BSB: Mitchell Claims Top Seed In Upcoming GNAC Baseball Tournament
WINTHROP, Mass. – Mitchell finished the regular season atop of the conference standings to clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Great North Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Championship Tournament. The Mariners went 16-4 in GNAC play (24-12 overall) this year to secure the right to host one of two four-team double-elimination pods in the tournament.
Joining Mitchell as a pod host is the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) as the Blue Jays secured the two seed despite tying with Saint Joseph's (Maine) at 14-6 in conference play. The Blue Jays went 25-15 while the Monks went 30-10 overall. USJ snagged the tie-breaker bragging rights after sweeping Mitchell in their final conference doubleheader on Saturday (April 25) while SJC split against the Mariners at 1-1, giving the Blue Jays the advantage.
Dean earned the four seed at 11-9 in conference (20-14 overall) despite tying with five seed Colby-Sawyer (18-19 overall) due to the results versus highest-ranked teams tiebreaker in which after the Bulldogs and Chargers split against each other, they went down the list of the opponents seeded ahead of them in which they shared the same record against Mitchell and USJ (0-2 each) before Dean separated themselves by splitting with SJC while the Chargers were swept on Saturday's doubleheader with the Monks.
Norwich collected the sixth seed at 9-11 in conference (12-23 overall) despite another tie with no.7 seed Lasell (19-18 overall) after the Cadets split with the Lasers and broke the tie, splitting with top-seed Mitchell while Lasell went 0-2.
The final seed was determined today for the eight spot after a split between Rivier and Elms occured in which both teams finished 7-13 as the Blazers ended up with the final spot due to their sweep over USJ after both teams did not defeat Mitchell and the Raiders split 1-1 with USJ, thus giving Elms the final spot in this year's postseason.
Both pods will feature one game on Thursday, April 30 with action at the top four seeds. Day two of Pod Play has three games scheduled for Saturday, May 2 with the Pod Finals scheduled for Sunday, May 3. The two teams advancing out their respective pods will meet for a best-of-three GNAC Baseball Championship Series. The Championship Series begins on Thursday, May 7 with game two and the "if necessary" game scheduled for Friday, May 8.
The winner of the GNAC Championship Series earned the title of 2026 GNAC Baseball Champion and will earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2026 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
2026 GNAC Baseball Tournament Schedule
Pod Play- Day 1 (Thu. April 30)
(Hosted by higher seeds)
Pod A
#1 Mitchell v. #8 Elms, 2:00 pm
#4 Dean v. #5 Colby-Sawyer, 3:00 pm
Pod B
#2 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) v. #7 Lasell, 3:00 pm
#3 Saint Joseph's (Maine) v. #6 Norwich, tbd
Pod Play Day 2 – Sat. (May 2)
Pod A
(Hosted by No. 1 seed Mitchell)
Game 3A – Game 1A Loser vs. Game 2A Loser, 8:30 am
Game 4A – Game 1A Winner vs. Game 2A Winner, 12:00 pm
Game 5A – Game 3A Winner vs. Game 4A Loser, 3:00 pm
Pod B
(Hosted by No. 2 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.))
Game 3B – Game 1B Loser vs. Game 2B Loser, 9:00 am
Game 4B – Game 1B Winner vs. Game 2B Winner, 12:00 pm
Game 5B – Game 3B Winner vs. Game 4B Loser, 3:00 pm
Pod Finals – Sunday, May 3
Pod A
(Hosted by No. 1 seed Mitchell)
Game 6A – Game 4A Winner vs. Game 5A Winner, 11:00 AM
Game 7A – If necessary, tbd
Pod B
(Hosted by No. 2 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.))
Game 6B – Game 4B Winner vs. Game 5B Winner, 12:00 pm
Game 7B – If necessary, 3:00 pm
Championship Series – Thursday, May 7 and Friday, May 8
(Hosted by highest remaining seed)
Game 8 – Pod A Winner v. Pod B Winner (Game 1)
Game 9 - Pod A Winner v. Pod B Winner (Game 2)
Game 10 – If necessary
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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