Mount Pleasant, Iowa – The Midwest Collegiate Conference has released the bracket for the 2010 MCC Baseball Tournament, to be played May 7-11 at renovated Riverfront Stadium in Waterloo, Iowa. This year will mark the fourth year the MCC tournament has been played at Riverfront Stadium.
Iowa Wesleyan is the top seed in the tourney and joins Grand View and Viterbo as teams to automatically advance to the tournament’s double-elimination portion starting May 9. Four other teams will take part in a single-elimination round this Friday, May 7, with the winner advancing to join the other three in the double-elimination. The tournament champion will be crowned next Tuesday, May 11, with the winner receiving the MCC’s automatic berth to the NAIA National Baseball Tournament, which opens May 18 with opening rounds at campus sites.
This year’s tourney promises to be wide open, as the top three teams in the regular season were separated by just one game and teams 4-6 were also separated by just two games. Iowa Wesleyan and Grand View tied for the regular season title with matching 17-7 records, while Viterbo finished one game behind both teams.
IWC clinched the top seed on the basis of a three-game series sweep of Grand View in the regular season. Wesleyan won its last six league games to come through the pack and tie for the title on the final day of the regular season. As the #1 seed, the Tigers will face the team to emerge from the single-elimination bracket, while GVU and Viterbo will face off in the other double-elimination opener. The Vikings took two of three from the V-Hawks in a series this past weekend and have won 11 of 14 in MCC play.
The single-elimination bracket will be wide open as well, with William Penn, Mount Mercy, St. Ambrose and Clarke seeded 4-7, respectively. Penn led the conference standings late in the season but lost its last five in league play, while St. Ambrose is as hot as any team in the MCC, having won eight of its last 11 conference games.
The tourney opens with three games on Friday, including the single-elimination championship that night. Saturday will be an off day, with the tourney resuming with the double-elimination beginning Sunday at noon.
2010 MCC Baseball Tournament Bracket
TICKET PRICES AND POLICIES:
All-Tournament Passes:
All-Tournament Passes may be purchased in advance from the Riverfront Stadium ticket office. They are $15. Advance tickets must be picked up at the ticket office by 4:00 pm Central on Sunday, May 9. After this time, there is a $5 added cost ($20) for tournament passes purchased at the gate.
All-Day Passes:
All-Day Passes are $9 ($7 for students) and are available only on the first two dates of the tournament. These tickets are available at the stadium entrance and allow the user to watch all of the games at Riverfront Stadium on the date of the purchase regardless of session.
Single-Session Tickets:
Single-Session Tickets are $5 ($4 for students). These tickets are available at the stadium entrance and allow the user to watch all of the games at Riverfront Stadium for the selected session.
Youth prices:
Ages 5 and under enter Riverfront Stadium at no cost.
Season passes:
Season passes distributed by schools or Conference will not be honored.
Stadium policies:
Bucks do not allow any outside food or drink to be brought into Riverfront Stadium. In addition, Riverfront Stadium is a non-smoking venue except in designated areas.
The Bucks will open the 2010 season at home on Wednesday, June 2 at 6:35 pm versus Wisconsin Rapids. Season tickets and single-game tickets are currently on sale. Fans are encouraged to stay in touch with the Bucks in the off-season by utilizing their website at www.waterloobucks.com.