May 20, 2012

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team will open play in the 2012 Horizon League Tournament Wednesday in Chicago, Ill. The league office announced the tournament bracket today after the final games of the regular season were played this weekend.

The Panthers swept Wright State in the final series of the regular season and will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament. They head to Chicago in search of a second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the past three seasons, having won nine of their last 10 games heading into postseason play.

The Horizon League Tournament will be hosted by UIC and all games will be played at Les Miller Field.

2012 Horizon League Tournament Bracket

As the No. 3 seed, Milwaukee (26-25, 18-11) will begin play on the first day of the event. Its first game will be played at 4 p.m. Wednesday, taking on Youngstown State University (9-42, 7-23). Milwaukee went 5-1 against the Penguins this season, taking two of three on the road and sweeping the three-game series at Henry Aaron Field.

Play gets underway Wednesday at 11 a.m., with No. 4 UIC (19-32, 12-17) taking on No. 5 Butler (22-32, 10-20).

Valparaiso (32-22, 22-8) moved ahead of Wright State (36-19, 20-10) the last weekend to claim the regular season title. The Crusaders will enter play as the No. 1 seed and the Raiders the No. 2. They both open play Thursday, with Valparaiso playing at 8 p.m. and WSU at 3 p.m.

To follow all the action of this year's league championship, log on to www.horizonleague.com and click on the baseball page. Included will be links to GameTracker for games in progress, along with complete summaries and box scores as contests are completed.

All contests will also be shown live on the Horizon League Network (www.horizonleague.com).

Ticket prices include the following options: All-Tournament Passes ($25) and Single Day Passes ($10). Call 312-416-UIC1 for more information.

2012 HORIZON LEAGUE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Wednesday, May 23
Game 1 #4 UIC vs. #5 Butler, 11 a.m.
Game 2 #3 Milwaukee vs. #6 Youngstown State, 4 p.m.
Thursday, May 24
Game 3 Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 4 #2 Wright State vs. Highest seed of Game 1 and 2 winners, 3 p.m.
Game 5 #1 Valparaiso vs. Lowest seed of game 1 and 2 winners, 8 p.m.
Friday, May 25
Game 6 Game 3 winner vs. Lower seed of Game 4 and 5 losers, 10 a.m.
Game 7 Game 6 winner vs. Higher seed of Game 4 and 5 losers, 3 p.m.
(Note: If one of the Game 4 or 5 losers has already had a bye, then that team will play in Game 6, regardless of seed)
Game 8 Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 26
Game 9 Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 11 a.m.
Game 10 Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 27 -- if necessary
Game 11 Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 loser, 12 p.m.
(Note: If winner of Game 9 is also winner of Game 10, then winner and loser of Game 10 will play in Game 11 on Sunday)