Batter up! The MAC baseball tourney begins Wednesday!

After a full season of action, we’re down to the final six remaining in the MAC as teams battle it out in Avon, OH on Wednesday for a chance to continue their season in the NCAA tournament. The bracket is above and you can read the MAC home office’s tourney preview and team blurbs by clicking on over to here.

For all intents and purposes, the tourney is the Kent State Golden Flashes’ to lose. They are the top seed and just finished off their third straight regular season championship. It was an award-winning year for the Flashes, as pitcher Joey Murray has been named the MAC Pitcher of the Year and Jeff Duncan earned Coach of the Year honors.

If you’re looking for a darkhorse to make a title run, look no further than the Ball State Cardinals. The Cards are absolutely red hot, winning 12 of their final 14 league games. Though hot, the road is an uphill one for Ball State, with both the Eastern Michigan Eagles and the Miami-Ohio RedHawks on the horizon if things go chalk. The Cards have struggled against both squads this season.

That assumes that the tourney goes chalk, though, which as anyone who follows MAC sports but especially MAC baseball, will tell you never happens. The top-seeded squad hasn’t taken home a tourney title since 2012.