KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For just the third time in program history, the Ave Maria Baseball team is headed to the NAIA National Tournament. The Gyrenes earned one of the 15 at-large bids in the tournament as determined by the NAIA Baseball national Selection Committee.

"I just think it's a credit to our guys who have worked their tails off the entire season," said interim head coach Pete Horner. "And we are very grateful to the NAIA to acknowledge the hard work these guys have put in and I can't think of a band of brothers that are more excited to have the opportunity to go play in the national tournament together."

Ave Maria finished the conference tournament with their fourth winning season in school history while playing the 12^th toughest schedule in the NAIA. Six of their 27 wins were against teams ranked in the Top 10 with a win against #2 Hope International, three wins against #6 Southeastern and two wins against #6 Webber. The Gyrenes received votes for the first time in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Poll and were ranked 46^th in the weekly BoChip rankings, putting them right on the bubble to get into the tournament.

Horner said the strength of schedule was built with competing in the Sun Conference and in a regional tournament in mind. "I think that has prepared this group to be very tough and deal with adversity. This is the embodiment of and reward to them for finding a way to be good enough to win."

The Gyrenes are headed to Waleska, Georgia, for the opening round, which will be hosted by the Reinhardt Eagles. Reinhardt earned their spot in the tournament by finishing as the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-Up with a record of 42-11. The Eagles are the top seed in the four-team double elimination bracket. The second seed are the Loyola Wolf Pack, earning their spot as the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champion with a record of 28-15. The three seed are the Oakland City Mighty Oaks, earning their spot as the River States Conference Tournament Champion with a record of 39-13. The Gyrenes are the fourth and final seed in the bracket.

The action begins Monday, May 12, with the Gyrenes taking on the Eagles in the 1v4 matchup. If Ave Maria wins, they will play the winner between Loyola and Oakland City Tuesday, May 13. If they lose to Reinhardt, then they will also play the loser of the other matchup. All games will be streamed on the Reinhardt YouTube channel.