Mitchell Heads to Babson for NCAA Division III Baseball Regional

May 13, 2024

INDIANAPOLIS – 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Champion Mitchell will represent the GNAC for the first time in the 2024 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship as it heads to Babson for the opening day of regional action. The game is scheduled for Friday, May 17 with game times still to be announced.

The Mariners were one of 60 teams selected into this year’s championship field, which was announced on Monday (May 13) afternoon during the NCAA.com Selection Show. They were also one of the 39 teams to earn their championship berth via their league’s automatic qualifier. The remaining 21 teams were selected at large with two teams coming out of Pool B, which included independent schools and schools from conferences without automatic qualifiers.

Mitchell came into the year looking to prove that they could compete in their new conference. It accomplished that feat by compiling a 32-11 overall record, including a 14-2 GNAC mark that earned it the No. 1 seed in the GNAC Championship Tournament. In Pod Play, the Mariners defeated No. 8 seed Saint Joseph’s (Maine) and No. 4 seed Colby-Sawyer to head into the Pod Finals as the undefeated team. In the Pod Finals they dropped a game to the Chargers, but were able to bounce back to win the “if necessary” game and advance to the GNAC Baseball Championship Series. In the best-of-three Championship Series, they swept No. 2 seed Johnson & Wales.

Babson was also the recipient of an automatic qualifier coming out of the New England Men’s and Women’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). The Beavers posted a 30-11 (12-4 NEWMAC) record this year and were the No. 3 seed in their conference tournament. After beating No. 6 seed MIT in the single-elimination portion of the tournament, they bested No. 2 seed Coast Guard to advance through the winner’s bracket. However, after falling to No. 4 seed Wheaton, the Beavers would need to stay alive in three straight elimination games to claim the NEWMAC crown.

Joining Mitchell and Babson in Babson Park are No. 7/8 nationally ranked Salisbury (28-9, 2-2 C2C) and UMass Dartmouth (24-18-1, 12-4 LEC). Salisbury was one of the two Pool B selections and UMD was the automatic qualifier out of the Little East Conference (LEC).

There are 15 additional regional sites besides Babson hosting action on Friday-Sunday, May 17-18. Four teams are competing at 14 of the sites with the other two regionals featuring two teams. The four-team regionals will use a double-elimination format and the two-team regionals will play a best-of-five series.

The sixteen regional winners will advance to the eight Super Regional sites on Friday-Saturday, May 24-25 to play best-of-three series. The eight Super Regional winners will then qualify for the pool play double-elimination championship at Classic Auto Group Park in Eastlake, Ohio from Friday, May 31 to Thursday, June 6.

2024 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Schedule

Regional Day 1 – Friday, May 17
(Hosted by Babson – Babson Park, Mass.)

Game 1 - UMass Dartmouth vs. No. 7/8 Salisbury, TBA
Game 2 - Mitchell at Babson, TBA

Regional Day 2 – Saturday, May 18
(Hosted by Babson – Babson Park, Mass.)

Game 3 - Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, TBA
Game 4 - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, TBA
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser, TBA

Regional Day 3 – Sunday, May 19
(Hosted by Babson – Babson Park, Mass.)

Game 6 - Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, TBA
Game 7 - If necessary

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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