D3sports.com has learned that Eastern will be joining the Middle Atlantic Conference, continuing the exodus of schools to the league from the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference and further jeopardizing the league's automatic bid in baseball.

Fellow baseball teams Alvernia, Arcadia, Misericordia and Wesley are also leaving the league in the next 12 months. Centenary is joining the league from the Skyline Conference and would join Gwynedd-Mercy, Marywood and Neumann as baseball-sponsoring schools remaining in the league in 2009. The conference could get a waiver to retain an automatic bid for a short period but must get at least seven baseball-playing members to retain an automatic bid for the long term.

The Eagles went 6-26 overall, 4-17 in the conference this past season. 

The move, which is expected to be announced Thursday, is part of the continued shuffling of conference affiliation in the Mid-Atlantic Region which started when three schools announced announced they were pulling out of the MAC for football. Those three along with five others formed the Landmark Conference for all sports except football. 

Since then, among schools with baseball, Villa Julie has left the NEAC to join the CAC. SUNY-Purchase and Polytechnic are leaving the NEAC to join the Skyline. Manhattanville is leaving the Skyline to join the MAC, Merchant Marine left to join the Landmark, Stevens left the league (and the Landmark) to join the Empire 8, while Centenary is getting out of the league to join the PnAC. Baptist Bible and Philadelphia Bible are believed to be on the PnAC's target list.

The addition of Villa Julie and Wesley will offset the loss of Catholic and give the CAC an automatic bid in baseball by 2010.