May 20, 2008

Malone Baseball To Compete In NCCAA National Tournament This Week

The Malone College baseball team, led by fifth-year head coach Tom Crank, will compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Tournament this week (May 21-24) at Bob Cene Park in Struthers, Ohio.
 
The Pioneers automatically qualified for the national event after capturing the NCCAA East Regional Title last Friday at Thurman Munson Stadium with a 7-2 win over Mt. Vernon Nazarene University in the NCCAA East Region Tournament championship game.  With an overall record of 39-14, Malone enters Wednesday’s opening round as the top-seed in the ten-team, double-elimination tourney that is being hosted by Geneva (PA) College.
 
The Pioneers, who are now just one victory shy of tying the 2006 squad’s single-season record of 40 wins, have received a first-round bye and will open play at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening against the winner of the 11:00 a.m. match-up between #8 seed Oakland City (IN) University (10-27 overall) and #9 seed Cedarville University (22-30).  Malone is making its second trip to the NCCAA National Championships in the last three years after having won the NCCAA National Title in 2006. 
 
The squad concluded its 2008 regular season schedule with a 36-11 overall record and a 21-5 mark in the American Mideast Conference (AMC).  The Pioneers then hosted the NAIA Region IX Tournament May 7-10 but were eliminated from NAIA postseason contention after dropping single, nine-inning contests to Urbana University and Mt. Vernon Nazarene.  Malone, which ended the regular season ranked second in the NCCAA National ratings, then hosted the three-team NCCAA East Region Tournament last week and came away with the regional crown after posting a 3-1 record over the two days of competition. 
 
Malone and Mount Vernon Nazarene have become familiar foes this year as the two squads have faced off a total of eight times in 2008, with four of those meeting occurring in the postseason.   The Pioneers and Cougars have split each of these previous match-ups as both teams possess a 4-4 record against one another, including a 2-2 record in the playoffs. The two AMC members may face off yet again next week as MVNU, despite being eliminated from the East Regional with its game five loss to Malone, has accepted an at-large bid to the NCCAA National Tournament and will compete as the #2 seed.
 
Complete tournament information and a printable bracket can be found by clicking HERE.
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