Sunday, May 12, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS – Montana State Billings was selected to the 2019 NCAA Division II West Regional field during Sunday's NCAA Selection Show. The Yellowjackets earned the berth after sweeping both the conference's regular-season and championships title.
The No. 6 seed enters the tournament as the GNAC's automatic qualifier following its first-ever GNAC Championships title on Friday afternoon at Porter Park. This is the first season that the conference has an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Championship.
The opening round will commence on Thursday in La Jolla, Calif. Montana State Billings will face No. 3 seed Point Loma in its regional opener.
The Yellowjackets will be appearing in their first NCAA Division II Tournament in program history. The club entered the GNAC Championships as the No. 1 seed and enters the regional having won 11 consecutive games. The highlight of that streak came earlier this week when MSUB defeat Saint Martin's in the conference tournament title game for an 8-5 victory.
Led by the most explosive offense in the league, Montana State Billings has five players currently hitting at .300 or better at the plate. The team has been paced by GNAC Player of the Year Daniel Cipriano, who is averaging a .400 clip while notching 51 RBI and 17 home runs on the season. All three of those marks lead the league as postseason play continues.
The Yellowjackets enter regional play with a record of 33-18 (30-10 GNAC). They have tallied a 6-1 record in neutral site games on the 2019 campaign.
Joining Montana State Billings and Point Loma in the three-team pod will be host UC San Diego. As the pod's highest seed, the Tritons will receive a first-round bye and play their first game on Friday.
NCAA DIVISION II BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP WEST REGIONAL
At Triton Ballpark, UC San Diego, La Jolla, Calif.
Double-Elimination Format
Thurs., May 16
No. 6 Montana State Billings vs. No. 3 Point Loma
Fri., May 17
Loser of Game 1 vs. No. 2 UC San Diego
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner/Loser of Game 2
Sat., May 18
Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3
Winner of Game 4 vs. Loser of Game 4 (if necessary)
*If UC San Diego wins Game 2, then Game 3 will become the first of a best-of-three series between the No. 2 seed and the winner of Game 1.
*If the winner of Game 2 is the loser of Game 1, the loser of Game 2 will play the winner of Game 1.
*If three teams remain after Game 3, an alternate bracket will determine matchups.