KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It was a nervous few days for Faulkner Baseball sitting firmly on the bubble, but the Faulkner Family can celebrate; Faulkner is returning to the national stage! The Eagles earned an at-large bid and drew the No. 4 seed in the Lakeland Bracket of the 69th Annual NAIA Baseball Championship and will take on the host Southeastern Fire to open the double-elimination tournament on Monday, May 11 at Ted A. Broer Stadium. First pitch time is to be confirmed shortly. 

The bid marks the 14th time under Patrick McCarthy that the Eagles have been on the national stage.

Faulkner (30-22) and Southeastern (39-15) will be joined by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (38-15) and the Milligan Buffaloes (40-13). The winner of the event will advance to the Avista NAIA World Series at Harris Field in Lewiston May 22-30. 

Southeastern won their seventh Sun Conference Tournament Championship to secure their spot. Milligan won the Appalachian Regular Season title for just the second time ever before earning an at-large. British Columbia travels over 3,200 miles as the automatic from the Cascade Collegiate Conference after finishing the tournament as runners-up.

Southeastern will be hosting an opening round for the second straight season after sweeping through last season's event, defeating Briar Cliff, Arizona Christian and Abraham Baldwin. 

The bid marks the third of six eligible men's sports to make an NAIA national tournament for Faulkner this season.

All games will be broadcast on the Urban Edge Network. Further details and a more detailed preview of the matchups will come out in the coming days.