SAC Baseball revises tourney plans...again

It will be two days late getting under way and a day late finishing if, in fact, it gets under way or finishes at all.

The Sooner Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, slated to start Friday but put on hold due to weather issues, is back on again. The tournament is now slated to begin Sunday and, with a tightened schedule, end Tuesday.

The eight-team tournament still is divided into two four-team, double-elimination brackets, with Wayland playing all of its games at Bill Smith Ballpark in Chickasha, Okla. The Pioneers (24-19, 13-11 SAC) open play against fourth-seeded Southwestern Christian (36-13, 17-10), ranked the equivalent of 28^th in the NAIA, at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Pioneers won one of three games against the Eagles when they met April 19 and 20 in Bethany, Okla. WBU took the opener of the series, 4-3, before falling, 15-5 and 13-3.

The Wayland-Southwestern winner advances to play the winner between eighth-ranked, top-seeded Science & Arts of Oklahoma (40-10, 24-3), the defending SAC Tournament champion, and eighth-seeded Southwestern Assemblies of God (22-28, 8-19), which play at 10 a.m. Sunday, in a bracket semifinal at 4 p.m. Sunday. The two losers face off at 7 p.m. Sunday.

Monday will feature two games with an "if necessary" game at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The bracket winner moves to the tournament championship, rescheduled to 5 p.m. Tuesday, to face the winner of the other bracket, to be contested at Jim Wade Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma City University. Ninth-ranked OCU (43-11, 22-5) is seeded second. The SAC's other ranked team, No. 14, third-seeded Texas Wesleyan (41-12, 20-7), will be at OCU and take on Mid-America Christian in the opening round. OCU hosts Oklahoma-Panhandle State in its first game.

The tournament is still not out of the woods when it comes to weather as the forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms Sunday, 40 percent Monday and 60 percent Tuesday.

The tournament champion automatically advances to the NAIA National Championships, which begins with opening rounds on campuses throughout the country May 13-16. The NAIA World Series will be held in Lewiston, Idaho, May 24-31.
  At Chickasha, Okla.
Bill Smith Ballpark
(Revised 7 p.m. Saturday)
Sunday, May 5
Game 1: No. 8 Southwestern Assemblies of God (22-28) at No. 1 USAO (40-10), 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 4 Southwestern Christian (36-13) vs. No. 5 Wayland Baptist (24-19), 1 p.m.
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 4 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7 p.m.
Monday, May 6
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 10 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, May 7
Game 7: If necessary, 10 a.m.

At Oklahoma City
Jim Wade Stadium
Sunday, May 5
Game 1: No. 7 Panhandle State (20-25) at No. 2 Oklahoma City (43-11), 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 6 Mid-America Christian (18-24) vs. No. 3 Texas Wesleyan (41-12), 1 p.m.
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 4 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 7 p.m.
Monday, May 6
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 10 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1 p.m.
Tuesday, May 7
Game 7: If necessary, 10 a.m.

Championship
At Oklahoma City
Jim Wade Stadium
Tuesday, May 7
Bracket winners, 5 p.m.

   

#8 USAO	24-3	.889	40-10	.800	--	26-5	14-5	0-0	Won 19
#9 Oklahoma City	22-5	.815	43-11	.796	2	31-6	12-5	0-0	Won 1
#14 Texas Wesleyan	20-7	.741	41-12	.774	4	31-7	9-5	1-0	Won 4
(RV) Southwestern Christian	17-10	.630	36-13	.735	7	19-6	15-7	2-0	Lost 3
Wayland Baptist	13-11	.542	24-19	.558	9.5	19-8	5-11	0-0	Lost 1
Mid-America Christian	12-14	.462	18-24	.429	11.5	11-15	7-9	0-0	Lost 1
Panhandle State	11-16	.407	20-25	.444	13	11-6	9-19	0-0	Won 1
SAGU	8-19	.296	22-28	.440	16	12-15	10-13	0-0	Lost 3
Central Christian	3-22	.120	4-39	.093	20	2-8	2-29	0-2	Won 2
Bacone	2-25	.074	2-29	.065	22	1-10	1-15	0-4	Lost 2