LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The No. 3 West seeded Covenant baseball team will head to LaGrange, Ga., for the LaGrange bracket portion of the USA South Tournament starting on Thursday.

Covenant (21-17, 10-8 USA South) will face No. 2 East seed Methodist in the opening round of the double-elimination bracket at 5:30 p.m. from Cleaveland Field.

The USA South Tournament is split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets hosted by division winners (LaGrange and N.C. Wesleyan) from May 5-7. The two bracket winners face each other in a three-game series on May 13-14 to determine the USA South Tournament champion.

Live stats and video for all games of the tournament will be available, courtesy of LaGrange. Once available, links can be found at athletics.covenant.edu/live and on the baseball schedule page.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

• Covenant finished the regular season 21-17 overall and 10-8 in USA South play to earn the No. 3 West seed. It is the most wins for the Scots since 2016 (23) and the seventh 20-win season in program history.
• Covenant is making its third appearance in the USA South Tournament. The Scots last appeared in 2019 and upset top-ranked Piedmont in the first round, 7-2. This will be the fourth overall appearance for the program in a conference tournament.
• The Scots enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference. Covenant went 11-2 over the last 13 regular season games, including 8-1 in USA South action, to climb into the tournament field.
• Covenant is 6-4 all-time against Methodist, but Thursday will be the first time the teams have met in the tournament. The teams last played in 2017, with each team taking a win in the doubleheader.
• The Scots are coming off a weekend sweep of Berea where they scored 45 runs, including 21 in a game two win. 
• Josh Harvey is the leading hitter for Covenant with a .408 average to go with two homers and 31 RBIs. Kenny Mills leads the team, and is fifth in the USA South, with nine home runs and 38 RBIs to go with a .342 average. Zeke Gilbert is hitting .327 with six homers, 25 RBIs, and has reached base safely in 29 straight games (including his current 13-game hitting streak).
• Bryce Bollinger has been the top starter for the Scots with a 6-1 record and a 4.43 ERA in 12 starts on the year. Out of the bullpen, Jackson Rau leads the team with a 2.86 ERA in 22 innings with 23 strikeouts, while Conor Austin has punched out 35 in 31 innings of work.
• Methodist (26-14, 16-5 USA South) is led by Spencer Nelson and his .382 average with 10 homers and 51 RBIs. Nelson ranks third in the USA South in homers, fourth in RBIs, and third in hits (63).
• Thursday's winner plays at 3:30 on Friday against the winner of LaGrange-William Peace. Thursday's loser plays Friday at 12 p.m.

CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS

Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.