OMAHA, Neb. -- One of the many things the global pandemic wiped out was the 2020 #SummitBSB Championship, which no one wanted to see happen. However, among the things it did not wipe out completely was the construction of Omaha's state-of-the-art baseball and softball complex.

The benefactors of the latter development will be the four Summit League teams that will embark on Tal Anderson Field for the 2021 Summit League Baseball Championship presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare this week to chase a tournament trophy in a city enriched with collegiate baseball history. The Mavericks' new park was completed just prior to the 2021 campaign and is primed and ready to be showcased throughout the country as each game will be televised by Midco Sports Network and streamed live both on the www.thesummitleague.org/watch and the Midco Sports Plus app.

Omaha, who will be the No. 3 seed this week, earned the right to host the 2021 event after capturing its first tournament title in program history in 2019. The Mavericks' current pitching coach Payton Kinney was the star of that weekend as he did not allow an earned run in 13.1 innings of work that covered two starts.

Top-seeded Oral Roberts hosted the 2019 event as the three seed and almost became the first team seeded on that line to win the title after forcing a winner-take-all game vs. the Mavericks. Fast forward two years and the roles are reversed as the Mavericks will look to become the initial No. 3 seed to make history.

The field's remaining two squads will do their best to spoil a potential rematch as No. 2 seed North Dakota State is the riding the momentum of a record-breaking season and No. 4 South Dakota State turned its season around by taking the final two games of a four-game set from the Golden Eagles to secure their seventh-straight appearance in the postseason event.

One thing is for certain: new stars will emerge this week in Omaha and the team hoisting the trophy on Saturday will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

SUMMIT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Thursday, May 27
G1: (1) Oral Roberts vs. (4) South Dakota State | 1 p.m.
G2: (2) North Dakota State vs. (3) Omaha | 6 p.m.

Friday, May 28
G3: G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser | 11 a.m.
G4: G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner | 3 p.m.
G5: G3 Loser vs. G4 Winner | 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 29
G6: G3 Winner vs. G5 Winner | 2 p.m.
G7: G6 Winner vs. G6 Loser (if necessary) | 6 p.m.

All games will be televised on Midco Sports Network and streamed on www.thesummitleague.org/watch and the Midco Sports Plus app.

Need to Know
Location: Tal Anderson Field
Host: University of Nebraska Omaha
Live Stats: Here
Live Stream: Here
Television: Midco Sports Network/Midco Sports Plus app (all games)
 
Where to Look
For anything and everything regarding The Summit League Baseball Championship presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare, visit the official championship website here.
 
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CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Team (Overall Records) | Titles
(1) Oral Roberts (64-5) | 19 titles (last 2018)
Worth noting: The Golden Eagles’ 64 victories in 20 previous tournament appearances are just seven fewer than the other 12 current and former members they played against combined to win in those tournaments (71).

(2) North Dakota State (11-10) | 1 title (2014)
Worth noting: The Bison became the first No. 4 seed to win the title when the 2014 squad went 3-0 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

(3) Omaha (3-3) | 1 title (2019)
Worth noting: Oral Roberts was 62-3 all-time in 19 previous tournament appearances before the Mavericks beat the Golden Eagles twice en route to the 2019 championship.

(4) South Dakota State (19-17) | 1 title (2013)
Worth noting: The Jackrabbits have appeared in seven straight #SummitBSB Championships, the longest such streak in the field.

A team has come from the loser’s bracket to win the #SummitBSB Championship just four times since the first tournament was held in 1984. The last to do so was Oral Roberts in 2016.

REWIND TO 2019
Backed by All-American Payton Kinney, the top-seeded Omaha Mavericks won their first #SummitBSB Championship in 2019 at the J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa.

Kinney was named the Championship MVP after registering a pair of wins after allowing zero runs, scattering four hits and striking out 15 in 13.1 innings of work.

ORU forced a winner-take-all game with a 6-0 victory over the Mavericks, but Kinney and first baseman Braden Rogers cemented the program’s first title. Rogers belted a pair of home runs in the title game, matching his regular season total.

The Mavericks’ victory marked the first time Oral Roberts did not win the tournament trophy in 20 tries since joining the league in 1998. 

2019 Championship Results
First Round
G1: (1) Omaha 15, (4) Western Illinois 9
G2: (3) Oral Roberts 5, (2) South Dakota State 2

Losers’ Bracket
G3: (2) South Dakota State 9, (4) Western Illinois 5 (WIU eliminated)

Winners’ Bracket
G4: (1) Omaha 3, (3) Oral Roberts 2

Losers’ Bracket
G5: (3) Oral Roberts 4, (2) South Dakota State 0 (SDSU eliminated)

Championship
G6: (3) Oral Roberts 6, (1) Omaha 0
G7: (1) Omaha 4, (3) Oral Roberts 3

All-Tournament Team
Isaac Coffey, Oral Roberts // Breyden Eckhout, Omaha // Derek Hackman, South Dakota State // Cal Hehnke, Omaha // Spencer Henson, Oral Roberts // Riley Keizor, Oral Roberts // Payton Kinney, Omaha (MVP) // Joey Machado, Omaha // Josh McMinn, Oral Roberts // Brett Mogen, South Dakota State // Ben Palensky, Omaha // Braden Rogers, Omaha // Parker Smejkal, Omaha // Trey Wolf, Oral Roberts

Bold: Playing in 2021 Championship

DIAMOND NOTES
• Top-seeded Oral Roberts and No. 4 seed South Dakota State arrive in Omaha after splitting a four-game set in Brookings. The Golden Eagles took both games of Thursday’s doubleheader before the Jackrabbits salvaged the split by taking games three and four to secure their seventh consecutive trip to the Summit League Championship presented by U.S. Air Force Special Warfare. SDSU would have been on the outside looking in had it not won at least one of those tilts.
• The two teams will play in the opening game of the tournament at the brand new Tal Anderson Field at 1 p.m. CT on Thursday. Oral Roberts is 13-0 all-time against the Jacks in tournament play. The clubs have met in the championship game on four occasions (2009-11, ‘18).
• North Dakota State wrapped up its regular season by taking two of three from Eastern Kentucky and earned the No. 2 seed after setting a program record with 20 league wins in 2021. The Bison have been as high as the No. 2 seed only once before in 2017 and that squad made the championship game before falling to ORU 7-0.
• Omaha brings a three-game winning streak back to its home field as the Mavericks look to defend their 2019 title in the park where they posted a 13-11 record this season. The No. 3 seed Mavericks boast three of the six returning players from the 2019 all-tournament team that are slated to play in this year’s event. That trio includes infielder Breyden Eckhout, outfield Parker Smejkal and righthander Joey Machado. NDSU and Omaha are set to play in Thursday’s second game at 6 p.m. CT.
• Every game of the 2021 Championship will be televised by Midco Sports Network and streamed live at www.thesummitleague.org/watch and on the Midco Sports Plus app.
• The other half of the returning all-tournament trio includes South Dakota State catcher Derek Hackman and righthander Brett Mogen along with Oral Roberts’ righthander Isaac Coffey, who was a freshman All-American back in 2019.
• Hackman is among a quartet of Summit League players that share the league lead in home runs with eight this season. Joining Hackman at that figure are NDSU teammates Bennett Hostetler and Jake Malec and Omaha outfielder Chris Esposito. All eight of Hackman’s homers came in league play, which topped the charts in those games.
• Hostetler led all Summit League players in league action with 31 RBI and a .500 on base percentage. He was second in hits (41) and batting average (.387) as he trailed Oral Roberts’ Jake McMurray in those categories. The Golden Eagles’ first baseman batted .394 in league play and recorded 43 hits in 26 games.
• Coffey topped the league charts in wins (6) and innings pitched (44.0) and was second to teammate Matt Gaskins in ERA. Gaskins logged a 1.33 while Coffey was at 1.64. The next closest pitcher to that duo was South Dakota State’s Cody Carlson, who posted a 3.20 ERA.
• NDSU is the only program in the country with two players that have seven or saves. Parker Harm leads the league with nine while Wyatt Nelson churned out seven for the Bison. The duo combined to save 13 of NDSU’s 20 wins in league play with Harm tallying seven of those.
 
ROUNDING THIRD ...
DOMINANCE AS THE TOP SEED
This will be the 19th time since joining The Summit League in 1998 that Oral Roberts has been the No. 1 seed and the Golden Eagles have hoisted the trophy in each of the previous 18 occurences (last 2018). ORU has only not been the league’s No. 1 seed twice in its program history. The Golden Eagles won the title as the No. 2 seed in 2010 and lost in the championship game in 2019 as the No. 3 seed. ORU was a member of the Southland Conference from 2012-14.

RECORD-SETTING SEASON
North Dakota State wrapped up its regular season by taking two of three from Eastern Kentucky this past weekend, leaving the Bison with an impressive 18-5 non-conference record. Tod Brown’s club closed out its road schedule with a DI-leading 24 victories. 

Overall, NDSU has amassed 38 victories, which is the second most in a single season in program history and the Bison’s 20 league victories are the most in a conference season for the program at any NCAA level. The Bison arrive in Omaha two shy of tying the single-season record for wins of 40 that was set in 2012.

THREE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER
Since the Summit League dropped the division format in 1999, the No. 3 seed is the only one among the top four to never win the title. The field size was six from 1999-2003 before reducing to four.

CUP OF COFFEY
Oral Roberts sophomore Isaac Coffey leads the league with nine overall wins and boasted a 2.69 ERA while striking out 88 batters in 80.1 innings pitched. Coffey arrives in Omaha having won his last seven starts. During that span, he allowed just six earned runs over 47 innings of work (1.14 ERA).

BENNETT TO WIN IT
North Dakota State shortstop Bennett Hostetler batted .394 in 54 starts for the Bison. He collected 26 multiple-hit games including a stretch from May 2-12 where he had eight-consecutive games with at least two hits.

LONG BALL LOGJAM
The four teams that made it to Omaha each hit more than 20 home runs as a team in league play this season. Omaha led the way with 25 bombs in 26 contests, while Oral Roberts and NDSU both hit 23. South Dakota State was not far behind with 22.

BOEVE OF DOUBLES
Omaha freshman Mike Boeve led all Summit League players with 16 doubles in the regular season and had three in the series win over Western Illinois last weekend en route to earning his first #SummitBSB Player of the Week honors. He also led all league rookies with a .322 batting average and he raised that to .363 in league play.

#SUMMITBSB