Ithaca College

The Ithaca College baseball team (24-10) has been selected for the NCAA Division III playoffs.

The Bombers are seeded fourth in the six-team New York regional, which Rensselaer will host from Thursday, May 15 to Sunday, May 18 at Joe Bruno Stadium, in Troy. Ithaca's first game will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday against third-seeded Trinity, Conn. (23-9). The New York regional playoffs also include top-seeded Cortland (31-9), second-seeded Rensselaer (26-13), fifth-seeded Mount St. Mary (31-6), and sixth-seeded Messiah (22-13). The double-elimination tournament continues on Friday and Saturday, with the championship round scheduled for Sunday, May 18. Monday, May 19 is the rain date.

Complete tournament schedule: Ithaca College Baseball

WICB (91.7 FM) will broadcast all Ithaca games; the broadcasts will also be available on the Internet (except for any games played on Sunday) on WICB

The Bombers are making their 26th appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs (only Marietta has played in more) and 35th NCAA playoff appearance overall. The Bombers are 83-52 in Division III playoff games and 99-68 overall. Ithaca has appeared in all but one NCAA tournament since the inception of Division III; since then only Marietta and Eastern Connecticut have played in more games or won more games than the Bombers.

Ithaca has reached the Division III World Series 11 times, winning national titles in 1980 and 1988 and placing second in 1976, 1981 and 1986. The Bombers also played in the College World Series once (1962) and the College Division World Series once (1973).

In Coach George Valesente's 24 years, Ithaca has played in 23 NCAA tournaments, reached the Division III World Series nine times and won two national titles.

The Division III championship provides for a 42-team playoff field. Seven other double-elimination regional tournaments are being held this weekend; the eight regional winners advance to the national finals, a double-elimination tournament to be held Friday, May 23 through Tuesday, May 27 in Appleton, Wis.

Contributed by Michael Warwick