PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Mid-South Conference Regular-Season Champion Campbellsville has already punched its ticket to the final site of the MSC Championship in Bowling Green, now this weekend the other six league schools will be competing for the final three spots at opening-round series' on campus sites.

Sixth-seeded University of Pikeville will head to No. 3-seed Lindsey Wilson in Columbia, Ky., for its best-of-3 series. The Bears and Blue Raiders kick things off at 6 p.m. ET on Friday night at Egnew Park. Game two will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday with an if-necessary game to follow immediately after.

Live video is available through the Lindsey Wilson Sports Network and live stats are available through the NAIA DakStats site.

Once the four teams advancing to Bowling Green are set, they will compete in a double-elimination tournament at Bowling Green Ballpark on May 5-7. Campbellsville received a bye past the opening round with its regular-season title.

Under this new championship format which started last season, UPIKE hosted St. Catharine in 2016, falling just short of a trip to the final site with a loss in game three on Johnnie LeMaster Field. This time around, the Bears hit the road, taking on a Lindsey Wilson team that it just swept on its home field last weekend.

But the Blue Raiders (26-23, 10-8 MSC) won't be taken lightly as they have advanced to the NAIA World Series in each of the last two seasons. Lindsey Wilson boasts a roster with four all-conference team selections and a Gold Glove winning pitcher in Ricky Winfield.

Jayden Jackson, a First Team All-MSC catcher, makes LWC's offense go, hitting .345 with seven home runs, six doubles and 44 RBIs. Winfield tossed a team-leading 74 innings this season, posting a 6-7 record with a 4.01 ERA while striking out 75 batters.

In the recent UPIKE sweep last weekend, it posted winning scores over the Blue Raiders of 14-2, 5-4 and 10-5. MSC first teamer Anthony Roberts had a lot to do with that, smashing four home runs and driving in six runs with a .727 average in the series on his way to becoming Pikeville's first MSC Player of the Week in program history.  

-UPIKE-