INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Marietta College Pioneers are one of 56 teams competing in the 2016 NCAA Division III baseball Championship as the full tournament field was announced early Monday (May 16) morning by the NCAA.
The Pioneers earned an automatic bid into the championship field on Saturday by winning the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament title. For the second straight year, the Etta Express has been assigned to the South Regional, which will be hosted by Berry College in Rome, Georgia.
Marietta, 28-15 overall, is the No. 4 seed and will face No. 3 seed
Shenandoah University in the opening round on Wednesday (May 18) at 6 p.m. The Hornets are 32-10 on the season and were awarded one of 14 at-large bids into the tournament.
Emory University was named the regional's top seed with Birmingham-Southern College seeded second, Huntingdon College fifth and Thomas More College sixth. Emory and Thomas More will open the regional at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, followed by Birmingham-Southern versus Huntingdon at 2:30 p.m.
The Pioneers are making their 41st trip to the NCAA Tournament, dating back to its first appearance in 1971. Marietta has advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series 22 times winning national titles in 1981, 1983, 1986, 2006, 2011 and 2012.
The Etta Express is the Division III leader in tournament appearances (41), World Series appearances (22) and national titles (6). In their 22 trips to the World Series, Marietta has advanced to the championship game 13 times, also tops in Division III.
Berry College will host the 2016 South Regional at William R. Bowdoin Field. Marietta has ties to the northwest Georgia school and the baseball program in particular.
Former Pioneer All-American John Schaly '82 was hired to resurrect the Viking baseball program in 1988. Schaly oversaw the construction of the facility and hosted the Pioneers for one game in March of 1988, a 25-3 Pioneer victory. Schaly averaged nearly 39 wins per season in his four years at Berry.
Complete tournament information can be found on the regional website by clicking
HERE.
Fans can follow the Etta Express all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
