The Doane Tigers will be the top-seed when the 2014 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Baseball Championship opens on Thursday, May 1, in Mitchell, South Dakota. Games will be played at Cadwell Park and Drake Field. The GPAC Baseball Championship will be hosted by Dakota Wesleyan and the Mitchell Sports and Events Authority.
The Tigers won the regular season championship this year with a perfect 20-0 league record. They are the first GPAC team to go undefeated in the regular season in the 14 year history of the GPAC. Northwestern will be the second seed, with Midland the third seed. Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan will be the fourth and fifth seeds, with the 6-8 seeds going to Hastings, Mount Marty, and Briar Cliff respectively.
The GPAC tournament will be played according to the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association Eight-Team Double-Elimination Bracket. The GPAC Tournament Champion receives the league’s second automatic berth to the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. If Doane wins the GPAC Tournament, the tournament runner-up will secure the second automatic bid. Doane has secured the league’s first bid to the NAIA National Baseball Opening Round by winning the conference regular season. NAIA Baseball has two national bids for every ten teams in a conference.
