Traveling tournament
SLIPPERY ROCK— The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament is heading west to Critchfield Park.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the PSAC announced Friday that the 1,500-seat ballpark on the Slippery Rock University campus will host the double-elimination event.
Williamsport's Bowman Field was to host the event, but a weekend festival slated for the same time raised potential parking and liability concerns for the conference.
The tournament will take place May 2 to 5.
"We lobby to host the PSAC Tournament pretty much every year, but it's never been placed here because other schools consider that an unfair advantage,"SRU coach Jeff Messer said.
"In fact, it's never been hosted by any university within the conference."
During Messer's 22 years as SRU coach, this will mark the first time the PSAC tournament will be played west of Williamsport.
Scranton, Boyertown and State College are other sites to have hosted the tournament in recent years.
"We've never cared about where we've gone to play as long as it's been at a quality facility,"Messer said. "It just happens that Critchfield Park is one of the higher quality facilities in our region."
SRU has qualified for PSAC Tournament play in 18 of Messer's first 21 seasons. The top three teams from the Western and Eastern Division play in the event.
Previously a three-day event played on two fields, this year's tournament will be played over four days, with every game played at Critchfield Park.
Game 1 will be at 4 p.m. May 2, with Game 2 slated for 7 that day. The two Western Division teams in closest geographical proximity to SRUwill play in those first two games.
Entering a four-game series with Indiana (Pa.) this weekend, The Rock (19-9 overall) sits third in the PSAC West with a 5-3 league mark, a game behind California (Pa.) and Shippensburg. IUPis one game behind The Rock.
SRUwill play Shippensburg in a four-game set next weekend.
Two-time defending PSAC champion Kutztown leads the East with a 27-2 overall mark, 8-0 in league play. West Chester and Mansfield are second and third, respectively.
"Our students will still be in school that weekend, so there should be some nice crowds here,"Messer said. "It should be a fun weekend."
Four games will be played May 3 — scheduled for 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. — with games slated May 4 at noon, 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The championship game is at 1 p.m. May 5.
Students from PSAC schools will be admitted free. Adults will be charged $7, non-PSAC students $2.
This is the 48th championship tournament in PSAC baseball history.
