Grove City might be the longest shot in the field of 54 in the NCAA Division III baseball tournament, but the Wolverines are no stranger to that role.

The fourth-seeded Wolverines were underdogs when they entered the Presidents' Athletic Conference tournament with a losing record. All they did was upset top-seed Thomas More in the first round en route to the PAC championship and the automatic bid to the tournament.

Eighth-seed Grove City (18-16) will make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament when it meets top-seed Cortland State (38-3) tomorrow in the first round of the double-elimination New York regional at Ithaca College in Auburn, N.Y. Cortland State, winner of 34 in a row, is in the tournament for the 16th consecutive year for the longest streak in Division III.

The PAC, whose champion received an automatic bid for the first time, hasn't had a team in the tournament since John Carroll in 1984. John Carroll no longer is a member of the conference.

Grove City's surprising run to the PAC title was powered by outfielder Brian Moran, who was 7 of 13 with two home runs and eight RBIs in the three games.

For the season, he leads the team with a .447 average and eight home runs and 49 RBIs.

Duquesne (15-8, 22-25-1), which already has clinched one of the six spots in the Atlantic 10 tournament May 21-24 in Camden. N.J., can finish anywhere from first to fifth heading into the final weekend of the regular season with three games at Dayton (11-13, 29-23). The Dukes have tied the school record for conference wins in a season set in 2003.

Fourth-seed Pitt-Johnstown (35-17) will play host to the NCAA North Atlantic regional and will meet No. 3 Concord Thursday in the first round of the double-elimination tournament. No. 2 West Virginia State will play No. 5 Shippensburg.

Pitt-Johnstown, which has set a school record for wins in a season, is led in hitting by Adam Plummer (.401) and Josh Campanella (.387), a sophomore outfielder from Hampton. The headline pitcher is Jon Moore (6-1, 2.50 earned run average), a freshman from Kiski Area.

Lock Haven (47-6), ranked second nationally and winner of 18 in a row and 35 of its past 36 games, will play Humboldt State (53-18) tomorrow in the first round of the double-elimination NCAA national championship tournament in Houston, Texas. Lock Haven advanced to the tournament by winning the Mid-Atlantic regional title with a 6-1 victory against Bloomsburg. Lock Haven junior pitcher Kristin Erb had a string of 72 2/3 scoreless innings ended when Bloomsburg's Tiff Corliss hit a home run in the third inning. For the season, Erb is 41-6 with a 0.24 ERA. She also has a .340 batting average with three home runs and 29 RBIs.

Lock Haven, which has outscored its opponents, 279-35, is making its third consecutive appearance in the tournament. The Lady Eagles won the 2006 national championship and were runners-up in '07.

IUP will participate in the national tournament that starts tomorrow in Houston, Texas. The Hawks qualified by winning the East regional by two strokes over West Liberty State in Middletown, Del. IUP's highest finisher was Gavin Smith, who tied for sixth place at 228, followed by Nic Milito (229), a freshman from Greensburg Central Catholic who tied for ninth.

Clarion's Jared Schmader (222) was the individual medalist by three strokes.

Washington & Jefferson earned the PAC's first automatic bid to the NCAA championships that begin today in Braselton, Ga. W&J features Brad Cieslinski, a freshman from Highlands who was the MVP of the PAC tournament.