MVNU (30-17) earned its trip to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round for the second straight year after defeating No. 23 Point Park (Pa.) University to repeat as the American Mideast Conference Tournament champion. The Cougars also previously advanced to the NAIA World Series in 1997 and 2004.

The MVNU pitching staff has provided a solid foundation for the Cougars all season. Junior right-hander Kyle Barr (7-2, 2.45 ERA, 80 strikeouts, 66.0 innings pitched), senior right-hander Caleb Wright (6-3, 3.45 ERA, 57 strikeouts, 62.2 innings pitched), senior right-hander Grant Martin (5-2, 3.84 ERA, 57 strikeouts, 58.2 innings pitched), and junior right-hander Jerrob Decker (4-5, 4.53 ERA, 38 strikeouts, 51.2 innings pitched) have done a great job as the top four starters for MVNU. Senior right-hander Steve Miller (1-1, 1.39 ERA, 2 saves), sophomore lefty Tim Harvey (3-0, 1.02 ERA), sophomore lefty Justin Brown (1-0, 2.31 ERA), junior right-hander Jeff Estep (2-1, 3.24 ERA), and sophomore right-hander Darren Athey (1-3, 5.06 ERA, 6 saves) have also combined to form a solid bullpen as well.

Offensively, senior second baseman Michael Hendren has posted a .394 batting average, which leads the AMC, to go with 26 RBI. Junior first baseman Josh Roberts (.366, 17 doubles, 30 RBI, 38 runs scored), senior outfielder Kodi Veale (.415, 20 runs scored), freshman third baseman Jeff Stone (.345), freshman designated hitter Seth Eller (.333, 28 RBI, 33 runs scored), senior outfielder Steve Williams (.326, 10 doubles, 26 RBI), senior catcher Ian Durbin (.314, 18 RBI), and sophomore shortstop Jordan Doherty (.294, 17 RBI, 20 stolen bases) have each posted great individual performances.

MVNU's first opponent on Thursday at 11 a.m. will be Iowa Wesleyan (33-18). The Tigers, who have won 14 straight games, earned their first-ever berth in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round by claiming the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament title after also winning the MCC regular-season title. Iowa Wesleyan boasts a .300 team batting average with 31 home runs and 69 stolen bases, while the Tigers' pitching staff has a 4.43 ERA. Michael Mendoza (.356, 34 RBI) and Drew Koeppel (.355, 32 RBI) are the top hitters for Iowa Wesleyan, while Jansel Encarnacion (10-4, 4.02 ERA) and Jorge Martinez (9-2, 2.48 ERA) lead the pitching staff.

The winner of Thursday morning's game between MVNU and Iowa Wesleyan will take on No. 1 seed Union (Ky.) College at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The Bulldogs are 45-10 overall and ranked No. 8 in the final NAIA poll. They received an at-large berth into the NAIA National Championship Opening Round after falling to Tennessee Wesleyan College in the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament.

Thursday's other first round game at 2:30 p.m. will feature No. 2 seed and NAIA No. 12 Faulkner (Ala.) University versus No. 3 seed Indiana University Southeast. Faulkner brings a 45-12 overall record into the tournament after receiving an at-large berth, while Indiana Southeast won the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament as part of the team's current 23-game winning streak and is now 37-13-1 overall after 5-12-1 start to the season. The loser of the game between MVNU and Iowa Wesleyan will face the loser of the Faulkner-Indiana Southeast game at 11 a.m. on Friday.

All of MVNU's games will be carried live over the air on WNZR 90.9 FM and on the internet at http://wnzr.fm/studio/sports.php on WNZR 1. For live stats, the complete bracket, and links to information on each of the five teams, visit the official Kingsport Bracket page at http://www.aacsports.com/f/8/6/spring11%7CKingsport/NAIA_Baseball_Opening_Round.php.  For a complete look at all nine of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round brackets, go to http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/051111aaa.html.