Bracket

HAAC Baseball Championship Series Spring Classic first round
Game #35/No. 1 CENTRAL METHODIST (23-11) vs. No. 6 BENEDICTINE (18-21)
Wednesday, May 1 - 9 a.m. CT
Saint Joseph, Mo. - Phil Welch Stadium
Live Video and Chat: cmueagles.com (subject to availability)
Live Stats: cmueagles.com
Twitter Updates: @cmueagles

KANSAS CITY - Central Methodist, the top seed in this year's Heart of America Athletic Conference Baseball Championship Series Spring Classic, battles six-seed Benedictine (Kan.) on Wednesday to open play in the double-elimination tournament. First pitch is set for 9 a.m. CT at Phil Welch Stadium in Saint Joseph, Mo.

All games can be followed live online at cmueagles.com.

The winner of Central Methodist/Benedictine plays the loser of No. 3 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)/No. 4 Evangel (Kan.) on Wednesday at 9 p.m. The loser of the Eagles/Ravens plays at 6 p.m. on Wednesday against the loser of No. 2 Peru State (Neb.)/No. 5 Avila (Mo.).

The Eagles and Ravens split a pair of games on March 20 in Fayette. Central Methodist lost the first game 2-1 before responding with a 15-7 victory at Estes Field.

The Spring Classic is scheduled for four days between Wednesday-Saturday. All games are nine innings but include a run rule of 10 after seven innings. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the 57th Annual Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series, which starts with Opening Round play May 9-13.

Central Methodist won the HAAC regular-season championship for the first time since 1975 on Sunday and has already clinched a spot in the World Series. If the Eagles win the Spring Classic, then Peru State receives an automatic berth in the World Series by finishing second in the conference during the regular season.

The Eagles reached the Spring Classic title game in 2012 before falling to eventual champion Peru State.