The 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament bracket is set. Morehead State has secured the second seed -- its best since 1994 -- and will open on Thursday (May 21) at 4 p.m. ET. All games will be played at The Ballpark at Jackson in Western Tennessee.
Southeast Missouri, which finished OVC play 22-8, is the No. 1 seed. No. 3 SIU Edwardsville, No. 4 Tennessee Tech, No. 5 Jacksonville State and No. 6 Belmont round out the field. The double-elimination event runs Wednesday through Saturday, with the "if necessary" round on Sunday.
Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State begin the tournament on Wednesday at 4 p.m., with SIU Edwardsville and Belmont to follow. The losers play an elimination tilt on Thursday at Noon. The Eagles face the best seed of the winners, while SEMO squares off with the worst seed of the winners.
Friday's schedule features two loser's bracket affairs and the winner's bracket final. Saturday's slate includes the loser's bracket final and first championship tilt. Teams with first-round byes could win the championship in as few as three games. All others would have to play a minimum of four contests.
Morehead State, which finished conference play 20-10, is 35-20 overall. The overall wins and league victories are both school records. MSU's overall winning percentage (.636) is its best since going 28-11 (.718) in 1976.
Morehead State, which started the season 11-13, has won 24 of its last 31 games. The Eagles, who began OVC play 3-7, finished their league slate by winning 17 of 20. MSU did not lose a conference series in April or May.
Jacksonville State won the 2014 league tournament and participated in an NCAA Regional. The Gamecocks rolled to six consecutive OVC Tournament victories after losing their opener.
Morehead State is searching for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1983.
The 6,000-seat Ballpark at Jackson, formerly Pringles Park, plays home to the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Tickets are $10 per day or $28 for an all-session pass. OVC students/faculty will receive a $2 day-rate discount or $3 all-session discount with a valid ID.
