FL Windy City ThunderBolts

Standard Bank Stadium to host NCAA Regional Tournament

Published on May 12, 2008 under Frontier League (FL)
Windy City ThunderBolts News Release


Crestwood, IL - The NCAA Division II Regional Baseball Committee has announced that Standard Bank Stadium in Crestwood, Illinois, will serve as the host facility for the North Central Regional tournament this week. St. Joseph's College of Rensselaer, Indiana, will serve as host school for the event in conjunction with the Windy City ThunderBolts professional baseball team and the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The NCAA Division II North Central Region consists of schools from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and area schools without conference affiliation. Along with St. Joseph's Pumas, other participating schools in the 2008 Tournament are the Grand Valley State University (Allendale, Michigan) Lakers, Bellarmine University (Louisville, Kentucky) Knights, Ashland (Ohio) University Eagles, Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) Warriors, and Northern Kentucky University Norse.

The 2008 North Central Regional Tournament will begin with a full day of workouts at Standard Bank Stadium on Wednesday, May 14. Games will begin on Thursday, May 14, with Bellermine and Ashland playing at 10:00 am; Grand Valley State and Northern Kentucky playing at 1:00 pm; and St. Joseph's and Wayne State playing at 7:00 pm. Games will continue at 9:00 am, noon, and 3:00 pm on Friday, May 15 and at 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm, and 7:00 pm on Saturday, May 16. The championship game will begin at noon on Sunday, May 18, with the winning team advancing to the NCAA Division II World Series in Sauget, Illinois.

"We're very excited about hosting at Standard Bank Stadium, bringing six quality teams into a quality venue," said St. Joseph's athletic director Bill Massoels. "We have a lot of alumni in south Chicago, and are looking forward to an exciting five days."

"We are honored that St. Joseph's University would ask us to host the North Central Regional Tournament on their behalf," commented ThunderBolts' general manager Steve Tahsler. "We welcome all participating teams and their fans to Standard Bank Stadium this week."

"We're excited to host the NCAA Division II North Central Tournament here in the Chicago Southland, and welcome the players, coaches, officials and spectators to our region for this event," said Jim Garrett, President and CEO of the Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau. "Standard Bank Stadium and the Windy City ThunderBolts offer a great venue and professional management that will guarantee this tournament will be a success. Building on this event, we hope to host additional NCAA Baseball tournaments in the future."

Several connections exist between the participating teams, the Windy City ThunderBolts, and the Chicago Southland. The ThunderBolts' bench coach, Mike Kashirsky, played at St. Joseph's where he was teammates with current St. Joseph's head coach Rick O'Dette on the 1996 NCAA finalist team. In addition, current ThunderBolt pitchers Erik Fussell and Joe Panozzo also played for the Pumas.

O'Dette is native of Tinley Park, Illinois, and the St. Joseph's team features players who attended St. Rita, Marist, Joliet Catholic, Thornton Fractional South, Mt. Carmel, Andrew, Lemont, Wheaton Warrenville South, Hinsdale, and Brookfield High Schools. Other area schools represented include Joliet Junior College, Moraine Valley Community College, Argo Community High School, and Nazareth Academy.

Tickets for the 2008 North Central Regional Tournament will cost $7.00 and will be available at Standard Bank Stadium beginning on Thursday, May 15.

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