Rain forced the MIAA to name Missouri Southern MIAA Tournament Champs. (photo/mssulions.com)
Due to heavy rain in Kansas City, the final game in the 2015 MIAA Baseball Tournament was cancelled. With both Missouri Southern and Emporia State having only one loss and Missouri Southern being the highest-remaining seed, the Lions were named tournament champs and named the MIAA’s automatic qualifier to the 2015 NCAA Baseball Tournament.
The Lions opened the tournament with a win against Washburn and then defeated Emporia State in the winner’s bracket final on Friday. ESU, however, returned the favor and on the back of a walk-off home run and a four-run ninth, defeated the Lions in yesterday’s first championship game.
None of that mattered and the Lions are moving on. 15th ranked Missouri Southern baseball team was named the fifth seed at the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament to be played from May 14-17 in St. Cloud, Minn., hosted by St. Cloud State University.
The Lions will open up against the second seed Minnesota State-Mankato. Tournament play will open up on Thursday, but times have yet to be determined.
No worries for Emporia State. They also made the NCAA tournament.
Other Missouri colleges to make the NCAA Tournament include Drury, William Jewell and Truman State. Those three are playing in the Midwest Regional.