) Tabor rounds out the four-team pod and will take on CMU in game one.
CMU and Tabor will open the double-elimination tournament at 12:00 PM EST on Monday, May 13 followed by HIU and UNOH in game two at 3:30 PM EST. The loser of each game will match up on Tuesday at 12:00 PM EST with the winners to play at 3:30 PM EST.
For the full pod bracket and game times check out the CMU Tournament Central page.
All opening round games at CMU can be watched live here.
Team Resumes
#10 Hope International Royals (37-14)
At-Large Qualifier: Golden State Athletic Conference
Vs. Ranked Opponents: 7-5
Vs. Opening Round Qualifiers: 14-10
6th Appearance
Opening Round Record: 10-8
Opening Round Titles: 1
#8 Central Methodist Eagles (43-9)
At-Large Qualifier: Heart of America Athletic Conference
Vs. Ranked Opponents: 3-3
Vs. Opening Round Qualifiers: 9-6
5th Appearance
Opening Round Record: 3-8
Opening Round Titles: 0
At-Large Qualifier: Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
Vs. Ranked Opponents: 4-1
Vs. Opening Round Qualifiers: 7-6
8th Appearance
Opening Round Record: 19-11
Opening Round Titles: 2
(RV) Northwestern Ohio Racers (36-15)
Automatic Qualifier: Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference
Vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1
Vs. Opening Round Qualifiers: 2-5
6th Appearance
Opening Round Record: 10-8
Opening Round Titles: 1
