Baseball | 5/14/2023 10:30:00 PM

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The 2023 MIAA Regular Season and Tournament Champion Central Missouri Mules baseball team has earned the top seed in the NCAA-II Central Region and will host a four-team regional tournament May 18-21 at Crane Stadium/Tompkins Field in Warrensburg, the NCAA announced late Sunday night, May 14.

The Mules will be one of two hosts for the four-team regional tournaments. UCM and No. 2 seed, fellow MIAA member, Missouri Southern will each host.

The winners of each regional will then meet for a best two-out-of-three Super Regional series at the site of the highest remaining seed May 26-27.

The team advancing out of the Super Regional will earn a spot in the NCAA-II College World Series June 3-10 in Cary, N.C.

Central Missouri will face the eighth-seeded St. Cloud State Huskies out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Thursday, May 18, at 6 p.m. CT in the opening round. UCM and SCSU have met seven times all-time. The Huskies lead the series, 5-2. UCM and St. Cloud State last met in the Houston Winter Invitational in 2019, with SCSU posting a 7-3 win. 

The other opening round contest, which will be Thursday at 2 p.m. CT, will feature No. 4 seed Ouachita Baptist and No. 5 seed Augustana (S.D.).

The tournament, which is double-elimination, will continue through Saturday, May 20, unless an if-necessary game seven is forced, which will be played Sunday, May 21.

Other Notes:

• The Mules enter the tournament at 41-13 overall.
• UCM won its 29th MIAA Regular Season and 16th MIAA Tournament Championship.
• Central Missouri will be playing in its 33rd NCAA Regional Tournament. It is also the 19th time UCM has served as a regional host.

Additional information regarding the NCAA-II Central Regional in Warrensburg will be announced at a later date.