Having finals out of the way the John Carroll University baseball team can turn to its next task, the OAC Baseball Tournament. The 3-day double-elimination tournament returns to Don Schaly Stadium in Marietta, Ohio for the fourth straight year. John Carroll opens play taking on Heidelberg at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 8.

Benefitting from playing on Sunday with the rain that moved through University Hts. on Saturday afternoon, John Carroll benefitted from seeing what the other teams in contention did to know exactly what was needed to clinch a spot in the tournament.

With Baldwin Wallace sweeping Capital to punch its ticket in and Ohio Northern sweeping Heidelberg, all John Carroll needed to do was win one of the two games against Muskingum on Sunday. The Blue Streaks won both games over the visiting Fighting Muskies to finish the regular season at 21-14 and handed head coach Marc Thibeault his 300th career win in the process.

Overall, John Carroll is making its sixth straight tournament appearance ranking as the second-longest active streak in the OAC. It only trails Marietta's run of 32 straight OAC Tournament appearances.

John Carroll will be looking for much better results this time around as the Blue Streaks have only won one OAC Tournament game since 2009.
JCU will count on Tyler Gentile and Robby Cifelli to lead the way at the plate.

Gentile enters the weekend with a team-best 12-game hitting streak. The third baseman quickly worked his way into the everyday lineup as the season progressed and has not disappointed. Gentile is third on the team with a .364 batting average and is tops on the team with a .495 on base percentage. Cifelli has come on lately offensively. The sophomore centerfielder ranks third in the conference with 29 walks and has quietly boosted his batting average up to .301, fifth on the squad.

John Carroll will count on its sophomore duo of Aaron Lapaglia and Brandon Maddern to lead the way pitching. The two combined for a 13-5 record and a 3.28 ERA on the year. Junior Andrew Doring (2-2, 4.15) and freshman Mark Materise (3-2, 5.71) will also be counted on especially for an extended stay in the OAC Tournament.

John Carroll went 2-4 against the field in this year's OAC Tournament. JCU's two wins came in a sweep of BW. The Blue Streaks did hold leads in both games against the 'Berg and Pioneers and will look to come out on top.

Live statistics for all games will be available as will live video.

Tickets:
All-Tournament Pass  –  $15
Adults  –  $7
Senior Citizens (62 and up)  –  $5
Non-OAC Students  –  $2
OAC Students  –  Free with I.D.

Schedule:
Thursday, May 8
Game 1: #4 Baldwin Wallace at #1 Marietta – 1 p.m.
Game 2: #3 John Carroll at #2 Heidelberg – 4 p.m.
Friday, May 9
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 11 a.m.
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser – 2 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner – 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 12 p.m.
Game 7: If needed Game 2 winner vs. Game 5 winner – 3 p.m.