MILLINGTON, TN - Lincoln Land (46-19-1) cruised to a 12-0 victory in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II National Championship over Iowa Central (53-10). The Loggers sored early an often as they rolled to their second national title. Their first was in 1994. Justin Knoedler and Chip Wagner each had three hits for the champs. The Loggers not only dominated offensively but on the mound, as well, as second team All-American Scott Blackwell pitched a complete game two hitter and was named Tournament MVP. Cam Ford (7-1) took the loss for Iowa Central.

Lincoln Land struck first in the top of the first with a run as Jason Knoedler reached on a walk, stole second, advanced to third on a Chip Wagner single, and scored on a wild pitch after a strikeout to put the Loggers up 1-0 after a half an inning. Knoedler struck again as he walked in the top of the third, went to third on a failed pickoff, and scored on an errant throw by the first baseman to give the Loggers a 2-0 lead. A bases loaded hit-by-pitch of Kyle Moomey scored the third run to put Lincoln Land up 3-0 after three.

The Loggers added two more in the top of the fourth to run the score to 5-0. Ryan O'Malley, University of Memphis signee, singled to right scoring two more, and Ryan Murphy then singled in O'Malley to give Lincoln Land an 8-0 advantage. Kyle Moomey then tripled in two more runs for the Loggers. After one more run, Lincoln Land led 11-0 through six innings and tacked on another run to lead 12-0 after eight.

All-Tournament Team -

Lincoln Land - Justin Knoedler, Jason Knoedler, Ryan O'Malley, Scott Blackwell

Iowa Central - Scott Browning, Greg Thissen, Troy Gilroy

Glen Oaks - Tyler Fullenkamp, Mike Voyles

Copiah-Lincoln - Edison Lee, Nook Logan

Carl Albert - Chad Fox

May 31, 2000
Iowa Central holds on for victory and National Championship berth

MILLINGTON, TN - He may not have had his best stuff on Wednesday night, but once again Iowa Central starter Troy Gilroy got the job done - as he improves his record to 14-0 on the season. Aaron Carpenter came in to earn his ninth save of the season as Iowa Central (53-9) advanced to the National Championship game with a 7-6 win over Glen Oaks (43-22). Glen Oaks finishes third in the tournament, while the Tritons advance to take on Lincoln Land in tomorrow night's championship game. If Iowa Central wins tomorrow night, the if necessary game will be played Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Iowa Central got going early and scored two in the first without the ball ever leaving the infield. Leadoff batter Andrew Buckley got an infield double as the third baseman Scott Hostetler waited for the ball to go foul. Greg Thissen reached on a bunt single. Buckley then scored on a groundout, and Thissen scored on a wild pitch to put the Tritons up 2-0 after a half an inning. They added to their lead in the top of the second as Steven McGrady reached on an infield single, moved to third on two sacrifice bunts, and scored on a Greg Thissen single down the left field line to put the Tritons up 3-0 after an inning and a half.

The Vikings answered back with to tie the game with three in the bottom of the second on only one hit. Glen Oaks scored two runs on two Troy Gilroy balks with runners on third. Catcher Ryan Conover's double to left scored the other run to knot the score after two innings at 3-3.

Iowa Central regained the lead in the top of the sixth scoring three runs, capitalizing on three Glen Oaks errors. The first two batters of the inning walked, followed by a hit by pitch to load the bases. One out later, McGrady scored on a bunt hit and Donnell Boyer scored on a throwing error by Donnie Collins. Greg Thissen then scored from second on an errant throw by the pitcher to put the Tritons up 6-3 after five and a half.

Glen Oaks trimmed the lead in the bottom of the seventh as Mike Voyles tripled with one out and scored on a Todd Reibling RBI single to cut the lead to 6-4. Iowa Central extended the lead to three runs at 7-4 when Greg Thissen knocked in Donnell Boyer in the top of the eighth. The Vikings wouldn't go away as they started a rally with two outs in the eighth. Jeremy Delcamp was hit by pitch and Tyler Fullenkamp singled. They advanced on an error and scored on a Drew Fizer pinch-hit two RBI single to bring the score to 7-6 after eight innings. However, Aaron Carpenter shut down the Viking rally in the ninth for the save.

May 30, 2000
Justin Knoedler propels Lincoln Land to National Championship Game

MILLINGTON, TN – When it comes to big games, none were bigger than the game Tuesday night at USA Stadium in Millington, TN - the winner’s bracket final between Lincoln Land (45-19-1) and Iowa Central where the winner received an off day. In the big game, the big star came through. Miami-Ohio signee Justin Knoedler went 5-for-5 with two runs and three RBI accounting for five of Lincoln Land’s eight runs. Not to be outdone, Loggers starter Everett Sunley (7-3) through a complete game eight-inning shutout as the Iowa Central Tritons (52-9) fell 8-0 in the run-rule shortened game.

Three singles in the bottom of the first gave the Loggers a 1-0 lead after one inning. Five consecutive singles in the third scored three more for Lincoln Land to give them a 4-0 advantage. The Loggers tacked on two more in the seventh and eighth for the 8-0 victory.

Kyle Moomey also had an outstanding game for the Loggers going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, while Greg Thissen and Scott Browning were the leading hitters for Iowa Central with two singles apiece.

The win moves Lincoln Land into the finals to face the winner of tomorrow night’s 7:30 p.m. contest between Glen Oaks and Iowa Central. The championship will be played on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

#12 Glen Oaks scores ten unearned runs, knocks off #24 Copiah-Lincoln

MILLINGTON, TN – After trailing 9-4 through seven and a half innings, Glen Oaks (43-21) took advantage of three Wolfpack errors in the bottom of the seventh to plate seven unearned runs and take an 11-9 lead that they would not relinquish. Co-Lin cut the lead to 11-10, but that was as close as they would get as the Vikings scored five in the eighth for a 16-10 victory in the NJCAA Division II World Series. Copiah-Lincoln is eliminated and finishes the season 47-17.

Glen Oaks had five hitters with multiple hits led by leadoff batter Tyler Fullenkamp who went 3-for-4 with a run, 3 RBI, and two hit by pitches. Mike Voyles, Mike McCallister, Scott Hostetler, and Jeremy Delcamp each had two hits for the Vikings.

Co-Lin was led by leadoff hitter Edison Lee, who reached base all five times as he went 4-for-4 with a walk, four runs, and two RBI. Lance Newman was 3-for-5 for the Wolfpack with two runs scored and Lance Newman had four RBI for the second consecutive game.

David Collins (6-1) came in to pick up the victory, while David Olson picked up his second save of the tournament. Jay Foster (5-1) took the loss for Co-Lin, allowing seven unearned runs in 3 and a third innings.

Glen Oaks advances to take on the loser of Lincoln Land and Iowa Central on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.

MILLINGTON, TN - Copiah-Lincoln (47-16) turned to speedster Nook Logan to give them a victory in the eleventh inning of their NJCAA II World Series elimination game Monday night. With the score tied at 7-7 and one out, Logan drew a walk, stole second and third base, and scored on a ground ball to the first baseman to give the Wolfpack an 8-7 victory. Carl Albert was unable to mount another rally in the bottom of the eleventh and finish their season with a 32-26 record.

Copiah-Lincoln started the ball game with three straight hits - singles by Edison Lee and Nook Logan followed by a two-RBI double by Daniel Mouton - to give themselves a 2-0 lead after an inning. Carl Albert evened things up in the bottom of the second when Jake Dickinson and Chad Gilley knocked back-to-back RBI singles to knot the score at 2-2.

Logan once again put the Wolfpack on top with another RBI double to the fence in the top of the third. He scored on a Christopher Dunn triple that landed just shy of the 414-foot marker in right center. Lance Newman then singled to right to score Dunn an up Co-Lin's lead to 5-2 after two and a half. Back-to-back doubles by Barrett Whitney and Luke Beaver in the bottom of the third cut the lead to 5-3 after three innings.

Carl Albert trimmed the lead to one run at 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth as Travis Davidson's RBI single to left scored Jake Dickinson.

With two outs in the top of the eighth Josh McNulty blasted an insurance-run homer to right field to give the Wolfpack a two-run cushion 6-4. Co-Lin added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to run the score to 7-4. Carl Albert refused to lose scoring three runs with in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game 7-7. The Vikings began the inning with three straight men reaching base and tied the game when Davidson was hit by a pitch. They were unable to score again with bases loaded and one out to push the game to extra innings.

Nook Logan reached on a walk in the top of the eleventh for Co-Lin, stole second and third, and scored on a ground ball to first to give the Wolfpack an 8-7 advantage they would never relinquish.

Reliever Jacob Blakeney (12-3) came in to shut down the Vikings in the bottom of the ninth and threw 2.2 scoreless, hitless innings to pick up the victory. Broc Randall (1-4) took the loss. Copiah-Lincoln advances to take on Glen Oaks CC at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

#12 Glen Oaks Pounds, Eliminates #25 Mercer County

MILLINGTON, TN - Glen Oaks took advantage of a depleted Mercer County pitching staff and trounced the Vikings 16-1 in the loser's bracket of the NJCAA Division II Championship on Monday. The loss eliminated Mercer County, who finished their season 31-13-1.

Glen Oaks' Mike Voyles, Tim Hinchliffe, and Mike McCallister each had three hits in the game, which was called after five innings due to a ten-run-after-five mercy rule. Voyles had two doubles, three runs and five RBI. Hinchliffe scored four times and McCallister drove in four runs. Glen Oaks scored two in the first inning, four in the second, three in the third, and seven in the fourth.

Mercer County, who had played earlier in the day and had used their top three pitchers, tried five hurlers against Glen Oaks but none could slow down the Viking attack. Ken Tenaglia, pitching in only his fifth game of the season, took the loss for Mercer County.

Brad Schrock (7-1) went the distance (five innings) for Glen Oaks, scattering five hits and allowing only one run while striking out two.

Glen Oaks (42-21) will next face the winner of Copiah-Lincoln and Carl Albert on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.

MILLINGTON, TN - Lincoln Land third baseman Justin Knoedler went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI and starting pitcher Ryan O'Malley went eight innings scattering eight hits and giving up only one unearned run as the Loggers downed Carl Albert 8-1 in the winner's bracket semifinals of the NJCAA Division II Championship on Monday.

It was all a matter of taking advantage of opportunities for Lincoln Land. The Loggers went 7-for-16 with runners in scoring position while holding Carl Albert to a meager 1-for-9 in those chances.

Lincoln Land (44-19-1) took an early lead with three quick runs in the top of the first on RBI singles by Justin Knoedler and Nick Kuntzi and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Murphy. Kuntzi and Murphy would both finish the game with two hits.

The Loggers added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Kevin Farris singled and scored on Joel Naumovich's infield single in the fourth. In the fifth, Jason Knoedler walked and stole second, his 50th stole base of the season. Twin broth Justin drove him home two batters later.

Carl Albert (32-25) scored their only run off O'Malley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Barrett Whitney led off the inning with a walk and moved to third after consecutive singles from Chad Gilley and Travis Davidson loaded the bases. Whitney later came home on a passed ball. The win moved O'Malley to 7-3 for the season.

Starter Ricky Belk (8-4) took the loss for Carl Albert, going 4 2/3 innings and allowing eight hits and five runs (four earned). Chad Fox and Steven Rubert each had a pair of hits for the Vikings.

Lincoln Land will next meet Iowa Central in the winner's bracket finals at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Carl Albert falls to the loser's bracket and will battle with Copiah-Lincoln at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

MILLINGTON, TN - Back-to-back doubles by Glen Thissen and Matt Stender ignited a four-run, tenth inning Iowa Central rally and gave the Tritons a 7-3 win over Mercer County to advance to the winner's bracket finals of the NJCAA Division II World Series.

Following the doubles, Stender scored on a Mercer County error, Raul Dela Cruz lined an RBI single to left, and Brian Hopkins stole home on a double steal to put Iowa Central up three runs.

Iowa Central received great starting pitching from Matt Thissen. Thissen breezed throught the first six innings allowing one hit and facing only one over the minimum. With a 3-0 lead, Thissen walked the first two batters he faced in the seventh. Closer Aaron Carpenter came on to put out the fire but surrendered a single to right field to Mike McGill. The throw into the infield from Brian Hopkins went all the way through to the backstop allowing William Holly to score from third.

Carpenter then walked Ryan Zegarski to load the bases. One out later, Phil Holly's grounder to Iowa Central shortstop Jon Becker was thrown away, scoring Matt Slaiciunas from third. Joe Marchetti's single then scored McGill to tie the game at three.

The Tritons scored first in the fourth inning when Becker doubled in Scott Browning who had singled with one out. Iowa Central plated two more in the seventh on run scoring singles by Brian McGuire and Andrew Buckley.

Carpenter (4-2) picked up the win in relief for the Tritons, going the final four innings and allowing one run on four hits. Josh Pine, who garnered the win in the Viking's first game of the tournament, got the loss, surrendering four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings of work.

Iowa Central will take on the winner of Carl Albert and Lincoln Land at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night for a spot in the finals. Mercer County drops to the loser's bracket to tangle with Glen Oaks at 3:00 p.m. on Monday.

MILLINGTON, TN - Glen Oaks managed only seven hits but played solid defense and got a solo homerun from Mike Voyles defeat Allegheny County 6-5 in the loser's bracket of the NJCAA Division II Championship on Sunday night. The loss ends Allegheny County's season with a 35-10 record.

Glen Oaks (41-21) struck first in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI groundout by Tim Hinchliffe followed by Voyles eighth homer of the season to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead.

Allegheny County knotted the game at two in the top of the second on a two-run double off the bat of Shawn Blick, and took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third on Jim Onder's RBI infield single. Onder finished the game 3-for-4 with two driven in.

The Vikings took the lead for good in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs off Allegheny starter Manny Brown (8-2). Run scoring singles by Mike McCallister and Joe Durski sandwiched a bases loaded balk by Brown that plated Hinchliffe and gave Glen Oaks a 5-3 advantage. Brown dropped to 8-2 on the season, allowing five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings of work.

With the score at 6-4 in the eighth, Allegheny County mounted comeback attempt. With one out Don Hurley walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He scored one batter later on Sean Wilson's single to center. David St. Clair relieved Viking starter Scott Stuck and promptly pick Wilson, the tying run, off first base, ending the scoring threat.

Stuck (7-4) picked up the win on the mound for the Vikings, hurling 7 1/3 innings and allowing five earned runs on nine hits while striking out seven and walking four. David Olsen came on in the ninth to get the last two outs and earn his second save of the season.

Tyler Fullencamp was the only Viking to have two hits. Wilson had a pair of base knocks for Allegheny County.

Glen Oaks advances to play the loser of Iowa Central and Mercer County on Monday at 3:00 p.m.

MILLINGTON, TN - Copiah-Lincoln jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held on for a 7-4 win over Jefferson Davis in the loser's bracket Sunday night at the NJCAA Division II World Series.

Nook Logan and Christopher Dunn each had three hits to lead the Wolfpack 15 hit attack.

Copiah-Lincoln scored early and often, posting two in the top of the first. Edison Lee singled to lead off the game and scored from second when Daniel Mouton's groundball went through the legs of Jefferson Davis shortstop Brian Haney. Mouton later scored when Lance Newman singled to center field.

The Wolfpack notched three more in the top of the third. Dunn drove in Logan with his team-leading 25th double of the season, and Dunn and Mouton later scored on a Josh McNulty single to right center.

Copiah-Lincoln made it 7-0 in the fifth on an Adam Different sacrifice fly and a Britt Hederman RBI single.

On the mound, Josh Garrett (9-2) sailed through his first six innings allowing only one run and three hits. He ran into trouble in the seventh when David Crenshaw led off the frame with a single and scored on Matt Chandler's double. Two outs later, Robby Roberson doubled in Sacha Eli, who courtsey ran for Chandler, to close the gap to 7-4. Lee Townsend came on for the Wolfpack to get the last out of the inning.

Doug Atkins pitched the last two innings for Copiah-Lincoln to earn his eighth save of the season.

Aaron Hunt (9-2) took the loss for Jefferson Davis on the mound, lasting only 2 2/3 innings and allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits.

The loss ends Jefferson Davis' season with a record of 37-22. Copiah-Lincoln moves to 46-16 and will take on the loser of Carl Albert and Lincoln Land at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

MILLINGTON, TN - Lincoln Land right-hander Scott Blackwell pitched a complete game three-hitter as the Loggers took advantage of five Glen Oaks errors to defeat the Vikings 7-1 in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II Championship. Blackwell struck out nine and improved his record to 10-3 on the season.

Lincoln Land (43-19-1) plated three of their five unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning. Chip Wagner led off the inning with a single and went to third on Ryan O'Malley's single to left. O'Malley was thrown out at second trying to advance to second on the throw. After Justin Knoedler was walked intentionally and Joe Kulek came on as a courtesy runner, Kulek stole second. Ryan Murphy then laced a sharp grounder to third, and Viking third baseman Scott Hostetler's attempt to throw out Wagner at home was wild, giving the Loggers a 1-0 lead. One out later, back-to-back run scoring singles by Kyle Moomey and Kevin Farris put Lincoln Land ahead 3-0.

The Loggers scored on a passed ball in the fourth and went ahead 5-0 in the fifth when Kulek scored on a Ryan Turner single to center. Kulek was running for Justin Knoedler who reached on a error to lead off the inning.

Blackwell cruised through the first five innings on the mound for Lincoln Land, allowing only one hit. Glen Oaks (40-21) finally scratched in the sixth following a one-out walk to Tyler Fullencamp. Fullencamp went to second on a Tim Hinchliffe ground out and scored on Mike Voyles' single to make the score 5-1.

Lincoln Land tacked on two more in the top of the ninth on a two-out, two-run O'Malley single to run the score to 7-1.

Mike Noonan (6-5) took the loss on the mound for Glen Oaks, allowing five unearned runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Lincoln Land takes on Carl Albert in the winner's bracket semifinals at noon on Monday. Glen Oaks drops to the loser's bracket and plays Allegheny County at 8:00 p.m. Sunday.

MILLINGTON, TN - Carl Albert rightfielder Chad Fox went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, four RBI, and two two-run homers to lead the Vikings to a 12-3 win over Allegheny County (35-9) in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II World Series.

Carl Albert (32-24) took advantage of timely hitting, scoring eight of their 12 runs with two outs. They pounded out 15 base hits including three each from Fox and Robbie Walker and got two hits out of Steven Rubert, John Beaver, and Chad Gilley.

On the mound, Kyle Long (7-1) threw seven strong innings allowing seven hits and three earned runs. He gave up three runs in the first two innings but did not surrender a base hit after the third inning.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the first Fox smacked his first homer scoring Walker who had led off the inning with a single to left field. The Vikings tacked on three more in the third on four hits capped off by Beaver's two-run single to center.

After extending their lead in to 6-3 in the fifth, Carl Albert scored two runs in sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Fox's second homer, his 16th of the season, bounced off the left field foul pole to end the game due to an eight run after seven innings mercy rule.

Jim Onder (4-1) took the loss for Allegheny County, surrendering eight runs (seven earned) on ten hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Carl Albert advances to take on the winner of Lincoln Land and Glen Oaks with the loser of that game to tangle with Allegheny County in the loser's bracket.

MILLINGTON, TN - Mercer County (31-11-1) scored three first innings runs off Jefferson Davis (37-21) starter Kyle Middleton on Saturday and Viking reliever Keith Roach pitched the final three and two-thirds innings on Sunday to earn the save in the 5-4 win. Middleton lasted only one inning after walking four and allowing two hits.

The game began at just before 1:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon but a severe thunderstorm in the sixth inning forced the postponement of the game till Sunday morning.

Mercer County's first inning rally was ignited by back-to-back walks by Cale McKendrick and Jamie Riese. Then centerfielder Matt Slaiciunas laced his team-leading fifth triple of the season down the right field line scoring both runners. Slaiciunas, who finished the game 3-for-4, then scored on Mike McGill's line drive single to center.

The Vikings made the score 4-1 in the third thanks to two Jefferson Davis errors.

Mercer County starter Josh Pine (12-1) pitched well till the rains came, going 5 1/3 innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits. Roach began Sunday on the mound for the Vikings and finished off the game.

Jefferson Davis cut the lead to 4-3 in the seventh inning when B.J. Weed and Brandon Long started the inning with consecutive singles and Philip Slusher walked to load the bases. With two outs and the bases still loaded, catcher Matt Chandler was hit by a Roach fastball with an 0-2 count to score the run.

An eighth inning, Mercer County insurance run on a McKendrick bunt single that scored Joe Marchetti from third proved to be crucial as Jefferson Davis made things very interesting in the ninth.

With one out, the Warhawks top hitter Mike Kerins singled deep in the hole and advanced to second on a wild throw by Viking shortstop McKendrick. Kerins moved to third on a groundout and cut the score to 5-4 on David Crenshaw double off the left field fence. Following a walk to Candler, Roach closed the game out with a strikeout of Dusty Lyles.

Mercer County advances to play Iowa Central at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning, and Jefferson Davis drops to the loser's bracket to battle Copiah-Lincoln at 5:00 p.m. Sunday evening.

With the game scoreless through four innings, Iowa Central (51-8) plated their first run in the top of the 5^th inning. Catcher Raul DeLa Cruz led off the inning with a groundball to Copiah-Lincoln shortstop Nook Logan. Logan bobbled the ball, then threw high to first allowing DeLa Cruz to reach second. Expecting a bunt, the Wolfpack had the third baseman charging and the shortstop covering third base when Iowa Central designated hitter Brian McGuire slapped a double through the vacancy left at shortstop, scoring courtesy runner Steven McGrady.

Iowa Central tacked on three insurance runs, two unearned, in the eighth of Wolfpack starter Jacob Blakeney (11-3). First baseman Matt Stender led off the inning with a double to right field. Two batters later, he scored on short stop Jon Becker’s single to right. Right fielder Brian Hopkins then reached second on a dropped fly ball by Wolfpack right fielder Scott Poole with Becker moving to third. Becker then scored on a DeLa Cruz groundout, and Becker scored on a wild pitch.

Poole was the only Copiah-Lincoln hitter with two hits, including his fourth double of the season leading off the eighth. Four different Iowa Central hitters notched two hits in the Tritons 12-hit attack.

Iowa Central advances to the second round, playing Sunday at 3 p.m. against the winner of Jefferson Davis CC and Mercer County CC. Copiah-Lincoln falls to the loser’s bracket and will face the loser of the above mentioned game at 9 a.m. Sunday morning.

May 22, 2000
NJCAA World Series Begins Play Saturday at USA Stadium

MILLINGTON, TN - The National Junior College Division Two World Series begins on Saturday, May 27th at 9:00 a.m. at USA Stadium in Millington. Millington, which has hosted the tournament since its inception in 1993, will host the World Series for the 8th consecutive year. Eight teams from eight different states will compete in the double-elimination tournament, which lasts through next Thursday. The Championship game will be played Thursday night, June 1st, at 7:30 p.m. If the team from the loser’s bracket wins, the additional game will be played on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday’s action begins at 9:00 a.m. with the Tritons of Iowa Central (50-8) from Fort Dodge, Iowa, against the Copiah-Lincoln Wolves (45-15) from Wesson, Mississippi. Iowa Central is in the World Series for the third time. Their best finish was runner-up to Grand Rapids CC in 1997. This is the first appearance for Copiah-Lincoln.

Saturday’s 12:00 game pits the Jefferson Davis CC Warhawks (37-20) from Brewton, Alabama, against the Vikings of Mercer County CC (30-10) from Trenton, New Jersey. Jefferson Davis is making their second World Series appearance. They marched through the tournament undefeated in 1998 to claim the National Championship. Mercer County made their only appearance in 1996. They finished tied for seventh place.

At 3:00 p.m., the Carl Albert State College Vikings (31-24) from Poteau, Oklahoma, take on the Tigers from CC of Allegheny County (34-5) from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. Carl Albert is making their record fifth appearance with their best finish being a third place finish in 1999. The Vikings are the only returning team from last year and have a perfect 4-0 record in opening round games. Allegheny County is making their first World Series appearance.

The 7:30 p.m. game will be the Loggers of Lincoln Land Community College (42-19-1) against the Glen Oaks CC Vikings (40-20) from Centreville, Michigan. Lincoln Land is making its fourth appearance and first since 1995. The Loggers went away National Champions in 1994. The Vikings are making their first appearance.

The tournament will continue Sunday through Thursday, June 1st, with four games on Sunday as well. The welcoming banquet for the tournament will be Friday, May 26^th, at the VFW in Millington. Representatives of the media are invited to attend the barbeque dinner that starts at 7:00 p.m. Free tickets are available for youth league baseball and softball teams. Please call USA Stadium at 901-872-8326 for more information.