UHV Athletic News
Baseball - Fri, May 8, 2009
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has released the pairings and seedings for the 2009 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, scheduled for May 12-15 at nine sites across the country. Each site will feature a five-team double elimination tournament. The winners of those nine Opening Round tournaments, in addition to host school Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), will meet at the final site for the 53rd Annual Avista-NAIA World Series from May 22-29 in Lewiston, Idaho.
 
UHV is the fifth seed at the Lubbock opening round site.  Other seeds are: #1 Lubbock Christian University, #2 Wayland Baptist University, #3 Northwood University, #4 William Jewel (Missouri).
 
The first game of the opening round will feature UHV and William Jewel on Tuesday, May 12 at 10 a.m. 

 
This marks the first year of an opening round format in NAIA baseball.

"These hosts were selected because they have a history of hosting quality NAIA events both at the conference and national level," said NAIA Manager of Championship Sports Scott McClure. "This new format allows top-rated teams from the same conferences to play at different opening round tournaments and then for the best teams to advance to Lewiston. We look forward to working with the hosts in this exciting, new chapter of NAIA baseball."

Belhaven (Miss.), Bellevue (Neb.), Brescia (Ky.), British Columbia, Campbellsville (Ky.), Dakota Wesleyan (S.D), Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Houston-Victoria (Tex.), Indiana Tech, Jamestown (N.D.), Kansas Wesleyan, Lindenwood (Mo.), Lubbock Christian (Tex.), Malone (Ohio), McKendree (Ill.), Northwood (Tex.), Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), Southern Polytechnic State (Ga.), Taylor (Ind.), Tennessee Wesleyan, Union (Tenn.) and William Penn (Iowa) all received an automatic bid after winning their respective conference/independent/unaffiliated tournaments.

Berry (Ga.), Nebraska Wesleyan, Oklahoma City, Purdue-North Central (Ind.), St. Xavier (Ill.), Texas Wesleyan, The Masters (Calif.), Union (Ky.) and William Jewell (Mo.) earned an automatic bid based on their conference qualification plan.

Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), Azusa Pacific (Calif.), Biola (Calif.), Cumberland (Tenn.), Fresno Pacific (Calif.), Lee (Tenn.), LSU-Shreveport (La.), Madonna (Mich.), Savannah College of Art & Design (Ga.), Southern Nazarene (Okla.), Spring Arbor (Mich.), Warner (Fla.), Wayland Baptist (Tex.), and William Carey (Miss.) all received an at-large bid.