Monday, May 30, 2011

MACON, Ga. - For the 10th time in the last 13 years, the Atlantic Sun Conference placed multiple schools into the NCAA Baseball Division I Championship field as Belmont, Stetson and Jacksonville received bids.

Belmont, who received the league's automatic bid will stay home in Nashville as part of the regional hosted by Vanderbilt. The Bruins will open with the hosting Commodores. Oklahoma State and Troy round out the four-team regional.

 

 

Regular-season champion Stetson returns to the NCAAs for the first time since 2007, earning the No.2 seed at the Columbia Regional, hosted by South Carolina. The Hatters open with NC State. ETSU scored a pair of wins at NC State late in the regular season.

 

 

Jacksonville gave the A-Sun a third representative for the first time since 2003. The Dolphins received a No. 3 seed in the Gainesville Regional. They will open with Miami (FL) and join hosting Florida and Manhattan in the regional.

 

 

Only eight conferences received at least three bids and only the ACC, SEC, Pac-10, Big 12 and Conference USA placed more teams in the field than the A-Sun. Belmont joins Alcorn State and UALR as the three programs making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. Belmont joins Lipscomb (2008) and Mercer (2010) as recent A-Sun schools to earn first-ever trips to the NCAA Championship.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.