The Grinnell College baseball team opens the Midwest Conference tournament on Friday morning in Beloit, Wisconsin. The Pioneers won the South Division race with an 11-1 record and this is the third straight year they have qualified for the conference tournament.

Grinnell College coach Tim Hollibaugh who says a difficult non-conference scheduled paid off for his team and he says the experience of being in the tournament in the past should help them too. The Pioneers are 17-16 overall.

They will open against last year’s tournament champion Ripon which finished second in the North Division race. Hollibaugh says Ripon has been his nemesis since he came to Grinnell and they have put an emphasis on winning and advancing.

Monmouth and Beloit meet in the other first round game.

By John Martenson, KGRN, Grinnell