The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team heads to Cary, N.C. this week for the 2022 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship. The Prairie Stars are making their first trip to the national championship event after defeating Quincy last weekend in the NCAA Midwest Super Regional.

UIS is the seventh seed in the tournament. It will face Point Loma in a first-round game on Saturday at 6 p.m. (eastern). Other teams on the UIS side of the bracket are Southern Arkansas and Rollins. The rest of the tournament field are North Greenville, Southern New Hampshire, Angelo State, and West Chester.
The Prairie Stars head to Cary with a 48-9 overall record. UIS won GLVC Regular Season and Tournament Championships, before winning its second NCAA Regional Tournament and first NCAA Super Regional.

This season is the 12th year of baseball at UIS. 2022 caps off a seven-year run in which the Prairie Stars have shown steady improvement which has led the team to reaching the baseball championship. That stretch started with the arrival of Ryan Copeland, who spent four seasons as an assistant coach, and is now in his third year as the Prairie Stars head coach. 

UIS is 244-91-1 over those seven years, including a 95-21 record since Copeland became head coach. It has won three GLVC Regular Season Division titles, and advanced to four NCAA postseasons. This season, the Prairie Stars broke though with its first GLVC Tournament Championship, and first GLVC Super Regional title.

Complete game notes available by clicking here