INDIANAPOLIS – A week hiatus from action was culminated with celebratory news on Sunday evening when the 24^th-ranked UNC Pembroke baseball team earned one of four at-large berths into this weekend's two-bracket NCAA Southeast Regional. It is the fourth time in the last five full seasons that the Braves will compete in the NCAA postseason.
 
UNCP (38-15) will occupy the No. 5 seed in the three-team North Greenville-hosted double-elimination tournament which begins Thursday and continues through Saturday. The Braves will battle fourth-seeded and 8^th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne (44-11) in Thursday's opening round, and the winner of that contest will take on top-seeded and top-ranked North Greenville (45-8) later on Thursday.

Defending national champion and third-ranked Wingate (46-8) will host three other teams on the other side of the NCAA Southeast Regional. The Bulldogs will take on Peach Belt Conference Tournament champion Young Harris (37-17) in their NCAA opener, while eighth-ranked and third-seeded Columbus State (42-11) will open up play at that site against sixth-seeded Belmont Abbey (34-17).

The winner of each of the two brackets will lock horns in the best-of-3 NCAA Super Regional round, May 27-28, for the right to advance to the NCAA Division II World Series at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary,
 
Thursday's matchup will mark the 18^th meeting all-time between the Braves and Lenoir-Rhyne, but the first matchup between the two programs since 2017. The Bears lead the all-time series, 9-8, but stopped a five-game series skid with a 10-2 win over the Black & Gold on April 26, 2017.
 
Ticket information and game times for the 2022 NCAA Southeast Regional will be announced on Monday.