
Story written by Anthony Perry '08, Fisher College Associate Director of Athletics/Sports Information
UPLAND, IND. – The Fisher College Baseball team has been selected as the No. 5 seed for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Opening Round – Upland Bracket, a tournament taking place May 15-18 at Winterholter Field in Upland, Indiana. The 46-team field and pairings for the 2023 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round was announced Thursday, May 11 by the NAIA National Office. The 14th annual event takes place at 10 host sites, six of which will feature a five-team bracket while the remaining four hosts will have four-team brackets.
NAIA OPENING ROUND – UPLAND BRAKCET TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
The field will consist of 31 automatic qualifiers – given to conference regular-season champions, tournament champions, or tournament finalists – and 15 at-large teams. Conferences with 10 -or-more members receive two automatic qualifiers, while conferences with less than 10 get one. At-large teams were determined by the NAIA Baseball National Selection Committee (NSC). The NSC is comprised of one representative from each geographical area, a representative from the National Administrative Council, a member of the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association Executive Committee, and three at-large members. The committee evaluated teams throughout the season on various criteria.
The No. 5 Falcons will face No. 4 seed Point Park University (Pa.) in the first game of the Upland Bracket on Monday, May 15 at 11am EST. The winner will then move on to play the tournament's top seed, No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan University ay 6pm EST. Also joining the Upland Bracket is tournament host, No. 2 Taylor University and No. 3 Cumberland University (Tenn.), who will play each other at 2:30pm EST on Monday.
Games in the double-elimination bracket will continue on Tuesday, May 16th and Wednesday, May 17th with the possibility of a (if necessary) game on Thursday, May 18th at 12pm EST. The bracket winner will advance to the 66th Avisita NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho beginning on May 26th.
Fisher enters the 2023 Opening Round with a 29-23 overall record and finishing as the Continental Athletic Conference tournament runner-up. The second-place finish secured the CAC's second automatic bid to the national tournament with the CAC champion, Georgia Gwinnett College claiming the other AQ. The Falcons won their way into the postseason for a third consecutive year after defeating both Florida National University and Iowa Wesleyan University in the conference tournament.
The bracket's top seed, Tennessee Wesleyan are currently ranked #4 overall in the final NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll and was awarded one of the 15 at-large bids as the bracket host after losing twice to Union College in the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament. The Bulldogs are 42-9 on the season and were the regular season champions of the AAC. This will be TWU's 14th consecutive appearance in the Opening Round and are looking for a return trip to Lewiston after reaching the NAIA World Series semifinals a season ago.
Taylor University (Ind.) is the bracket's No. 2 seed and earned an automatic bid as the host site for the 2023 NAIA Baseball Opening Round. This is the third time overall and second consecutive season that the Trojans were chosen as an Opening Round host. Taylor enters the bracket as the regular season champions of the Crossroads League with an overall record of 37-13 and were upset as the CL tournament's top seed – falling to both Spring Arbor University (Mich.) and Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio). The Trojans also ranked at No. 21 in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches poll and are looking to make their first trip to the NAIA Avista World Series.
The No. 3 seed is Cumberland University (Tenn.). The Phoenix are receiving votes in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll and enter the Opening Round as an at-large selection after finishing the season at 35-13-1. Members of the Mid-South Conference, Cumberland fell to Freed-Hardeman in the MSC tournament last week and are making their seventh appearance in the Opening Round. They are vying for the program's first trip to Lewiston since the 2014 season.
Rounding out the five-team bracket is a familiar foe in No. 4 seed Point Park (Pa.). The Pioneers worked their way into the Opening Round after claiming the River States Conference tournament championship. They pieced together and impressive 2023 campaign with a 36-15 overall record that includes a 20-7 mark in RSC play. This will be Point Park's seventh trip to the Opening Round and currently hold an 8-10 record in OR play. Last season, the Pioneers found themselves as one of the final three teams in the Lawrenceville Bracket.
This will also be the 13th all-time matchup between Fisher and Point Park, with the Pioneers holding a 9-3 advantage. Last season, Point Park was able to sweep a double-header series in Pittsburgh on April 4 by scores of 10-6 and 5-2.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
All games and practices will be held at Winterholter Field on the campus of Taylor University (236 West Reade Avenue, Upland, IN 46989). Live Stats and Video of all the games in the 2023 NAIA Opening Round – Upland Bracket will be free of charge, courtesy of Taylor University Athletics. If you are planning to attend the Opening Round – Upland Bracket, you can purchase tickets at www.taylortrojans.com/tickets
Sunday, May 14, 2023
12:00pm EST Practice | No. 5 Fisher College
01:00pm EST Practice | No. 4 Point Park (Pa.)
02:00pm EST Practice | No. 3 Cumberland (Tenn.)
03:00pm EST Practice | No. 2 Taylor (Ind.)
04:00pm EST Practice | No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan
Monday, May 15, 2023
Game 1 | No. 4 Point Park (Pa.) vs. No. 5 Fisher (Mass.) – 11am EST
Game 2 | No. 2 Taylor (Ind.) vs. No. 3 Cumberland (Tenn.) – 2:30pm EST
Game 3 | No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan vs. Winner of Game 1 – 6pm EST
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
Game 4 | Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 11am EST
Game 5 | Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 – 2:30pm EST
Game 6 | Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 6pm EST
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Game 7 | Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 5 – 11am EST
Game 8 | Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 7 – 2:30pm EST
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Game 9 | Winner of Game 8 vs. Loser of Game 8 – 12pm EST *if necessary*
BY THE NUMBERS
Fisher has the following career records against the other four teams in the bracket:
No. 1 | #4 Tennessee Wesleyan; 0-0
No. 2 | #21 Taylor (Ind.); 0-0
No. 3 | RV Cumberland (Tenn.); 0-0
No. 4 | RV Point Park (Pa.); 3-9
Fisher has also played a tough NAIA schedule this season as a pair of NAIA opponents were selected to the 2023 NAIA Opening Round and others were either nationally ranked or receiving votes (RV) this year:
#3 Georgia Gwinnet College – No. 1 seed in the Lawrenceville Bracket (8 games)
#20 Bryan (Tenn.) – No. 3 seed in the Kingsport Bracket (2 games)
Indiana Tech – Ranked as high #22 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll – March 8 (2 games)
Faulkner – Ranked as high as #6 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll – November 2 (1 game)
Talladega – Received votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 5, April 19, May 10 (1 game)
This will be Fisher's seventh appearance in the NAIA post-season and third since the NAIA adopted the Opening Round format before the start of the 2009 season:
2005 | East Coast Super Regionals @ Ohio Dominican University
2006 | East Coast Super Regionals @ Seton Hill University (Pa.)
2007 | East Coast Super Regionals @ Walsh University (Ohio)
2008 | East Coast Super Regionals @ Ohio Dominican University
2021 | NAIA Opening Round – Lakeland, Fla. Bracket
2022 | NAIA Opening Round – Shreveport, La. Bracket
2023 | NAIA Opening Round – Upland, Ind. Bracket
FOR THE RECORD
Fisher College Baseball is closing in on 600 wins in program history. Over the past 22 seasons of existence, the program has:
593-458-1 | Fisher Baseball Program Win-Loss Record
127 | All-Conference Selections
42 | Highest Single-Season Win Total (2019)
25 | Highest Ranking in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll (2006, Final)
22 | Seasons Played in Fisher Baseball History
18 | 20+ win seasons in Fisher Baseball History
16 | Fewest Single-Season Losses (2006, 2007, 2019)
9 | Conference Players of the Year
6 | Former Players who went onto play Professional Baseball
6 | Conference Rookie/Freshman of the Year
3 | Major League Baseball Draft Picks
2 | NAIA All-Americans
1 | NAIA Gold Glove Award Winner (Mike Oliveira, 2nd base – 2011)
1 | Head Coach in Fisher Baseball History
Scott Dulin has been the Head Baseball Coach at Fisher College since the birth of the department in the summer of 2001. He owns a career coaching record of 606-477-2 with 22 years at Fisher and 2 years (2000, 2001) at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.
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