COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The fourth-seeded St. Olaf College baseball team will begin the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Baseball Playoffs by taking on top-seeded and nationally-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College on Thursday at Saint John's University's Becker Park.

St. Olaf (22-14, 13-7 MIAC) earned a spot in the four-team, double-elimination tournament by sweeping Carleton College on the final day of the regular season on Saturday and will meet regular-season champion Gustavus (33-7, 17-3 MIAC) in the first game of the day at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 8. The Gusties are ranked No. 17 in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 and No. 18 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) NCAA Division III Coaches Poll this week.

Per conference policy, tickets will be required for each day of the MIAC Baseball Playoffs and all sales will be conducted online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will not be cash sales at the venue, but spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device while at the venue. Ticket prices (plus fees) are $12 for general admission, $3 for students (with ID), and children five and under get in free. MIAC passes will be accepted. Live video and live statistics will be provided by Saint John's throughout the tournament.

Following the game between St. Olaf and Gustavus, second-seeded Bethel University will face third-seeded Saint John's in a 7 p.m. scheduled start on Thursday. The two losing teams will play an elimination game on Friday, May 9 at noon, followed by a matchup of the two winning teams at 3 p.m. Another elimination game will follow at 6 p.m.

The playoff appearance is the 13th for St. Olaf since the tournament began in 2000 and the second in a row, as the Oles fell one win short of the MIAC Playoff title a year ago. St. Olaf is 26-19 all-time in the MIAC Playoffs, with the 26 wins being the most of any current conference member. The Oles have won the tournament three times (2003, 2006, 2009) and have won at least one game in 11 of their previous 12 appearances.

Gustavus is in the MIAC Playoffs for the 11th time overall and the sixth time in the last seven years. The Gusties are 12-19 all-time in the tournament and are one of four teams to never have won the playoff title. In its last appearance in 2023, Gustavus went 2-2 as the No. 1 seed, falling in the first game on the final day to Bethel at Becker Park.

Thursday's tournament opener will be the fifth meeting between St. Olaf and Gustavus in the MIAC Playoffs, with the Oles having won three of the previous four. The two teams last met in the tournament in 2008, with St. Olaf picking up a 15-6 win. The teams also met in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Gustavus swept the regular-season series between the two teams last week in with 15-0 and 15-9 wins in St. Peter.