2023 Upland Bracket Opening Round Preview
UPLAND, Ind. – The 2023 NAIA Baseball Opening Rounds are slated to commence on Monday, May 15, when the No. 19 Trojans are primed to host the five-team Upland Bracket at Winterholter Field.
Taylor (37-15) received an automatic bid to the opening rounds for the second-straight season after winning the 2023 Crossroads League Regular Season championship, paving the way toward its eighth national tournament appearance in program history.
In their previous seven appearances in the opening rounds, the Trojans have posted a record of 6-14, including a mark of 1-2 in last season’s Upland Bracket of the NAIA Baseball Opening Rounds.
Taylor is set to compete as the Upland Bracket’s number two seed and will square off with RV Cumberland (35-13-1) as the three-seed Monday afternoon at 2:30 pm. Cumberland (TN) received an at-large bid toward its seventh appearance in the opening rounds, boasting a record of 15-9 in its previous six trips to the national stage.
Monday’s mid-afternoon showcase is sure to be an offensive battle, as the two teams represent the two highest run-producing lineups in the five-team bracket.
For those having followed the Trojans throughout the 2023 campaign, you are well aware that Taylor has established a new program record with 82 home runs in a single season, which has helped bolster a total of 462 runs in 52 games played.
Cumberland, however, has struck a total of 117 home runs as a team, including four players who have each hit 16 or more, en route to a total of 516 runs scored in just 49 games. The Phoenix long-ball effort has been led by Cole Turney, who currently leads the nation with 31 home runs and a slugging percentage of 1.315.
The Phoenix and Trojans are scheduled to duke it out after Monday’s first game between the four and five seeds, which is set to take place at 11:00 am. RV Point Park (36-15) will serve as the four-seed and showcases perhaps the deepest pitching staff in the Upland Bracket.
Three separate Pioneer pitchers have traversed 68 or more innings on the mound while maintaining a sub-three ERA. As a staff, Point Park (PA) holds a 3.48 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of just .231, which has helped energize the Pioneers’ seventh trip to the opening rounds in program history.
Point Park secured the River States Conference Tournament Championship en route to its seventh national appearance, into which the Pioneers bring a record of 9-10 in their previous six opportunities.
The Pioneers are slated to square off against the fifth-seeded Fisher College (29-23) out of Massachusetts. Fisher earned a spot on the national stage thanks to a Continental Athletic Conference tournament run in which the Falcons finished as the tournament runners-up to No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett.
The Falcon lineup presents three batters with batting averages over the .420 mark, helping solidify a team batting average of .309. Though, relatively few of the Falcon base knocks have cleared the fence, as the Fisher lineup holds just 42 total home runs, 30 fewer than any of the other four teams in the Upland Bracket.
The Fisher pitching staff, meanwhile, has posted a team ERA of 7.13 and an opponents’ batting average of .304, on which Point Park will look to capitalize in Monday’s first matchup.
The winner of Monday’s 11:00 am game will be rewarded with a 6:00 pm matchup with the Upland Bracket’s number-one seed and the No. 4 team in the entire nation, Tennessee Wesleyan (42-9).
Tennessee Wesleyan is making its 14th appearance in the NAIA Baseball Opening Rounds, boasting six National Championships and a record of 34-19 in its previous 13 trips to the national tournament.
The Bulldogs present perhaps the most dynamic combination of pitching and hitting among the Upland Bracket’s five teams. As a staff, Tennessee Wesleyan has limited the opponents’ batting average to a mark of just .231 while tallying 472 strikeouts to just 170 walks.
Meanwhile in the batter’s box, the Bulldogs boast a team batting average of .317 in tandem with 120 stolen bases. While three players have executed 25 or more stolen bases for the Bulldogs, four additional hitters have recorded 10 or more home runs throughout the 2023 campaign.
Competition is schedule to commence Monday morning, May 15, at 11:00 am with the play-in matchup between RV Point Park and Fisher, the winner of which will square off with No. 4 Tennessee Wesleyan later Monday evening at 6:00 pm. Between the morning and evening games, No. 19 Taylor and RV Cumberland will compete at 2:30 pm.
Tuesday, May 16, will follow a similar schedule to Monday with games scheduled for 11:00 am, 2:30 pm, and 6:00 pm. Wednesday, May 17, will then present games at 2:30 pm and 6:00 pm, with an additional game scheduled for Thursday, May 18, at 12:00 pm if necessary.
With these five teams poised to perform in next week’s NAIA Baseball Opening Rounds, the Upland Bracket is sure to be an entertaining schedule to follow. The winner of the Upland Bracket will earn an invitation to the 66th-annual Avista NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, set to unfold between May 26 and June 2