The Lindenwood baseball team will host Avila in the best-of-three HAAC Championship Series this Friday and Saturday at the Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo. Game one will start at 6 p.m. on Friday afternoon and game two will have a first pitch of 1 p.m. on Saturday. If necessary, game three will take place immediately after the second game.

Lindenwood enters the conference championship with a 35-20 record and it won the conference's East Division with a 23-5 mark. 22^nd-ranked Avila, the West Division winner, has a 31-11 overall record and a 23-7 conference mark.

The series will match up two of the top pitching and fielding teams in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Lindenwood has a 3.88 ERA on the season, which is 23^rd in the nation, and has a .966 fielding percentage, which is 10^th best in the NAIA. Avila is 28^th nationally with a 4.00 ERA and sixth with a .967 fielding percentage.

Both teams have dangerous offenses as well. Avila averages 6.2 runs a game while the Lions score 5.7 runs a contest. Both teams have six regulars batting over .300 for the season.

Earlier this year, the two squads squared off in a pair of low scoring games in St. Charles. Avila had one big inning in a 4-2 win in game one, while Lindenwood had a sixth inning come-from-behind 3-2 victory in game two.

No matter the outcome of the HAAC Championship Series, both teams have already earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Regional Tournament, which will take place on May 7-10 on the Lindenwood campus.