SLIAC Coaches tab Red Devils fifth in West Division

CARLINVILLE, Ill.  – The Eureka College baseball team has been selected to finish fifth in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference West Division in 2016, according to a poll released Thursday conducted by league head coaches. Splading (East) and Webster (West) were chosen as favorites in their divisions, the second season with separate league divisions.

Greenville (39), MacMurray (24), MacMurray (24), and Principia (13) round out the teams placed in the East division, while Fontbonne (30), Westminster (29), Iowa Wesleyan (16), and Eureka (15) complete the West.

The scheduling format consists of 22-games (a 3-game series, 9-7-9 vs. teams within division, and a 7-9 doubleheader vs. teams outside its division) with all counting as conference games.

The top two teams in each division, excluding provisional NCAA Division III member Iowa Wesleyan, will qualify for the league tournament. The double-elimination event is scheduled to begin May 12. The tournament champion will secure the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

The Red Devils return 13 letterwinners, including senior infielder player and All-SLIAC Third Team selection Nick Passini (Dalzell, Ill./St. Bede [Illinois Valley]) for third-year head coach Kim Johnson.  Eureka went 8-24 overall and 4-18 in SLIAC play last season and will looking to return to the SLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2010.  The season opener is tentatively scheduled for March 11 against Tougaloo in Jackson, Miss.