UIC, WSU Earn Top Seeds for Baseball Championship

2015 Horizon League Baseball Championship Bracket

INDIANAPOLIS -- After trading the lead at the top of the Horizon League baseball standings in each of the final four weeks, UIC maintained its half-game lead through the final series of the season, sweeping Youngstown State to capture the regular season title and No. 1 seed for the Horizon League Baseball Championship.

UIC (28-20, 22-8 Horizon) closed the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, including its final six Horizon League contests, to outlast Wright State (38-14, 21-8 Horizon) by a half-game. The regular-season title is the first for UIC since 2011 and 11th under head coach Mike Dee.

Both teams will earn a bye in the conference tournament, playing their first tournament games on Thursday.

Wednesday's first game will see No. 4 seed Valparaiso (21-29, 15-14 Horizon) take on No. 5 Youngstown State (16-33, 9-21 Horizon) at 12 p.m. CT. Last year, the Penguins won the conference tournament as the No. 6 seed. The day's second game will see No. 3 seed Milwaukee (35-18, 16-13 Horizon) take on No. 6 Oakland (10-38, 5-24 Horizon) in a rematch of their weekend series.

The losing teams on Wednesday will be eliminated from the tournament, with the winners advancing to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Following the conclusion of day 1, the field will be reset, with the highest-remaining seed taking on Wright State and the lowest-remaining seed meeting UIC.

Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind., will serve as the host for the tournament May 20-23, with the League champion advancing to the NCAA Tournament. The League's representative has one at least one game in regional play in each of the last two seasons.

All-session passes for the four-day tournament start at $25 for adults and $20 for seniors and children. A day pass costs $10 for adults and $8 for seniors and children. All games will be carried on ESPN3.