EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Baseball enters Ohio Valley Conference Championship play for the third-straight season Wednesday when it takes on the eighth-seeded University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the opening game at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. First pitch is slated for 9 a.m.
The Screaming Eagles (27-28, 15-12 OVC), which reached the semifinals last season and were eliminated in the opening round in 2023, enter the tournament as the fifth seed, while Little Rock (19-32, 8-16 OVC) is the eighth seed. The winner of this matchup will take on fourth-seeded Southeast Missouri State University (30-24, 16-11 OVC) at 4 p.m.
The other half of the bracket features sixth-seeded Lindenwood University (27-28, 14-12 OVC) versus seventh-seeded University of Tennessee at Martin (20-33, 11-14 OVC) in the 12:30 p.m. game Wednesday. The winner will take on third-seeded Tennessee Tech University (37-19, 18-9 OVC) at 7:30 p.m.
The top-seeded Eastern Illinois University (29-20, 17-7 OVC) and second-seeded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (26-26, 18-8 OVC) received byes to the double-elimination portion of the tournament Thursday.
The OVC Championship, presented by SERVPRO, runs Wednesday through Saturday (May 21-24) and features the top eight teams during the regular season.
For the fourth year in a row, the bracket includes four single-elimination games on Wednesday, with the winners advancing to the double elimination portion of the bracket, which will include the top two seeds (who receive a bye until Thursday games).
Tickets are:
• All-Session: $30
• Single-Session (Adult): $10
• Single-Session (18 and Under): $5
• College Students (with ID): $5
Tickets can be purchased in advance online or in person during the event (more information).
