Baseball | 5/18/2021 11:26:00 AM

STORM LAKE, Iowa (May 18, 2021) - The 2021 American Rivers Conference Baseball Tournament begins on Thursday morning for the No. 4 seed Buena Vista University baseball team as it will go up against No. 5 seed Dubuque in their first game of the double-elimination format.

THE MATCH-UP
Who: No. 5 Univ. of Dubuque vs. No. 4 Buena Vista
When: Thursday, May 20, 2021  |  11:00 a.m.  |  Live Video  |  Live Stats
Where: Cedar Rapids, Iowa  |  Mount Mercy University, Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Beavers took 3-of-4 over the Spartans in Dubuque just three weeks ago, but did have to come from behind in two of those outings...Prior to dropping game four of that series, BVU had won seven straight in the series and is 39-10 against the Spartans since 2006...This will be the sixth meeting all-time between the two sides in the conference tournament with the Beavers holding a 3-2 edge.

BVU IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The Beavers enter this week's tournament as the defending champion after the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19...BVU swept its way through the tournament in 2019 as the No. 2 seed, including a pair of win over top-seed Coe to earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament...BVU has three tournament titles in its history which is tied for second-most all-time (Wartburg, 10)...This marks the third time the Beavers will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed and the first since 2015...BVU is 1-4 all-time as the No. 4 seed

LAST TIME OUT
The Beavers wrapped up the regular season with a four-game series split at Nebraska Wesleyan last Thursday and Friday.  BVU came out and won the seven-inning contest of each doubleheader, including a 5-0 shutout in the series opener on Thursday.  Senior Tyler Tennyson picked up the win on the mound in that contest giving him his second straight complete-game shutout, while also blasting a 3-run home run in the first inning.  Sophomore Jordan Mathewson had a team-leading seven hits in the series and also added a big go-ahead 2-run homer in the fifth inning of game three.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Dubuque enters the tournament with back-to-back wins and captured wins in four of its final five games to close out the regular season, including three over inner-city rival Loras College which is the No. 3 seed in this year's tournament.  The Spartans currently hold the league's second-best team ERA on the mound during conference play at 3.96.  They have pitched more innings than any other team during the 32-game schedule at 259.1.  It also holds the best fielding percentage at .970, making just 34 errors in over 1,100 total chances.  The team is right in the middle of the pack with a .272 batting average and runs scored at 171.  Jordan Goldstein (.340) and Cole DeStefanis (.337) each rank in the top-20 of the league in average.  DeStefanis added nine doubles and 17 RBI.  On the mound, Jordan Nelson ranked fifth in the A-R-C in innings pitched in conference play at 48.2 and holds a 5.36 ERA.  Aiden Sullivan has pitched over 30 innings and made two starts and sits second in the league with a 1.35 ERA.  The Spartans, who won the regular season and tournament championship in 2018, are 5-2 in tournament play over the last two seasons.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS
Since dropping eight straight conference games early in the season, the Beavers turned the corner after taking 2-of-3 games at home over top-ranked Wash U and went on to win 10 of their last 15 games to close out the regular season.  The team has not dropped consecutive games since losing the final three games of the Wartburg series (April 17-18).  Senior Tyler Tennyson has helped lead the pitching staff all season long and finished conference play at 5-2 with a 2.21 ERA which covers 53 innings.  He has thrown back-to-back complete-game shutouts and has allowed just five runs over his last 20 innings.  He's also been among the top hitters in the league with a .325 average, including 11 doubles and 22 RBI.  Sophomore Jordan Mathewson has provided a spark at the top of the line-up by hitting .356 and was one of only seven players in the league to reach 40 hits.  His brother, Cade, sits right behind him with a .355 average and 38 base hits.  Senior Parker Truesdell is ninth in average (.360) and also has eight doubles and 13 runs scored.  As a team, BVU closed out the regular season ranked fourth in the A-R-C with a .294 batting average and was second in doubles with 63.  The team sat eighth overall with  6.31 staff ERA.

UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's game will move on to play later that night against the winner of No.1  Coe and No. 8 Central at 8:00 p.m.  The loser of the BVU/Dubuque contest will then move into the elimination game at 5:00 p.m. against the loser of No. 1 Coe and No. 8 Central.

2021 A-R-C Tournament Schedule
Play-in game (single game) | Tuesday, May 18, 2021 | Pella, Iowa (Central College)
No. 9-Nebraska Wesleyan at No. 8-Central | 1:45 p.m. (Central wins, 7-6, in 10 innings)

Two Pods (double elimination) | Thursday/Friday (May 20-21)
Pod 1 | Seeds 1, 4, 5, 8/9 winner | Mount Mercy University, Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex

Thursday, May 20
Game 1 - No. 5 Dubuque vs. No. 4 Buena Vista @ 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 8 Central vs. No. 1 Coe @ 2:00 p.m.
Game 3 - Loser 4/5 vs. Loser 1/8 @ 5:00 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 4 - Winner 4/5 vs. Winner 1/8 @ 8:00 p.m. 

Friday, May 21
Game 5 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser @ 12:00 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 6 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner @ 3:00 p.m.
*Game 7 - Played if Game 5 winner WINS Game 6 @ 6:00 p.m.
*if necessary game

Pod 2 | Seeds 2, 3, 6,7 | Wartburg College, Harms Stadium at Hertel Field

Thursday, May 20
Game 1 - No. 6 Simpson vs. No. 3 Loras @ 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 7 Wartburg vs. No. 2 Luther @ 2:00 p.m.
Game 3 - Loser 3/6 vs. Loser 2/7 @ 5:00 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 4 - Winner 3/6 vs. Winner 2/7 @ 8:00 p.m. 

Friday, May 21
Game 5 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser @ 12:00 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 6 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner @ 3:00 p.m.
*Game 7 - Played if Game 5 winner WINS Game 6 @ 6:00 p.m.
*if necessary game

Championship Site | Saturday, May 22 | Mount Mercy University, Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex
*IF one bracket winner has one loss and other has 0 losses
Game 1 - Pod 1 winner vs. Pod 2 winner @ 3:00 p.m.
*Game 2 - Played if team with 1 loss WINS Game 1, winner take all game
*if necessary game

*IF both bracket winners have 1 or 0 losses
Championship Game @ 3:00 p.m.

The winner of the double-elimination tournament receives the American Rivers Conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division III Championships. This year sees the removal of the Super Regionals round and an expanded eight-site Regionals round, with the winners of each regional advancing to line up at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium for the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship June 4 through June 9. The American Rivers Conference and the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins), will host the Division III College World Series through the 2023 season.