The 2011 NAIA baseball tournament was the 55th edition of the NAIA baseball championship. The 46-team tournament began on May 12 with Opening Round games across nine different sites and concluded with the 2011 NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho that began on May 27 and ended on June 3. Concordia (CA) defeated Lubbock Christian (TX) 9–3 in the championship game for their 1st title in program history.
The 46 participating teams were selected from all eligible NAIA teams with the World Series host receiving an automatic bid to the NAIA World Series. The remaining 45 teams participated in the Opening Round with 32 teams being awarded automatic bids as either champions and/or runners-up of their conferences, and 13 teams were selected at-large, which were determined by the final NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Teams were then placed into one of nine pre-determined Opening Round sites of five teams a piece, each of which is conducted via a double-elimination tournament. The winners of each of the Opening Round sites plus the World Series host team participated in the NAIA World Series.
This would be the first time that the NAIA started using the host city to identify Opening Round sites instead of using group numbers.
Tournament procedure A total of 46 teams entered the tournament. As World Series host, Lewis–Clark State received an automatic bid into the NAIA World Series. 32 automatic bids were determined by either winning their conference's regular season championship, conference tournament, and/or conference tournament runner-up. The other 13 bids were at-large, with selections determined by the final NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
Opening round hosts On May 8, the NAIA announced the nine opening round host sites, which were played from May 12–16.
Venue(s) Location(s) Host(s) Hunter Wright Stadium Kingsport, TN Appalachian Athletic ConferenceKingsport Convention & Visitors Bureau AUM Baseball Complex Montgomery, AL Auburn University at Montgomery James W. Totman Stadium Riverside, CA California Baptist University Silver Cross Field Joliet, IL Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic ConferenceUniversity of St. Francis Sliwa Stadium Daytona Beach, FL Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (FL) Olympic Field Cleveland, TN Lee University Hays Field Lubbock, TX Lubbock Christian University Jim Wade Stadium Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma City University J. Polk Brooks Stadium Paducah, KY Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau
Bids Source:
Automatic School Conference Record Berth Last NAIA Appearance Belhaven (MS) Southern States 43–16 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 9 Bracket) Bellevue (NE) Midlands 31–20 Tournament champion 2009 (Group 9 Bracket) British Columbia NAIA West Group 30–15 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 6 Bracket) Cal State–San Marcos A.I.I. 32–17 Tournament champion First appearance California Baptist Golden State 40–13 Regular season champion 2010 NAIA World Series Campbellsville (KY) Mid-South 32–19 Regular season champion 2010 (Group 1 Bracket) Concordia (CA) Golden State 34–17 Tournament champion 2008 (Region II Tournament) Culver–Stockton (MO) Heart 36–15 Regular season champion 2008 (Region V Tournament) Doane (NE) Great Plains 36–17 Tournament champion 2002 (Region IV Tournament) Edward Waters (FL) NAIA East Group 37–24 Tournament champion 2005 (Region XIV Tournament) Embry–Riddle (FL) The Sun 47–8 Regular season champion 2010 NAIA World Series Hastings (NE) Great Plains 28–22 Regular season champion 2001 (Region IV Tournament) Huntington (IN) Mid-Central 21–23 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 2 Bracket) Indiana Tech Wolverine-Hoosier 34–18 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 8 Bracket) Kentucky 37–13 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 8 Bracket) Iowa Wesleyan Midwest 33–18 Tournament champion 2008 (Region VII Tournament) Jamestown (ND) Dakota 31–11 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 5 Bracket) Kansas Wesleyan Kansas 34–15 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 9 Bracket) Lewis-Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group 37–15 World Series host 2010 NAIA World Series LSU–Shreveport Red River 42–13 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 8 Bracket) Mount Vernon Nazarene (OH) American Mideast 30–17 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 3 Bracket) Oklahoma Baptist Sooner 42–12 Tournament runner-up 2008 (Region VI Tournament) Robert Morris (IL) Chicagoland 37–17 Regular season champion 2010 (Group 1 Bracket) Rogers State (OK) Sooner 45–13 Tournament champion First appearance Shawnee State (OH) Mid-South 35–24 Tournament champion 2003 (Region IX Tournament) St. Francis (IL) Chicagoland 39–12 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 1 Bracket) St. Thomas (FL) The Sun 25–30 Tournament runner-up 2010 (Group 7 Bracket) Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 37–18 Tournament champion 2010 NAIA World Series Texas–Brownsville Red River 35–24 Tournament runner-up 2010 (Group 4 Bracket) Union (TN) TranSouth 38–15 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 5 Bracket) William Carey (MS) Southern States 30–25 Tournament runner-up 2009 (Group 7 Bracket) William Jewell (MO) Heart 33–16 Tournament champion 2010 (Group 3 Bracket) William Woods (MO) American Midwest 32–16 Tournament champion 2007 (Region V Tournament)
At–Large School Conference Record Last NAIA Appearance Auburn–Montgomery (AL) Southern States 40–17 2009 (Group 4 Bracket) Brewton–Parker (GA) Southern States 35–16 2010 (Group 9 Bracket) Biola (CA) Golden State 35–19 2009 (Group 6 Bracket) Cumberland (TN) TranSouth 43–14 2010 NAIA World Series Faulkner (AL) Southern States 43–12 2010 (Group 7 Bracket) Fresno Pacific (CA) Golden State 29–18 2010 (Group 6 Bracket) Lee (TN) Southern States 37–17 2010 NAIA World Series Lubbock Christian (TX) Sooner 43–12 2010 NAIA World Series Missouri Baptist American Midwest 38–11 2010 (Group 9 Bracket) Northwood (TX) Red River 38–16 2009 (Group 1 Bracket) Oklahoma City Sooner 43–10 2010 NAIA World Series Southern Poly (GA) Southern States 38–15 2010 (Group 8 Bracket) Union (KY) Appalachian 45–10 2010 (Group 7 Bracket)
Opening Round Source:
Cleveland Bracket Hosted by Lee University at Olympic Field
Daytona Beach Bracket Hosted by Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University (FL) at Sliwa Stadium
Joliet Bracket Hosted by Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and the University of St. Francis at Silver Cross Field
Kingsport Bracket Hosted by Kingsport CVB and Appalachian Athletic Conference at Hunter Wright Stadium
Lubbock Bracket Hosted by Lubbock Christian University at Hays Field
Montgomery Bracket Hosted by the Auburn University at Montgomery at AUM Baseball Complex
Oklahoma City Bracket Hosted by Oklahoma City University at Jim Wade Stadium
Paducah Bracket Hosted by the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau at J. Polk Brooks Stadium
Riverside Bracket Hosted by the California Baptist University at James W. Totman Stadium
NAIA World Series The NAIA World Series was held at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
Participants SchoolConferenceRecordHead CoachBracketPrevious NAIAWS AppearancesBest NAIAWS FinishNAIA WSRecord Concordia (CA) Golden State 38–18 Mike Grahovac Riverside 1 7th 1–2 Embry–Riddle (FL) The Sun 50–9 Randy Stegall Daytona Beach 9 2nd 16–18 Faulkner (AL) Southern States 48–13 Patrick McCarthy Kingsport none none 0–0 Lee (TN) Southern States 47–12 Mark Brew Cleveland 5 2nd 11–10 Lewis–Clark State (ID) NAIA West Group(Frontier) 37–15 Gary Picone n/a 29 1st 118–35 LSU–Shreveport Red River 45–13 Rocke Musgraves Montgomery 1 T-3rd 3–2 Lubbock Christian (TX) Sooner 46–12 Nathan Blackwood Lubbock 9 1st 19–16 Oklahoma Baptist Sooner 45–12 Bobby Cox Joliet 2 4th 2–4 Oklahoma City Sooner 46–10 Denney Crabaugh Oklahoma City 12 1st 31–23 Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian 40–19 Billy Berry Paducah 1 T-9th 0–2
Bracket Source:
Preliminary Bracket
Championship Bracket
Game Results All game times are listed in Pacific Daylight Time (UTC−07:00).
Preliminary Bracket
Championship Bracket
Championship Game
See also 2011 NAIA softball tournament 2011 NCAA Division I baseball tournament 2011 NCAA Division II baseball tournament 2011 NCAA Division III baseball tournament
References