CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The 2021 American Rivers Conference Baseball Tournament gets underway on Thursday, May 20 for the University of Dubuque baseball team with the fifth seeded Spartans taking on the four seed Buena Vista Beavers at 11 a.m.
 
The 2021 tournament takes on a different format than years past, with all nine teams making the double-elimination tournament compared to the usual six, and the tournament being split into two pods. The Spartans head to the Cedar Rapids Pod, which will be played at Mount Mercy University's Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex. UD will be joined by the top-seed Coe College Kohawks, #4 seed Buena Vista and #8 seed Central who took down Nebraska Wesleyan in the play-in game on Tuesday. The two, three, six and seven seeds will head to the Waverly Pod at Wartburg College. The winner from each pod will meet in Cedar Rapids on Saturday for the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
The Spartans enter the conference tournament with its pitching staff having the second-best team ERA in the conference at 4.09 and the most innings thrown with 319.1 innings pitched.  Senior Jordan Nelson has thrown the fourth most innings pitched in among all conference pitchers at 66.2 innings and the fifth most strikeouts with 53.
 
The Spartans are 12-20 all-time in the conference tournament but are 5-2 over the past two seasons in the tournament with a championship in 2018.
 
Admission will be free of charge to all spectators
 
Links
Live stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/americanriversconference/
Live stream: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/americanriversconference/
Tournament Program: https://bit.ly/3tStjq5
 
Cedar Rapids Pod/Mount Mercy University, Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex
Thursday, May 20
Game 1 - No. 5-Dubuque vs. No. 4-Buena Vista @ 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - No. 8 Central vs. No. 1-Coe @ 2:00 p.m.
Game 3 - Loser 4/5 vs. Loser 1/(8/9) @ 5:00 p.m. (elimination game)
Game 4 - Winner 4/5 vs. Winner 1/(8/9) @ 8:00 p.m.
 
Friday, May 21
Game 5 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser @ 12:00 p.m.
Game 6 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner @ 3:00 p.m.
*Game 7 - Played if Game 5 winner WINS Game 6 @ 6:00 p.m.
*if necessary game
 
Championship | Saturday, May 22 | Mount Mercy University, Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex
*IF one bracket winner has one loss and other has 0 losses
Game 1 - Pod 1 winner vs. Pod 2 winner @ 3:00 p.m.
*Game 2 - Played if team with 1 loss WINS Game 1, winner take all game
*if necessary game
 
*IF both bracket winners have 1 loss
Championship Game @ 3:00 p.m.