Hosted by Whitworth University (WA) and the Spokane Sports Commission, the Spokane Regional also includes top-seeded Chapman University (34-11), No. 3-seeded Concordia University (TX) (30-15), fourth-seeded Texas Lutheran University (34-9), and No. 6-seeded Willamette University (OR) (28-17). In game one of the double-elimination tournament, 19th-ranked Chapman squares off against Willamette, followed by the Redlands-UTD showdown at 2:30 p.m. Concordia and Texas Lutheran wrap up the opening day's action with a 6 p.m. game. The first elimination game takes place on Friday, May 18, at 11 a.m. Action continues with two additional games on Friday, three games on Saturday, May 19, and the if-necessary games on Sunday, May 20.
Earlier this season, Redlands faced Texas-Dallas in one of its four games at the Cactus Classic in Tucson. The Bulldogs prevailed in a back-and-forth battle against the Comets but needed 10 innings to secure the 9-8 win on February 10. Redlands makes its sixth appearance at the NCAA Championships, following its most recent showing in 2011.
Texas-Dallas punched its ticket to the NCAA Championships as the automatic qualifier out of the American Southwest Conference with its first-ever conference title. The team returns to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time, with its inaugural appearance coming in 2007.
Chapman secured the automatic bid out of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) by winning the if-necessary game of the SCIAC Postseason Tournament over Redlands. The two familiar foes are 3-3 on the season. In addition, the Panthers defeated Concordia and Texas-Dallas during their successful trip to Tucson.
Concordia makes its second-consecutive and fifth overall national appearance with this year's at-large selection. The Tornadoes made it to the American Southwest Conference tournament final before falling twice to Texas-Dallas. Last season, Concordia advanced to the NCAA West Regional Championship game but came up short against eventual national champion Cal Lutheran University.
Sixth-ranked Texas Lutheran is riding a six-game win streak after running the table at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Baseball Championships to secure its spot in the postseason. The TLU Bulldogs own a 4-0 combined record against UTD and Willamette this season and most recently defeated nationally-ranked Trinity University (TX).
Willamette won the Northwest Conference's automatic bid by topping George Fox University (OR) in the championship game of the NWC's tournament. The Bearcats make their first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships.
The eight regional champions will advance to the NCAA Division III World Series, which takes place on May 25 through May 30 in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Additional information is available at NCAA.com.