GNAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

WINTHROP, Mass. – Mitchell introduced itself to Great North Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball in a big way, claiming the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GNAC Baseball Championship Tournament in its first season in the league.

The Mariners produced a 14-2 GNAC (27-10 overall) record this year to secure the top spot in the conference the right to host one of two four-team double-elimination pods in the tournament.

Joining Mitchell as a pod host is defending GNAC Champion Johnson & Wales, which went 13-3 in GNAC play (23-10 overall) this year to earn the No. 2 seed in this year's bracket.

Both squads will host three other teams from Friday, May 3 to Sunday, May 5 in a double-elimination format to determine the two participants in the 2024 GNAC Baseball Championship Series.

Heading to New London, Conn. for Pod A play will be No. 4 seed Colby-Sawyer (10-6 GNAC, 21-14 overall), No. 5 seed Anna Maria (9-7 GNAC, 16-21 overall), and No. 8 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine). Meanwhile, the Wildcats will welcome No. 3 seed Lasell (10-6 GNAC, 21-18 overall), No. 6 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (8-8 GNAC, 16-20-1 overall), and No. 7 seed Norwich to Pod B.

There were two ties in the standings that required the conference's tiebreaking procedure to determine seeding. First, Lasell and Colby-Sawyer both finished with 10-6 conference records. The deadlock was broken in the first step of the tiebreaker as the Lasers defeated the Chargers, 16-6 in their lone conference meeting, granting them the No. 3 seed.

Further down in the standings, the USJ, Norwich, and Saint Joseph's (Maine) all finished with 8-8 GNAC records. The Blue Jays emerged as the highest seed among the three based on head-to-head conference results. USJ went 2-0 in conference games against the other two teams, while Norwich and Saint Joe's both had 1-2 records.

With one team removed from the scenario, the Cadets and Monks entered a new tiebreaker from the first step. The two teams split their conference meetings, so the protocol advanced to the next step, comparing results against other conference teams in rank order. Neither team had a win against top-seeded Mitchell, but Norwich went 1-0 against No. 2 seed JWU. Since Saint Joseph's lost its meeting with the Wildcats, Norwich was awarded the No. 7 seed.

Both pods will feature two games on Friday with action starting at 11 a.m. at Mitchell and noon at JWU. Day two of Pod Play has three games scheduled for Saturday, May 4 with the Pod Finals scheduled for Sunday, May 5.

The two teams advancing out their respective pods will meet for a best-of-three GNAC Baseball Championship Series. The Championship Series begins on Thursday, May 9 with game two and the "if necessary" game scheduled for Friday, May 10.

The winner of the GNAC Championship Series earned the title of 2024 GNAC Baseball Champion and will earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

2024 GNAC Baseball Tournament Schedule

Pod Play Day 1 – Friday, May 3

Pod A
(Hosted by No. 1 seed Mitchell)

Game 1A - #8 Saint Joseph's (Maine) at #1 Mitchell, 11 a.m.
Game 2A - #5 Anna Maria vs. #4 Colby-Sawyer, 2:30 p.m.

Pod B
(Hosted by No. 2 seed Johnson & Wales)

Game 1B - #7 Norwich at #2 Johnson & Wales, Noon
Game 2B - #6 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) vs. #3 Lasell, 4 p.m.

Pod Play Day 2 – Saturday, May 4

Pod A
(Hosted by No. 1 seed Mitchell)

Game 3A – Game 1A Loser vs. Game 2A Loser, 8:30 a.m.
Game 4A – Game 1A Winner vs. Game 2A Winner, Noon
Game 5A – Game 3A Winner vs. Game 4A Loser, 3 p.m.

Pod B
(Hosted by No. 2 seed Johnson & Wales)

Game 3B – Game 1B Loser vs. Game 2B Loser, 11 a.m.
Game 4B – Game 1B Winner vs. Game 2B Winner, 2 p.m.
Game 5B – Game 3B Winner vs. Game 4B Loser, 5 p.m.

Pod Finals – Sunday, May 5

Pod A
(Hosted by No. 1 seed Mitchell)

Game 6A – Game 4A Winner vs. Game 5A Winner, 11 a.m.
Game 7A – If necessary

Pod B
(Hosted by No. 2 seed Johnson & Wales)

Game 6B – Game 4B Winner vs. Game 5B Winner, Noon
Game 7B – If necessary 

Championship Series – Thursday, May 9
(Hosted by higher seed)

Game 8 – Winner of Pod A vs. Winner of Pod B, TBD

Championship Series – Friday, May 10
(Hosted by higher seed)

Game 9 – Winner of Pod A vs. Winner of Pod B, TBD
Game 10 – Winner of Pod A vs. Winner of Pod B, TBD (if necessary)

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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