PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Bryan Wickline, VP/GM
Phone: (740) 773-TEAM (8326) 

For Immediate Release:

MAC To Stage 2008 Baseball Tournament
at Chillicothe

CLEVELAND – For the first time since 1982, and for only the second time in league history, the Mid-American Conference Baseball Tournament will be held at a neutral site when this year’s event is staged at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. 

The tournament field will also be expanded to eight teams for the first time ever. The prior tournament field consisted of six teams in a double-elimination tournament. The new format will feature a bracket of two pools, with the winner of each double-elimination pool meeting in a one-game, winner take all championship game. The bracketing reflects the College World Series format as played in Omaha.

 “This is an exciting step for MAC baseball,” said MAC Commissioner Rick Chryst. “We appreciate the enthusiasm shown by the Chillicothe Paints’ organization and by the entire community to showcase our schools and student-athletes.”

Home to the Chillicothe Paints Professional Baseball Club of the Frontier League, VA Memorial Stadium seats 4,000 and features a Field Turf playing surface. The championship will run from May 21-24. Chillicothe is located approximately an hour south of Columbus. There will also be a Mid-American Conference Tournament Celebration open to all players, staff, parents and fans to be held Tuesday, May 20 at 7:30 PM. 

The only other neutral site MAC baseball championship was held in 1982 at Trautman Field in Columbus. Columbus, at that time, was the headquarters city for the MAC office. All other 18 league tournaments have been on campus sites with the No. 1 seed serving as host. Last year’s event, won by Kent State, was hosted by Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. 

VA Memorial Stadium has hosted several college games this year, including a doubleheader between MAC member Ohio University and Big Ten member Purdue.

"After speaking with MAC baseball officials and coaches, we felt our facility and our community was the perfect place to host an expanded eight-team tournament,” stated Paints’ Vice President and General Manager, Bryan Wickline.  A neutral site for the tournament was very important to the Conference in terms of planning and travel. We will provide a first-class tournament and atmosphere that the student-athletes and staffs of each school will never forget.” 

“The Chillicothe Paints Organization and all of southern Ohio are obviously very honored to host the Mid-American Conference’s 2008 Baseball Championship,” commented Paints’ owner, Dr. Chris Hanners. We look at this opportunity as a way to showcase “Ohio’s First Capital” and I’m positive our community will embrace the MAC with open arms. We will work relentlessly to make this a long term win-win situation, not only for southern Ohio, but for each participating university.” 

Due to the dates of the Mid-American Conference Tournament (May 21-24), the Chillicothe Paints’ home opener against the Washington Wild Things has been moved back to Sunday, May 18 instead of the originally scheduled Wednesday, May 21. Game time will be 6:35 pm on Sunday with a special fireworks extravaganza immediately following the game.  The Paints and Wild Things will face each other again on Monday, May 19 at a special starting time of 10:00 am for a “Schools Day” event, and then will resume Frontier League action on Saturday, May 24 when the Paints travel to Florence to battle the Freedom in a two-game series. 

Fans can visit the Paints’ website, www.chillicothepaints.com, for complete details on the upcoming Paints’ 2008 season schedule. There is also a link to the MAC Baseball Tournament, www.chillicothepaints.com/MAC, providing plenty of information for fans and the media, including tournament ticket prices, hotel rates and general information about the tournament and the city of Chillicothe.  2008 Season tickets and “U-Pick-‘Em Ticket Mini-Plans for the Paints’ 54-game home schedule are now on sale at the Paints’ Gift Shop in downtown Chillicothe and they can also be purchased by phone (740) 773-TEAM.

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