2010 Division IV Baseball Field Set

from the Allied Press

All around the country players and coaches celebrated as their teams were selected to compete in the 2010 NCAA Division IV Baseball Tournament. "I'm just so unbelievably excited to be here, it's really a dream come true." said Buck Iyze, head coach of Columbus State (OH) who's upset win over Detroit Clemency in the Metropolitan Conference Championship gave the school an automatic bid and its first ever appearance in the national baseball postseason tournament.

The NCAA Division IV Baseball Tournament is comprised of a 96-team field with 35 conference tournament champions earning automatic seeds and the rest of the bids coming from teams selected at-large from the over 400-member institutions competing at the level. In addition, 24 schools are chosen to host regionals, each with 4 teams in a double elimination format. The winners of each regional advance to one of 8 super regionals, each with 3 teams in a double elimination format, and the remaining 8 teams from that will be invited to Council Bluffs, IA and the 2010 NCAA Division IV College World Series. The CWS is triple elimination.

The 24 regional host sites and their super regional pairings are: #8 Williamsburg, VA (Peyton Randolph College), Greenwood, SC (Anderson Greenwood), Kissimmee, FL (Kissimmee Tech); #7 Flagstaff, AZ (Flagstaff State), Phoenix, AZ (Phoenix), San Diego, CA (Point Loma College); #6 Slidell, LA (Fourlane), Joliet, IL (Joliet State), Fort Worth, TX (UT Fort Worth); #5 Burbank, CA (Burbank Tech), Bar Harbor, ME (Bar Harbor), East Mount Carmel, IN (IUPUEMC); #4 Strasburg, PA (Penn Dutch), Kokomo, IL (Kokomo College), Cortez, CO (Mesa Verde G&T); #3 Cape Charles, VA (Cape Charles College), Sporting Hill, PA (Sporting Hill College), Hyannis, MA (College of Cape Cod); #2 Thomasville, GA (Thomasville Tech), San Diego, CA (LaJolla S&M), Carlsbad, NM (Carlsbad State); #1 Prescott, AZ (Ascot State), Boone, NC (UNC Boone), and San Diego, CA (Cabrillo College).

For some teams, the selections were expected. "We're meant to be here. We're never not here. A (D-4) baseball tournament without us isn't a tournament and it isn't a tournament if we're not a national seed either." commented Ascot State head coach Rick Tonto. There was a bit of uncertainty as to whether the Navajos would be allowed to compete after scandal fallout last year. It was first reported in 2008 that the Ascot State pitchers mound was in fact located above a 13th century Native American burial mound, and NCAA rulings last year about the matter placed heavy sanctions upon the program, including a 1-year ban on postseason play. When later questioned about their participation in postseason tournaments since, a Division IV spokesperson stated that that punishment had been reversed. Ascot State enters the tournament as the #1 overall seed.

Meanwhile, some teams are just relieved to be a host site. "It's a challenge for us every year. We know'th that if we do not succeed, we will not host a regional, and if we do not host a regional, we likely cannot compete." spoke Emil Krouse head coach of Penn Dutch University who received the #4 overall seed. "It can take'th up to a week for us to travel out of state for some games. If we were to ever be sent to a regional more than a hundred miles away, we likely would not be able to make it in time." Luckily for the Farmers, they are assured home stands for both the regionals and super regionals should they make it that far. When asked about their plans if they make it all the way to the CWS, Coach Krouse replied that "We'll ford that river when we get there." He went on to mention that they had already reserved coach seats on Amtrak and we're making arrangements via post with local farmers in Nebraska and Iowa to secure rental buggies.

"The Road to Council Bluffs starts here." stated Coach Tonto, pointing towards a nearby Route 66 marker.

The tournament begins this week and is expected to continue through the end of May.