WISE - - For the first time since becoming a NCAA Division II member, UVa-Wise will be playing postseason baseball. The Cavaliers qualified for this year's Mountain East Conference Tournament by posting a 19-13 league mark playing in the conference's South Division to garner the No. 3 seed. Hank Banner's club will open up postseason play inside Beckley W.Va.'s Linda P. Epling Stadium Thursday at 12 p.m. against the top seed from the North Division the Shepherd University Rams.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

Admission to the tournament is $7 per day for adults and $3 per day for students, children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge, tickets can be purchased at the gate. Each game of the 2019 Mountain East Conference Tournament will be video streamed live on the MEC Network. Fans can watch the games for free by accessing the Tournament Central Page where you can find up-to-date live video and live stat links.

About UVa-Wise

-          The Cavs finished tied for the final league tournament berth as West Virginia State finished with an identical 19-13 conference record. UVa-Wise won the league's second tiebreaker to advance to the field. The Cavs and Yellow Jackets split a quartet of head-to-head meetings however, UVa-Wise also split its four-game series with South Division Champion the University of Charleston while West Virginia State dropped 3-of-4 to the Golden Eagles.

-          Senior David Thomas enters postseason play swinging a hot bat. The outfielder has homered in consecutive games and is 5-for-11 at the plate over his last four games.

-          Senior Brett Yates finished the regular season batting a team-high .364 against league foes. The outfielder lined 15 extra-base hits in 32 conference games.

-          By advancing to tournament play, the Cavs could see four players eclipse 50 hits this season. Tyler Blaum has already reached the mark with a team-high 62 hits as has Yates with 52. Thomas enters postseason play with 47 while Tristan Peccerelli has lined 45.

-          On the mound, UVa-Wise will rely heavily on its pitching depth. The Cavs have 10 pitchers who have tossed at least 13 2/3 innings this spring. As a staff, the unit has struck out the most hitters in the NCAA Division II era of the school with 306 punch outs.

-          Junior right-hander Greg Duncan needs two strikeouts to become the first player in the NCAA Division II era to fan 80 hitters in a season. His 78 strikeouts ranks third in the MEC.

About Shepherd

-          The Rams are 34-14 overall and posted the best MEC record of any school in the conference, regardless of division, at 24-6.

-          Shepherd is ranked eighth in the latest Atlantic Region Poll. Overall, the Rams have made regional play in three consecutive seasons.

-          The Rams are the MEC's top offensive club. Shepherd enters the tournament batting a league-leading .347 while having scored a league-most 443 runs.

-          Jared Carr is a National Player of the Year candidate thanks to his .450 batting average. Carr has lined 26 extra-base hits this season and enters postseason play with a 1.184 OPS.

-          On the mound, the Rams have the league's leading strikeout pitcher in Ryan Potts. Potts has fanned 91 batters in 2019 and has a 7-3 record with a 4.12 ERA. The hurler has tossed four complete games out of his 12 starts.

Thursday's winner will advance to play the loser of the Notre Dame College and Concord University game at 3:30 p.m. Friday while the loser will play at 12 p.m. Friday against the loser of the University of Charleston and Fairmont State University contest.