usao baseball opening round graphic - image of a drover in a cornfield

Posted: May 09, 2024

The Drovers are Headed to the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round for Eighth Consecutive Season

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Thursday, the NAIA announced that the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (34-16, 17-7 SAC) would be a No. 3 seed for the 2024 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, which will be played from May 13-16. The Drovers will be in the Lincoln, Neb. bracket, which will feature Southeastern University as the No. 1 seed, No. 2 Doane University, No. 3 USAO, No. 4 Mount Mercy University, and No. 5 University of St. Francis.

Selections of each site were made in part by the NAIA Baseball National Championship Selection Committee. The committee is comprised of head coaches and administrators from around the nation. Selections take into account geography, facilities and host qualification. The application deadline was on April 15, 2024.

There will be six sites where five teams compete; the remaining four locations will have four teams each. The format of the tournament is double elimination and the winner of each will advance to the Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho beginning on May 24, 2024.

#1 SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY (Fla.) – record: 48-6, 22-2 SUN

The Fire enter the tournament as an automatic qualifier, winning the Sun Conference Tournament championship. The Fire have won two NAIA World Series titles since 2018.

#2 DOANE UNIVERSITY (Neb.) – record: 38-13, 21-7 GPAC

The Tigers are an automatic qualifier for the tournament as the the host institution and they were the runner's up of the GPAC Tournament.

#4 MOUNT MERCY (Iowa) - record: 32-20, 23-9 HAAC

The Mustangs qualify for the tournament with an automatic bid as the tournament champions of the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

#5 ST. FRANCIS (Ill.) - record: 29-19, 23-9 CCAC

The Fighting Saints qualify for the tournament with an automatic bid as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament champions.

#3 USAO – record: 34-16, 17-7 SAC

The Drovers qualify for the tournament with an at-large bid and finished the season in third place during the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season and tournament. The national tournament appearance is the 10^th in program history, as well as the eighth consecutive appearance in the tournament.

BEN BACH - NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR | 1ST TEAM ALL-SAC | GOLD GLOVE (3B)

Ben Bach made an immediate impact in his first year as a Drover, earning a haul of awards, including Newcomer of the Year, given to the best first-year player in the SAC. He was also awarded the Gold Glove award for his stellar defense at third base, and earned his first all-conference selection after producing a .329 batting average in 50 games played. He recorded 53 hits, 10 doubles, a triple, 10 home runs, 54 runs scored, and 44 runs batted in.

GAGE NINNESS – 1ST TEAM ALL-SAC | GOLD GLOVE (OF)

Gage Ninness has been terrific in his first season in green and gold, producing a .371 batting average in 50 games played. He has recorded 76 hits, 17 doubles, a triple, three home runs, 55 runs scored, and 41 runs batted in.

PEYTON MCDOWALL – 1ST TEAM ALL-SAC (1B)

Peyton McDowall continued his historic career by earning his third All-SAC selection, along with a SAC Player of the Week award. The slugger appeared in 50 games and produced a .347 batting average, along with 58 hits, 16 doubles, a triple, 15 home runs, 52 runs scored, and 56 runs batted in. He was also stellar on defense, producing a .992 fielding percentage and only made three errors out of 368 total chances on defense.

McDowall is now the program leader in three different categories in the record book, climbing to the top of the lists of career home runs, runs batted in, and runs scored. In his career, he has appeared in 154 games and recorded a .387 batting average with 208 hits, 52 doubles, six triples, 42 homers, 171 runs scored, and 181 runs batted in.

Along with his three All-SAC selections, McDowall was selected as a NAIA All-American a season ago, and he has earned a SAC Gold Glove award.

BRIAN EREU – 1ST TEAM ALL-SAC (SP)

Brian Ereu emerged as the team's ace this season, and put together a perfect regular season, during which he earned two SAC Pitcher of the Week awards. The All-SAC selection is the first of his career.

The right-handed pitcher has put together an incredible 12-1 record, along with a 4.08 earned run average and 85 strikeouts in 81.2 innings pitched. He currently leads the NAIA in wins with 12 so far this season.

CHRISTOPHER MARTINEZ – 2nd TEAM ALL-SAC (DH)

Christopher Martinez is one of the most feared hitters in the Sooner Athletic Conference and continued to shine in 2024, producing a .376 batting average with 68 hits, 15 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 55 runs scored, and 57 runs batted in. For his numerous spectacular performances, Martinez was awarded two SAC Player of the Week awards.

Martinez has earned two All-SAC selections in his career and has appeared in 100 games. In total, he owns a .378 batting average with 139 hits, 31 doubles, three triples, 22 home runs, 112 runs scored, and 112 runs batted in.

GUNNAR HANSEN – 2nd TEAM ALL-SAC (C)

Gunnar Hansen has been great as the Drovers backstop this season, producing a .996 fielding percentage with only one error on 284 total chances. He was also productive offensively, putting together a .310 batting average with 40 hits, 11 doubles, four home runs, 33 runs batted in.

In his career, Hansen has appeared in 81 games and owns a .326 batting average with 79 hits, 18 doubles, a triple, six homers, 28 runs scored, and 51 RBIs.

GABRIEL ARROYO – 2nd TEAM ALL-SAC (OF)

Gabriel Arroyo had the best year of his career, appearing in 45 games and has produced a .348 batting average. Arroyo has recorded 64 hits, five doubles, two triples, 50 runs scored, and 33 runs batted in. He was also successful on 12 of 14 stolen base attempts.

In his career, he has appeared in 133 games and owns a .337 batting average, with 148 hits, 14 doubles, six triples, nine home runs, 135 runs scored, and 83 RBIs.

BEN LAWSON – 2nd TEAM ALL-SAC (OF)

Ben Lawson earned his second consecutive All-SAC selection with a .326 batting average, in addition to 47 hits, 16 doubles, two triples, five home runs, 43 runs scored, and 38 runs batted in. As the team's center fielder he owns a stellar .989 fielding percentage and has committed only one error on 88 total chances.

In his career at USAO, he has appeared in 95 games and has produced a .342 batting average with 93 hits, 25 doubles, four triples, 13 homers, 85 runs scored, and 74 RBIs.

KYLER DENTON – 2nd TEAM ALL-SAC (SP)

Kyler Denton was a valuable piece of the pitching staff and currently owns an 8-1 record, along with a 3.59 earned run average and 40 strikeouts in 62.2 innings of work.

ROB SCHMIDT – 2nd TEAM ALL-SAC (RP)

Rob Schmidt was one of the best relief pitchers in the conference this season, as he recorded a 2.05 earned run average through his first 18 appearances. Schmidt struck out 19 batters in 22.0 innings of work.

**MORE INFO ABOUT THE OPENING ROUND **

Sherman Field

225 South Street

Lincoln, NE 68502

May 13-16, 2024

Admission (general admission, on site only)

Single Day Pass: $10.00

Ages 10 and under: FREE

Clear Bag Policy

Video Stream - Doane Sports Network

$10.00/game

$20.00/daily