INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The back-to-back Peach Belt Conference champion Lander baseball team officially earned its second consecutive bid to the NCAA Division II Baseball Tournament on Sunday night as the Bearcats were announced as the No. 8 seed in the Southeast Region and will travel to the Tigerville Regional to face host North Greenville in the opening round.
It marks the first time in program history that Lander has reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons and is the program's fifth overall NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Bearcats earned the Peach Belt's automatic qualifier after defeating the 10th-ranked North Georgia Nighthawks in a two-game sweep in the PBC Baseball Championship Series on Friday and Saturday in Dahlonega, Ga. North Georgia also earned a spot in the Tigerville Regional as the No. 4 seed and will face fifth-seeded Francis Marion in the other opening-round matchup.
The Nighthawks and Patriots will open up the regional at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 14th with the Bearcats and Trailblazers following at 6 p.m.
Last season, the Blue and Gold were selected as the No. 8 seed in the Salisbury Regional, a bracket that featured four top-20 teams. Lander had host Catawba down to its final strike before the Indians rallied late, but the Bearcats rebounded to earn their first NCAA Tournament win in more than a decade with a victory over Young Harris.
The Southeast Region features two four-team double-elimination regional tournaments that will be played this weekend. The winners of the two regionals will advance to a best-of-three Super Regional at the higher remaining seed for a trip to Cary, N.C., and the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship.
The other Southeast Regional, hosted by Catawba in Salisbury, N.C., features the second-seeded Indians alongside No. 3 seed Wingate, No. 6 seed Young Harris and No. 7 seed Belmont Abbey.
Lander is looking for the program's third trip to Cary in its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance.
Tickets for the Regional can be bought as either a $20 single day pass or $50 Tournament Pass and can be bought here
Full Regional Schedule:
Thursday, May 14
Game #1 2:00pm #4 North Georgia VS. #5 Francis Marion
Game #2 6:00pm #1 North Greenville VS. #8 Lander
Friday, May 15
Game #3 2:00pm Loser of Game #1 VS. Loser of Game #2
Game #4 6:00pm Winner of Game #1 VS. Winner of Game #2
Saturday, May 16
Game #5 2:00pm Winner of Game #3 VS. Loser of Game #4
Game #6 6:00pm Winner of Game #4 VS. Winner of Game #5
Sunday, May 17 (if necessary)
Game #7 3:00pm Winner of Game #4 VS. Winner of Game #5
