Crusaders get at-large bid to NCAA Division II playoffs

North Greenville earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs and will host a first-round regional in Tigerville. Bids were announced Sunday night.

Lander, which held hopes of an at-large berth after winning the Peach Belt Conference regular-season title, was not selected for the seven-team event.

Games begin on Thursday. Game times will be announced later this week. The Southeast Region covers teams in Conference Carolinas, the Peach Belt Conference, and the South Atlantic Conference.

None of the three regular-season champions followed through with tournament championships.

North Greenville is the second seed in the Southeast Regional behind Catawba, which also will 

host a regional. Coach Landon Powell's squad will face seventh-seed Georgia College, which won the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. The Bobcats are coached by former USC pitcher Nolan Belcher.

The other first-round game at Ray and Bea Dillard Field pairs No. 3 Mount Olive and No. 6 Wingate. Mount Olive is an at-large selection, while Wingate won the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

Catawba will host a three-team regional in Salisbury. The Indians will have a first-round bye. The opening game pairs No. 4 seed UNC Pembroke, winner of the Conference Carolinas Tournament, and at-large pick Young Harris, the No. 5 seed.

The two regional section winners advance to a best-of-three super regional the following weekend to determine one of eight spots in the Division II World Series in Cary, N.C., beginning June 1. Angelo State is the defending champion.

Georgia College (Peach Belt Conference), UNC Pembroke (Conference Carolinas) and Wingate (South Atlantic Conference) snagged the automatic bids their leagues through winning the conference tournaments.

Catawba won the South Atlantic Conference regular-season title, but lost in the tournament.

North Greenville, ranked in the top five nationally most of the year, won the Conference Carolinas regular-season title, but lost in the tournament.

Likewise, Peach Belt Conference regular-season champ Lander was bounced from that tournament.

NCAA Division II playoffs

Thursday 

Southeast Regional 1

Newman Park, Salisbury, N.C.

Game 1: No. 5 Young Harris vs. No. 4 UNC Pembroke, 3:30 p.m.

Game 2: No. 1 Catawba vs. Game 1 loser, 7:30 p.m.

Southeast Regional 2

Dillard Field, Tigerville

Game 1: No. 6 Wingate vs. No. 3 Mount Olive, 2 p.m.

Game 2: No. 7 Georgia College vs. No. 2 North Greenville, 6 p.m.

Region seeds

* Atlantic Region: 1. West Chester. 2. East Stroudsburg. 3. Millersville. 4. U. of Charleston. 5. Indiana (Pa.) 6. Seton Hill. 7. Frostburg State.

* East Region: 1. Southern New Hampshire. 2. Molloy. 3. Post 4. Jefferson. 5. Franklin Pierce. 6. Goldy-Beacom. 7. New Haven.  

* Central Region: 1. Central Missouri. 2. Missouri Southern State. 3. Arkansas Tech. 4. Augustana (SD). 5. Central Oklahoma. 6. Arkansas Monticello. 7. Harding. 8. Minnesota State.

* Midwest Region: 1. Saginaw Valley State. 2. Indianapolis.  3. Maryville (Mo.).  4. Ashland. 5. Northwood. 6. Grand Valley State.  7. Trevecca Nazarene.

* South Region: 1. Tampa. 2. St. Leo. 3. Embry-Riddle. 4. Lee. 5. Auburn Montgomery.  6. Delta State. 7. West Florida. 8. Savannah State.

* Southeast Region: 1. Catawba. 2. North Greenville 3. Mount Olive. 4. UNC Pembroke. 5. Young Harris. 6. Wingate. 7. Georgia College. 

* South Central Region: 1. Lubbock Christian. 2. Colorado Mesa. 3. West Texas A&M. 4. Regis.  5. Texas Permian Basin. 6. Angelo State. 

* West Region. 1 Point Loma. 2. Cal State Monterrey Bay.  3. Northwest Nazarene. 4. Cal Poly Pomona. 5. Cal State San Marcos. 6. San Francisco State.