The Cougars, who finished the regular season with a 34-12 overall record and a 19-5 AMC South Division mark, earned a share of the AMC South Division title after Ohio Dominican University split a doubleheader with Tiffin University for the second straight day on Friday to also finish conference play with a 19-5 mark.

MVNU, which received votes in the latest NAIA poll, earned the top seed in the NAIA Region IX Tournament and the right to host the six-team double elimination event as a result of the conference tiebreaker rules. The Cougars split their four-game series with Ohio Dominican and both teams swept the University of Rio Grande and went 3-1 against Shawnee State University. MVNU went 3-1 versus Tiffin, while the Panthers went 2-2.

This is the Cougars’ 12th conference title and the first since the 2004 season when MVNU eventually went on to the NAIA World Series and finished fifth.

The NAIA Region IX Tournament will start on Tuesday with the game times and opponents to be announced no later than Monday. There are still several doubleheaders that must be played to determine the final spot in the six-team field and also the seeding order. The winner of the NAIA Region IX Tournament will host the NAIA Region X winner in the East Coast Super Regional the following week.