The Wash. U. Bears have a 28-3 record and are the No. 1 ranked team in the country heading into the D3 baseball postseason. (Photo courtesy Wash. U. Athletics)
by Nathan Assata
Staff Writer
The No. 1 team in NCAA Division III baseball also received the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA regionals this weekend, when the Washington University Bears were named the top seed when the tournament brackets were announced on Sunday.
The Bears, who were ranked No. 1 in the country five straight weeks in the NCBWA national poll, including in last week’s final poll of the regular season, will enter the postseason with a 28-3 record and on a seven-game winning streak as the program looks to win its first ever baseball national title.
Wash. U. will play in the Decatur, Illinois region this weekend, with the games set to be played at Workman Family Baseball Field, which is on the campus of Millikin University in Decatur.
Wash. U.’s first game will be the opening game of the regional, on Thursday, May 27, when the top-seeded Bears will play No. 6 seed Illinois College at 11 a.m. The winner of that game will then advance to the regional’s second round, where they will play the winner of the 3-seed vs. 4-seed game, which will be Denison vs. Millikin.
The tournament is a double-elimination event, where teams have to lose twice to be eliminated. After the first two days, the regional game schedule will be determined by how many teams have yet to lose their second game. The teams that advance past Saturday will play in the regional championship game on Sunday.
There are 48 teams competing in eight 6-team regional tournaments around the country. The winners of those eight regionals will advance to the NCAA Division III National Championships, a double-elimination tournament to determine the 2021 D3 baseball national champion.
Those games will be played at Perfect Game Field in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, June 4-9. Wash. U. has advanced to the national championships just once in its school history and will be looking to win its first ever national baseball title.
Teams in Decatur Regional
1. Washington University (28-3)
2. Webster University (35-6)
3. Denison College (23-11)
4. Millikin University (31-14)
5. Transylvania College (31-10)
6. Illinois College (21-17)
Decatur Regional Game Schedule
Thursday, May 27
Game 1 – Wash. U. vs. Illinois College — 11 am
Game 2 – Webster vs. Transylvania — 2:30 pm
Game 3 – Denison vs. Millikin — 6 pm
Friday, May 28
Game 4 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 — 11 am
Game 5 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 3 — 2:30 pm
Game 6 – Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 3 — 6 pm
Remaining schedule will be based on how many teams are left following Friday’s games.