Rent One Park To Host 2019 and 2020 OVC Baseball Championships

The Ohio Valley Conference Board of Directors of Athletics have approved a plan to move the OVC Baseball Championship to Marion, Illinois for the next two years, beginning with the 2019 season.
The first of those eight-team tournaments will be held May 21-26 at Rent One Park.
The 2018 season marked the 40th year the OVC Baseball Championship had been held. The first elimination style tournament was held in 1980, most usually being played at the site of the regular season champion. Beginning in 2001 the tournament switched to a neutral site for the first time, with nine championships (2001-09) being held at Brooks Stadium in Paducah, Kentucky, followed by seven years (2010-16) at the Ballpark in Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee. The past two years (2017-18), the event was held at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama.
"Baseball is very important to the Ohio Valley Conference and we have been fortunate to have wonderful venues in which to conduct our championship," OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche said. "We want to thank the City of Oxford (Alabama) for being great hosts over the past two years. Our Athletics Directors saw value in moving the championship throughout our footprint and are excited for the opportunity playing in Marion presents."
Rent One Park is the home of the Southern Illinois Miners, a professional baseball team playing in the Frontier League. The park, which opened in 2007 and has a Sportexe Turf synthetic surface, features 3,400 chairback seats and lawn seating for over 2,000. The venue includes a brand-new high-definition LED video board, 14 suites, a banquet facility, an entertainment plaza, kids' play area and a 10-hole miniature golf course. The stadium is located directly off Interstate 57.
The Ohio Valley Conference currently has 11 baseball-playing institutions including Austin Peay State University, Belmont University, Eastern Illinois University, Eastern Kentucky University, Jacksonville State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Southeast Missouri State University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee at Martin.