JWU to Host 2016 GNAC Baseball Tournament Championship May 7-8

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JWU will host final two days of
GNAC Championship in Providence, R.I.

WINTHROP, Mass. – Johnson & Wales University will host the final two days of the 2016 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Tournament on May 7-8, as the conference has a predetermined host rotation each year for the event. Regardless of JWU's possible seed in the tournament, the Wildcats will host Championship Weekend at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex in Providence, R.I.

The top-six GNAC teams will qualify for the GNAC Baseball Tournament, which gets underway on Tuesday, May 3 with the No. 6 seed traveling to the No. 3 seed and the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed in a single-elimination first round. 

The double-elimination portion of the tournament will begin on Thursday, May 5, with the No. 1 seed hosting Tuesday's 4v5 winner and the No. 2 seed hosting the first round's 3v6 winner. Those four teams will advance to Championship Weekend at JWU on Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8, with the championship contest and if-necessary game taking place on Sunday. 

More information will become available when the GNAC regular season concludes on Saturday, April 30. The conference's regular-season slate will begin this weekend, as all eight programs have doubleheaders scheduled for Saturday, April 9.

Rivier University is set to host the 2017 GNAC Baseball Championship Weekend. Last year's GNAC champion Suffolk University hosted the 2015 Championship at Holman Stadium in Nashua, N.H., where it downed 2016 host JWU, 4-3 (13 innings), in the title game. 

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement. 

2016 GNAC Baseball Tournament Dates
First Round - Tuesday, May 3 (#6 at #3; #5 at #4)
Second Round - Thursday, May 5 (@ #1 and #2 seeds)
Semifinals - Saturday, May 7 (Hosted by Johnson & Wales) 
Championship - Sunday, May 8 (Hosted by Johnson & Wales) 

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