By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the 45 qualifiers for the 2013 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. The event will take place at nine different sites around the country May 9 – 13. Each site will feature a five-team double-elimination tournament with the winners joining host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at the 57th annual Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, May 24 – 31.

The seeding and brackets for the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round will be announced Monday at 12 p.m. CDT via a free graphical presentation on www.NAIA.org.

Twenty-nine teams earned automatic berths to the Opening Round field by placing first or second at their respective conference/independent/unaffiliated group tournaments or by winning a regular-season championship. An additional 16 at-large selections – determined by the final NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released earlier today – round out the field.

Among the 45 qualifying teams, 10 will make their respective program’s debut in the Opening Round. Newcomers include: Ave Maria (Fla.), Benedictine-Springfield (Ill.), Central Methodist (Mo.), Concordia (Ore.), Lyon (Ark.), Martin Methodist (Tenn.), Midland (Neb.), San Diego Christian (Calif.), Science & Arts (Okla.) and Trinity Christian (Ill.).

Seven squads within the field have participated in every Opening Round since the format began in 2009 – Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Indiana Tech, Lee (Tenn.), LSU Shreveport (La.), Lubbock Christian (Texas), Oklahoma City and Tennessee Wesleyan. Embry-Riddle, Lee and Oklahoma City highlight the group with four Opening Round championships, while Lubbock Christian and Tennessee Wesleyan own three each.

Seven qualifiers have previously won a World Series title, led by Lewis-Clark State’s 16. The Warriors own an event record mark of 120-39 in 31 previous appearances. Lubbock Christian and Cumberland (Tenn.), who both enter the tournament with two banners, are the only other teams in the field with multiple national titles.

NeuLion, the NAIA’s official video-streaming company of 12 select NAIA national championship events, will be broadcasting the first 17 games of the 2013 Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series (May 24 – 29). Single day packages can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-World Series pass is available for $29.95. For more information, including how to test your computer and internet connection, click here. The championship final May 30 and the “if necessary” game May 31 will be stream live on www.ESPN3.com.

For more information on the 2013 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round and Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series, click here.