The NAIA’s Association of Independent Institutions announced Tuesday that Xavier University of Louisiana is one of the five teams that qualified for its baseball championship tournament.
Georgia Gwinnett’s Grizzly Baseball Complex in Lawrenceville, Ga. — that’s a suburb northeast of Atlanta — will be the site of the double-elimination tournament. XULA is the No. 4 seed and will play Saturday, May 8 against fifth-seeded Crowley’s Ridge at 11 a.m. EDT.
The XULA-Crowley’s Ridge winner will play top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett that same day at 7 p.m. The XULA-Crowley’s Ridge loser will play an elimination game at 11 a.m. May 9.
Also qualifying were second-seeded Fisher and third-seeded Talladega.
The tournament will conclude May 11, and the champion will qualify automatically for the NAIA nationals opening round May 17-20. Eight opening-round winners will advance to Lewiston, Idaho, for the NAIA World Series May 28-June 4.
XULA — 23-7 in its first season since 1960 — will play next against Bluefield State or Edward Waters at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Black College World Series at Montgomery, Ala.