OZARK, Mo. – No. 6 Missouri Baptist University begins the Heart of America Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament as the first seed and will take on eight-seeded Peru State College at the Ozark Mountain Sports Complex in Ozark, Mo., on Thursday, April 30.
 
The Spartans claimed their first Heart Regular Season Championship with a 38-8 overall record and a 24-4 mark in Heart competition.
 
As a team, MBU ranks sixth in on-base percentage (.454), eighth in the country in batting average (.345), ninth in extra-base hits (193), and 10^th in home runs (75). The Spartan offense is led by Carlos Hidalgo and Jayden Orozco, who both finished in the top five in the conference in RBI and home runs.
 
On the mound, the Spartan pitching staff posted the lowest earned run average in the conference (4.24), the most wins (38), the most saves (9), and the most strikeouts (342). They were paced by starting pitching and a bullpen led by Zach Peters, who posted a 0.96 ERA, seven saves, and 31 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work.
 
Peru State enters the tournament as the eighth seed after going 16-32 overall and 12-12 in the Heart.
 
The Ozark Mountain Sports Complex will host all 14 games of the Heart Baseball Tournament beginning on Thursday, April 30, and ending on Sunday, May 3.
 
For the schedule, live stream, live stats, and bracket, click here.