SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drury Panthers open play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. against Saint Joseph's at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark. The original game time was changed with the threat of thunderstorms forecast for Thursday evening.
 
The Panthers won the GLVC West Division after going 19-9 in the conference and 33-17 overall. Saint Joseph's finished fourth in the East Division and enter the tournament 32-18 and went 14-14 in the league.
 
U.S. Baseball Park, renovated last year, is hosting the GLVC tournament for the first time. It served as Drury's home field on a full-time basis in 2017.
 
The tournament opens Thursday morning and the league has adjusted the schedule with due to a forecast of thunderstorms that evening. Thursday morning at 9 a.m., #3-E Illinois Springfield (31-19, 19-9) plays #2-W Quincy (28-20, 17-10) and at Meador Park in Springfield at 9 a.m., #3-W Missouri S&T (26-21, 16-12) takes on #2-E Bellarmine (33-17, 20-8). After Drury's game against the Pumas at 12:30 p.m., the first day concludes with East Division champion Southern Indiana (32-17, 22-6) facing #4-W William Jewell (21-25, 13-13) at 4 p.m. in Ozark.
 
The tournament format is a pair of four-team, double-elimination brackets with the winner of each meeting for a championship game on Sunday.
 
Each game of the tournament will be broadcast live on the internet through the Great Lakes Valley Conference Sports Network.
 
The 2017 Drury baseball season is sponsored by Aaron Sachs and Associates.
 
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students, and $5 for children, while kids 5-and-under are free. The GLVC is also offering an All-Tournament pass for $35.
 
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