BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -Â The 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship will be held at Rent One Ballpark in Marion, Illinois from May 24-27.
The Championship was previously held at the venue in 2019. This year's championship will feature the top eight teams in the OVC standings competing for the OVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"We're beyond excited the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship is returning to Southern Illinois", RENT ONE PARK General Manager Dave Kost said. "The OVC has plenty of options to determine a conference champion, it's an honor to host a tournament of this caliber", added Kost. "This event officially kicks off a summer of affordable family entertainment at RENT ONE".
The 2023 season marks the 44th year the OVC Baseball Championship had been held. The first elimination style tournament was held in 1980, most usually being played at the site of the regular season champion. Since 2001, the event has been held at a neutral site including Paducah, Kentucky (2001-09), Jackson, Tennessee (2010-16, 2021), Oxford, Alabama (2017-18), Marion, Illinois (2019) and Lexington, Kentucky (2022).
Rent One Park opened in 2007 and has a Sportexe Turf synthetic surface and features 3,400 chairback seats and lawn seating for over 2,000. The venue includes a brand-new high-definition LED video board, 14 suites, a banquet facility, an entertainment plaza and kids' play area. The stadium is located directly off Interstate 57. Â
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The OVC currently has nine baseball-playing institutions including Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Little Rock, Morehead State, Southeast Missouri, SIUE, Southern Indiana, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin.
The Panthers finished fourth in the OVC last season with a 33-20 record, which was there most wins since the 2001 season. The Panthers also won the most road games in the NCAA last season after Coaches Stadium was being refurbished.
