The #9 Concordia Eagles will play Doane College, who defeated Mount Vernon 7-6 in the opening game, on Thursday, May 10 at 5 pm PST.

Opening Round Live Stats

Tournament Bracket

Mount Vernon Games Available via Radio

Doane Games Available via Video Stream and Radio

Wednesday Batting Practice

The Eagles, the #1 seed in the Marion Region, #5 Doane (NE) at 5 pm PST at Wildcat Field on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the pairings and site selections for the 2012 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round on Sunday. Each of the nine locations will feature a five-team double-elimination tournament May 10 - 14.

Opening Round winners will join host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at the 56th annual Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, May 25 - June 1.

Twenty-nine teams earned automatic berths to the 45-team Opening Round by winner their respective conference/independent/unaffiliated group tournaments or regular-season championships. An additional 16 at-large selections - determined by the final NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll released Sunday - round out the field.

The #9 Concordia Eagles, the defending NAIA National Champions, just ran through the GSAC Tournament undefeated for the second-straight year and defeated #4 Azusa Pacific 7-6 in the GSAC Tournament Championship on Friday, May 4 in Azusa, CA.

The Eagles are joined by APU and Biola in the NAIA Opening Round.  Azusa Pacific will host one of the nine opening round tournaments.  Biola will travel to Daytona Beach for their opening round.

This is Concordia's second trip to the NAIA Opening Round in school history.  Last year marked the first time for the Eagles and they went 3-0 in route to winning the California Baptist Regional.  The magic continued, as Concordia went 5-1 at the World Series.

Concordia is led by 2012 All-GSAC selections Kyle Konicek, Aaron Gates, and Ryan DiMascio.  Head coach Mike Grahovac, 2011 NAIA Coach of the Year, enters his second-straight NAIA Opening Round.  Grahovac has had six All-GSAC selections, eight gold glove honorees, one NAIA All-American, and five All-Tournament selections in his four years at Concordia.  His 2011 squad was also chosen as the Hank Burbridge Champions of Character Award winners.  Grahovac was his 100^th game on February 23 against San Diego Christian. 

Konicek, a four-year player at Concordia, enters the tournament just four hits shy of breaking CU's all-time hits mark of 247.  He is 12^th in the GSAC in hitting with a .359 average.  He leads the league with six triples, is third in doubles (18), fourth in runs scored (53), and third in stolen bases (20).  His six triples rank 11^th in the nation.  Konicek ranks 35^th nationally in hits per game (1.471) and doubles (18).  He is a career .345 hitter with at least 160 at-bats in all four years at CU.  Konicek was also a GSAC Gold Glove selection with a .944 fielding percentage, 90 putouts, and an impressive 12 assists from left field.

Gates, a senior transfer from Pepperdine, is hitting .347 and is third in the GSAC with 11 home runs.  Nationally, he is sixth in slugging percentage (.763) and 32^nd in home runs (11). 

Recent returnee, sophomore outfielder John Doering, is third in the GSAC in hitting with a .390 average.  Junior Spencer Ofelt, who also came back from injury not too long ago, is sixth in the GSAC with a .378 average.  Senior starter Jake Hovis is 10^th in the conference with a 3.70 average.  The Eagles are second in the league with a .321 team batting average and third with a 4.21 team ERA. 

Shortstop Matt Palmer is sixth in the NAIA with 3.094 assists per game.  Starter Thomas Hoenshell is 11^th with only nine walks allowed all year.  Leadoff man Ty Holm is 32^nd in steals (28) and triples (5).  Senior bullpen man Josh White is 32^nd with six saves.  Sean Buford is right behind him with five saves, good for 44^th in the nation.

The Eagles are first in the country with 29 triples and have only been caught stealing 40 times, sixth best in the country.  They are eighth in putouts per game (25.774), ninth in doubles per game (2.189), 12^th in stolen bases per game (2.396), and 13^th in doubles (116).  Concordia is 13^th in hits per game (10.556), 14^th in stolen bases (127), 22^nd in slugging percentage (.467), 22^nd in batting average (.321), 23rd in hits (560), and 25^th in runs per game (7.245). 

The defending national champions have won 10 of their last 12 games, outscoring their opponents 73-35 in that span.  The Eagles are #4 according to the NAIA Baseball Iterative Strength Rankings.

Concordia has never faced Mount Vernon or Doane in program history.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is located in Mount Vernon, OH and is a member of the Mid-Central College Conference, the host of the 2012 Marion Opening Round.  The school was founded in 1966, has an enrollment of 2500, and is one of eight US liberal art colleges associated with the Church of the Nazarene.

The Cougars, 33-18, recently defeated #1 seed Taylor (IN), also in the Marion Region, in the 2012 Mid-Central Conference Tournament Championship.  The Cougars entered the tournament as the three seed.  This is Mount Vernon's second trip to the opening round, with the first being in 2010.  They have a 3-4 all-time record in opening round games.  The Cougars have advanced to the World Series twice, 1997 and 2004, also with a 3-4 record.  The Cougars are ranked 59^th in the NAIA ISR rankings.

The 2012 Cougars enter the tournament riding a five-game winning streak.  They are led by MCC Pitcher of the Year, senior Kyle Barr.  In addition, sophomore Seth Eller and freshman Sterling Harpst were tabbed All-MCC.  Barr was selected Golden Glove at the pitcher's position.

The Cougars rank eighth in the NAIA with a .340 batting average, are 15^th in ERA (3.360), 30^th in slugging percentage (.455), and 31^st in hits per game (9.882).  Ace Kyle Barr is 13^th in ERA (1.710), 17^th in runs allowed (21), and 36^th in strikeouts (82).  He leads the conference in K's.  Jordan Doherty leads the squad with a .375 average, sixth in the conference, and 66 hits, seventh in the MCC.  Josh Roberts is fifth in the conference with seven home runs.  The Cougars lead the MCC with a 3.36 ERA.  They are second in batting with a .340 average.

Head coach Keith Veale is in his 22^nd year as the skipper of the Cougars.  His teams have won seven conference titles, five NCCAA National Championships, won 30 or more games 16 times, and won 40 or more five times.  He has advanced to the NAIA postseason in 21 of his 22 seasons.  He was selected NCCAA Coach of the Year six times and conference coach of the year seven times.  Veale was chosen NAIA Region Coach of the Year three times.

Doane College is a private liberal arts college in Crete, Nebraska.  They are affiliated with the United Church of Christ, have an enrollment of around 3,000, and are members of the Great Plains Athletic Conference.  This is their second NAIA Opening Round Appearance, with the first coming last year where they went 1-2.  The Tigers have never been to the NAIA World Series.

The Tigers enter the NAIA Opening Round Tournament with one of the top pitching staffs in the nation. Opponents are batting .235 against Doane pitching, 12th in the NAIA. The staff has the 18th-best earned run average (3.42) and has struck out 386 batters on the season, 15th in the NAIA.

Doane, 33-19, were the 2012 GPAC Regular-Season Champions.  They fell to Morningside, 5-2, in the GPAC Tournament semifinals.  The Tigers have won four conference championships and two conference tournament championships in school history.  The Tigers are ranked 56th in the NAIA ISR rankings.  They won the GPAC Regular-Season and Tournament Titles in 2011.

The Tigers are 35^th in the NAIA in stolen bases with 98 and have only been caught 27 times.  They lead the GPAC with a 3.42 team ERA and 386 strikeouts.  They are fourth in the league with a .293 average, second with 451 hits, and fifth with 13 home runs. 

Chance Brull leads the team with a 1.71 ERA, good for 13^th in country, and has eight wins.  Nathan Roth is 15^th in the country with eight saves.  Tim Carlson is 19^th in the NAIA with nine wins and is 22^nd in ERA (2.00).  Anthony Hincy is 26^th in the NAIA with 30 stolen bases.  Hincy also ranks 32^nd with five triples. 

Hincy leads the team with a .331 average, 18^th in the GPAC, and 59 hits, seventh in the conference.  Mike Albert leads the Tigers with four home runs.

Head coach Jeremy Jorgenson is in his fifth year with the Tigers.  He worked as the pitching coach at Cal State Los Angeles and earned his master's from Cal State Fullerton.  He has had 28 All-GPAC players and five gold glove winners.  He has won more conference championships in the last two years than the program did in the previous 25 seasons.

Ten squads are playing in their fourth-straight Opening Round. Lee (Tenn.) and Oklahoma City are a perfect 9-0 in four trips, while defending champion Concordia (Calif.) and Oklahoma Baptist are also undefeated, going 3-0 in Opening Round games a year ago.

Six qualifiers have previously won a World Series title, led by Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) with 16. The Warriors own a championship record mark of 119-37 in 30 previous appearances. Lubbock Christian (Texas), who enters the tournament with two banners, is the only other team in the field with multiple national titles.

2012 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round Brackets