FARGO -- For the first time in tournament history, the #SummitBSB Championship will be hosted by North Dakota State at Newman Outdoor Field. The host Bison will be the No. 2 seed for the 2023 event, while regular season champion Oral Roberts will be on the top line of the four-team bracket after reeling off a 23-1 record in conference play.

The Golden Eagles, who won their 20th regular season title in program history, will open the tournament against No. 4 seed Omaha in a rematch of last year's title game won by ORU in Tulsa. Those two will play Wednesday at 12:05 p.m. CT, while NDSU will play later in the evening tilt against No. 3 seed South Dakota State at 6:05 p.m. CT. The Bison just took two of three from the Jackrabbits last week to lock up the No. 2 seed.

#SUMMITBSB CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, May 24
G1: No. 1 Oral Roberts vs. No. 4 Omaha | 12 p.m.
G2: No. 2 NDSU vs. No. 3 SDSU | 6 p.m.

Thursday, May 25
G3: G1 loser vs. G2 loser | 12 p.m.
G4: G1 winner vs. G2 winner | 6 p.m.

Friday, May 26
G5: G3 winner vs. G4 loser | 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 27
G6: G4 winner vs. G5 winner | 1 p.m.
G7: G6 winner vs. G6 loser (if necessary) | 30 minutes following
*All Times CT

Each game of the 2023 #SummitBSB Championship will be streamed live at www.thesummitleague.org/watch and televised by WDAY Xtra across the state of North Dakota and also available on WDAY Sports+.

Need to Know
Location: Fargo, N.D. (Newman Outdoor Field)
Host: North Dakota State
Live Stats: Here
Live Stream: The Summit League Digital Network and WDAY Sports+
Television: WDAY Xtra (throughout North Dakota)

Where to Look
For anything and everything regarding The Summit League Baseball Championship visit the official championship website here.
 
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Baseball Title IX Championship Ambassador: Pat Fredrickson (North Dakota State)
The Summit League is excited to join the NCAA and its member institutions in a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark federal law signed in 1972 that has provided education and athletic opportunities for women since its inception. To continue the celebration throughout the year at our championships, we are giving the hosts an opportunity to recognize individuals who have been influential in Title IX or other gender equity initiatives by naming them Title IX Championship Ambassadors. 

The Summit League will be recognizing Pat Fredrickson as the Baseball Title IX Ambassador. Fredrickson retired from her position as the senior associate athletics director for business at North Dakota State University in December of 2020.



What is the importance of Title IX?
“At the time I started my job in 1978, Title IX had been around for a few years, but I was fortunate that I worked at a university where there was equality for women within the athletic department. As a woman, I always thought it was so important while I was working there, that it was kind of my job personally to try and mentor other young women to get into the career field of athletics. There are so many opportunities and so many other great woman that you meet, that’s what I found was so important to encourage and show other young women, young students what it was like to have a career in athletics. Some people think the world of college athletics is male dominated. It is to a point, but as a woman that went into that field in 1978, I gradually was able to mentor other young women to get into the field and the passing of Title IX was a big reason why I was able to do that.”

What impact did Title IX have on you?
“Title IX was the reason that I stayed in my same job that I held for 43 years. As a woman, I sat in a board room that was dominated with males, however I was treated very well and equally by every male in the room and that I worked with. They had a lot of respect for me, but I think I earned that respect because I think you have to earn that no matter what job you have and whether you are male or female. The other part, you really, really have to love what you are doing.”

“I am just so thankful and so proud, especially to be honored like this at a sport played by men. I think for the young men and women that will be there, it just clearly sends a message that women are important. I know it’s the 50^th year of Title IX, but it’s so important in the world of Title IX to continue along this path they are currently going.”

THE FIELD: CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Team (Overall Tournament Records) | Titles (last)
(1) Oral Roberts (69-7) | 20 titles (last 2022)
Worth noting: The Golden Eagles’ 69 victories in 22 previous tournament appearances are just eight fewer than the other 12 current and former members they played against combined to win in those tournaments (77).

(2) North Dakota State (15-12) | 2 titles (last 2021)
Worth noting: The Bison won their second tournament title in 2021, seven years after becoming the first No. 4 seed to win the title when the 2014 squad went 3-0 in Sioux Falls, S.D. NDSU earned the right to host the tournament for the first time in program history by winning the 2022 regular season. The No. 2 seed has won the last two tournaments (NDSU; 2021 and ORU; 2022).
 
(3) South Dakota State (20-21) | 1 title (2013)
Worth noting: The Jackrabbits have appeared in nine straight #SummitBSB Championships, the longest such streak in the field. The Jackrabbits last postseason win came in the 2021 event in Omaha when they defeated the host Mavericks 7-0 in a losers’ bracket game.

(4) Omaha (5-7) | 1 title (2019)
Worth noting: Omaha will be the No. 4 seed for the second consecutive postseason. A year ago in Tulsa, the Mavericks advanced to the title game from the loser’s bracket where only four teams have come out of to win the #SummitBSB Championship. The last to do so was Oral Roberts in 2016.

TEAM TRACKER
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON (22-28, 16-7 SL) | @NDSUBaseball
Next Up: vs. No. 3 seed South Dakota State (5/24, 6 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: South Dakota State* (L, 6-5; W, 5-2; W, 12-9)
The Bison are hosting the Summit League Championship for the first time in program history and will open against a South Dakota State team that they took two of three from this past weekend and won the season series 4-2 ... NDSU’s weekend starters held the top three ERA’s among League hurlers in conference play ... Junior Cade Feeney (2.03 ERA) and senior Tristen Roehrich (2.82 ERA) both landed on the first team and went 5-1, respectively, against League foes ... Freshman Parker Puetz was the only freshman to earn an all-league nod as he went 2-0 with a 2.06 ERA in five League starts ... Senior Peter Brookshaw has started the last 217 games for NDSU over a five-year career ... Brookshaw boasts career-highs in batting average (.313) and home runs (12) entering the conference tournament ... First baseman James Dunlap tied for the Summit League lead with 32 RBI in conference action ... Outfielder Druw Sackett paced the team with career-highs of 13 home runs and 52 RBI during the regular season.

OMAHA MAVERICKS (21-26, 9-14 SL) | @OmahaBSB
Next Up: vs. No. 1 seed Oral Roberts (5/24, 12 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Northern Colorado* (L, 13-3 (7); L, 9-6; W, 4-3)
The Mavericks rallied to win their regular season finale at Northern Colorado 4-3 and clinch the final spot in the four-team tournament field ... The Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, but Omaha chipped away and eventually took the lead in the seventh after Mike Boeve tied things up at 3-3 with a solo home run and Eddie Satisky delivered a game-winning RBI single ... Omaha is making its fourth straight appearance and its opening-round game with Oral Roberts is a rematch of the 2022 title game that the Golden Eagles won 21-2 in Tulsa ... Boeve and shortstop Devin Hurdle make up the left side of the All-League first team infield ... A three-time All-League first teamer, Boeve hit .369 in League play and only struck out four times in 84 at-bats ... He is the sixth hardest player to strikeout in Division I baseball this season, doing so just nine times overall in 157 at-bats ... Hurdle hit .342 against League foes and added 12 RBI ... Utility player Brennan Bales landed on the all-league second team and paced the Mavericks with four home runs and 15 RBI in conference action ... He also appeared in six games on the mound.  

(29/NR) ORAL ROBERTS GOLDEN EAGLES (43-11, 23-1 SL) | @ORUBaseball
Next Up: vs. No. 4 seed Omaha (5/24, 12 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at Western Illinois* (W, 7-4; W, 12-2; W, 12-0 (8))
The Golden Eagles bring the nation’s longest winning streak to Fargo, having reeled off 15 straight wins as they captured the program’s 20th Summit League regular season title ... ORU went 23-1 becoming the first Summit League team since the Golden Eagles’ 2007 (19-1) squad and sixth overall to only drop one conference game ... Outfielder Jonah Cox was named the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after leading the Summit League in conference play in runs (37), hits (45), triples (4), and stolen bases (17) ... Cox is batting .425 overall and hit .450 in League play after hitting safely in all 24 games ... He brings a 38-game overall hitting streak into postseason play and has hit safely in 53 of ORU’s 54 games this season ... The Golden Eagles are the only Division I team to rank among the top 10 nationally in batting average (.317; 10th), ERA (3.71; 4th) and fielding percentage (.984; 3rd) ... Reliever Cade Denton registered six of his 12 saves in League play and is tied for fifth nationally in that category ... The Summit League Pitcher of the Year’s ERA against conference foes was 1.45 and sits at 1.51 overall ... The Golden Eagles were ranked in a pair of national polls this week, moving up to No. 10 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and entering the NCBWA poll for the first time this season at No. 29.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS (22-26, 13-11 SL) | @GoJacksBaseball
Next Up: at No. 2 seed North Dakota State (5/24, 6 p.m. CT)
Previous Games: at North Dakota State* (W, 6-5; L, 5-2; L, 12-9)
The Jackrabbits dropped two of three to NDSU to close out the regular season, but garnered the No. 3 seed for the second consecutive tournament ... SDSU also finished above .500 in League play for the second straight year at 13-11 ... If the Jacks are going to win the conference tournament for the first time since 2013, they will do so without the services of one of the League’s top hitters in Ryan McDonald ... The first team All-League catcher was hitting .466 in Summit action with eight home runs and 21 RBI before suffering a season-ending injury on April 30 at Oral Roberts ... McDonald’s .929 slugging percentage continues to lead all Division I batters ... SDSU trailed only ORU in home runs against League foes with 46 ... Shortstop Luke Ira (8), third baseman Nic Nelson (7) and second team all-leaguer Drew Beazley (6) combined for 21 of those ... That trio also had 20-plus RBI in conference action ... Relievers Eli Sundquist and Ryan Bourassa formed a high-strikeout tandem out of the Jacks’ bullpen ... Sundquist posted a 3.67 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 27 innings of work, while Bourassa picked up eight saves and posted a 3.89 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 37 innings of work.

#SUMMITBSB