CARY, N.C. – Eight teams will vie for a national championship as the 2010 NCAA Division II Baseball National Finals gets underway Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. The double-elimination tournament runs through the following Saturday, May 29 and the championship game will be nationally televised live on CBS College Sports. Mount Olive College will partner with Town of Cary as hosts for this year’s National Finals. Mount Olive College and Town of Cary co-hosted the 2009 National Finals and will also host the 2011 National Finals.

Tickets are $7 per session for adults and $5 per session for children 12 and under and seniors 55 and over. All-session tickets are available for $25. Tickets and championship information are available by going to www.moctrojans.com/sports/bsb/index or www.ncaa.com.

The field for the National Finals will be comprised of the champions of the eight regionals, which took place over the weekend. Seven teams have punched their tickets to Cary, but the South Central Regional in Warrensburg, Mo., won’t be decided until Tuesday after rain washed out two days of play.

Two first-round games will be played Saturday, followed by two more first-round games Sunday. Game times both days are 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Saturday’s play begins with Tampa (South Regional champion) taking on the winner of the South Central Regional, then concludes with Georgia College and State (Southeast) going up against UC San Diego (West). UC San Diego, which tied for third at the 2009 National Finals, is the only team from last year’s championship to return to Cary this year. Sunday, Franklin Pierce (East) faces Kutztown (Atlantic) in the opener, followed by Southern Indiana (Midwest) vs. Minnesota State (Central).

Game times next Monday through Thursday are 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. as the tournament field narrows. Games would be played next Friday only if more than two teams remain in the tournament. The winner-takes-all national championship game begins at noon on May 29.

Cary is the sixth city to host the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship, dating back to 1968. Springfield, Mo., hosted the first four national championships, followed by an eight-year run in Springfield, Ill, and five years in Riverside, Calif. The national championship moved to Montgomery, Ala., in 1985 and stayed there through 2007. Mount Olive won the 2008 national title in Sauget, Ill., just east of St. Louis, Mo.

Mount Olive was the No. 4 seed in this year’s Southeast Regional and had an opportunity to advance to the National Finals for the second time in three years. The Trojans fell to eventual regional champion Georgia College and State 4-3 in the first round, then stayed alive with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Erskine, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Mount Olive was eliminated Saturday by top-seeded and tournament host Francis Marion 2-0.

At more than 130,000 people, Cary is a thriving community in the heart of central North Carolina and has been praised for its high quality of life by MONEY Magazine, Forbes and Frommer’s. Often referred to as North Carolina’s Technology Town, Cary is served by an award-winning Town government of 1,100 professionals who focus every day on enriching the lives of their citizens by creating an exceptional environment and providing exemplary services that enable their community to thrive and prosper. The Town of Cary website is located at www.townofcary.org.

Selected by the NCAA as an "NCAA Championship City", the Town of Cary is designated as one of six premier collegiate athletics host communities. Cary joins Cleveland, Ohio; Indianapolis, Ind.; St. Louis, Mo.; San Antonio, Texas; and San Diego, Calif., as cities with this designation. Cary has hosted numerous NCAA national championships, including Division I Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships and the 2009 Division II Baseball National Finals. Lynn defeated Emporia State 2-1 in last year’s national championship game.

In addition to the games at the National Finals, there will be a different promotion each day, including a youth clinic Saturday morning. The clinic will be conducted by the Mount Olive College baseball coaching staff and will include players and coaches from one of the participating teams.

Below is the complete schedule for the National Finals, including each day’s promotion.

 

Schedule (All Times Eastern)

Live video webcasts of all games available on www.ncaa.org
Saturday, May 22 (Youth Clinic 10 a.m.-Noon Ages 8-14)
Game 1: Tampa (South) vs. South Central Regional Champion - 1 p.m.
Game 2: Georgia College and State (Southeast) vs. UC San Diego (West) - 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 23 (Kids run the bases after second game)
Game 3: Franklin Pierce (East) vs. Kutztown (Atlantic) - 1 p.m.
Game 4: Southern Indiana (Midwest) vs. Minnesota State (Central) - 5 p.m.
Monday, May 24 (Free Rawlings keychains for first 500 fans)
Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 6: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 25 (Free mini-bats for first 250 fans)
Game 7: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 8: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 26 (Dollar Hot Dog Day)
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 10: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser - 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 27 (Free USA Baseball caps for first 250 fans)
Game 11: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - 3 p.m.
Game 12: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner - 7 p.m.
Friday, May 28 ("What If" Day: Tickets $4 - Available only at gate day of game)
Game 13: Game 11 Rematch (If necessary)
Game 14: Game 12 Rematch (if necessary)
Game times 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. if both games are played
Game time 6 p.m. if one game is played
Saturday, May 29 (Family Fun Day) Championship Game - Noon (Live coverage on CBS College Sports)


-MOC-

Contact: David Shulimson, Sports Information Director
Mount Olive College
586 Henderson Street
Mount Olive, NC 28365
Phone: 919.658.7802
Email: dshulimson@moc.edu