FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Sun Conference Baseball Tournament Presented by Homewood Suites returns to Fort Myers, Fla. and the City of Palms Park for the seventh consecutive year in 2015 with the six-team, double-elimination event taking place May 1-4.

Following the disbanding of the NAIA Regional and Super Regional tournament play in 2008, The Sun Conference Tournament was revived and its home has been the former spring training park of the Boston Red Sox ever since. Northwood, Embry-Riddle, St. Thomas, Southeastern, USCB and Thomas will make the trek to Fort Myers for the tournament with the champion receiving an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.

The 2014 tournament saw the Fire of Southeastern claim their first-ever tournament crown, downing four-time champion Embry-Riddle in the championship game, 3-0. The Fire joined St. Thomas (2012) as the only teams other than the Eagles to win a tournament title. This season, for the first time since the reestablishment of the conference tournament, Embry-Riddle will not be the No. 1 seed as the Northwood Seahawks claimed the regular season championship, the first in program history.

No. 1 Northwood (39-10, 22-5)
The Seahawks, under first-year Head Coach Jeremy Kennedy made a bang in 2015, cruising to a 22-5 conference mark and the conference regular season title. The Seahawks, ranked No. 6 in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Poll, have already claimed the first automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, and will be making their first-ever appearance in the league tournament, the final Sun Conference team to qualify for the six-team event.

Northwood has posted a balanced team effort during the regular season, outscoring opponents 373-183 with a 3.38 team ERA and a league-best .967 fielding percentage.

Keivan Berges has been an extra-base and RBI machine for the Seahawks, collecting 19 doubles and a league-leading 14 homers with 67 RBIs on 67 hits. Berges' .354 batting average is third-best on the team, trailing Gabby Mundo's .405 clip and Carlos Contreras' .386 mark. Contreras has 17 doubles and 47 RBIs for Northwood while Mundo has swiped 22 bases in 25 attempts.

On the mound, Northwood has been led by Cody Gray and his 8-2 record and 1.64 ERA in 77.0 innings of work. Gray has struck out 90 batters and allowed just a .179 oppnent batting average, issuing just 18 walks in the process. Steven Bruce is 7-0 with a 1.02 ERA in seven starts, striking out 40 and allowing only six walks in 44.1 innings.

Northwood is making its first appearance in The Sun Conference Tournament.

No. 2 Embry-Riddle (32-16, 19-8)
The Eagles, in their final season of competition in The Sun Conference and NAIA, finished out of first in the league regular season race for the first time since 2007. Embry-Riddle, who received one of the nine NAIA National Championship Opening Round host bids, will make their final appearance in the conference tournament before returning to Daytona Beach to host their final Opening Round.

Embry-Riddle's offense has been clicking recently, posting a .312 season batting average, an improvement of nearly 30 points over the last month and a half. Enderson Velasquez paces the team with a .405 average, connecting on 68 hits with 30 RBIs and 37 runs scored. Outfielder Liam Goodall has a .393 average with a team-best 54 RBIs and 44 runs while Tobias Moreno has scored 45 times and is 23-for-28 on the bases.

Two-time first team All-Sun Conference pitcher Stetson Nelson leads a pitching staff that has a 3.35 ERA in 398.0 innings. Nelson has a 7-4 record and 1.87 ERA in 96.1 innings, striking out 80 batters. Reliever Zac Grotz leads the conference and is third in the country with a 0.69 ERA, earning seven saves with a 6-1 record in 52.1 innings. Grotz has allowed just 29 hits (none for extra bases) with 62 Ks.

Embry-Riddle is 23-6 all-time at the conference tournament with four tournament crowns and one runner-up finish.

No. 3 St. Thomas (38-13, 19-8)
The Bobcats enter the conference tournament as the only team to win a series against top-seeded Northwood, and one of three teams in the field to own a tournament title. STU has one of the best offenses in the nation and will bring it to Fort Myers in search of its second tournament crown.

St. Thomas averages .348 from the dish with 583 hits, 122 of which have been doubles, seven have been triples and 36 have been home runs. The Bobcats have registered 421 RBIs and have a slugging percentage of .485. Eric Santamaria is hitting .397 with 73 hits, 19 doubles, 48 RBIs and 46 runs scored for STU while Jerry Downs has seven homers and Paul Chacin leads the team with 62 RBIs.

The Bobcat pitching staff has a 4.63 ERA in 418.0 innings, allowing opponents to hit .275 against them. Marcos Barrios is the only Bobcat with double-digit starts with 11, posting a 4.60 ERA in 72.1 innings with 57 Ks. Chris Rodriguez leads the conference with 10 saves out of the bullpen with a 2.71 ERA.

St. Thomas is 13-10 all-time in the tournament with one tournament title and two runner-up finishes

No. 4 Southeastern (36-17, 16-10)
Southeastern enters the tournament as the defending champions, going undefeated last season en route to the first tournament title in program history. SEU finished 16-10 in league play this year and 36-17 overall.

The Fire offense has proven to be one of the speediest in the country, recording 123 stolen bases and 16 triples with 108 doubles. Overall, SEU is hitting .283 on 472 hits with 285 RBIs. Willi Martin, the Fire first baseman, has 66 hits, 20 doubles and 12 home runs, registering 55 RBIs and 33 runs. Aaron Sheaks has a .329 average with 57 hits, scoring 25 times while Hunter Bonner leads the team with 25 stolen bases and T.J. Glessner is close behind with 23.

Southeastern has a 4.38 team ERA with 328 strikeouts in 439.2 innings. Clay Rideout is 8-1 in 13 starts and 67.0 innings, allowing a .244 average against and just eight extra-base hits (all doubles). Patrick Kinney is 7-4 with a 3.56 ERA with four different Fire hurlers have registered a save, led by Dylan Jameson's five.

Southeastern is 6-4 at the tournament with one tournament title.

No. 5 USCB (32-19, 15-12)
After a year hiatus, the Sand Sharks of USCB are back in the conference tournament after a 15-12 TSC mark in 2015. Bryan Lewallyn's squad took their final conference series from Webber International to secure a spot in the six-team field. USCB is one of six conference teams to win 30 games this season and has outscored its opponents, 386-289.

Ashly Morris has done it all for the Sand Sharks at the plate, leading a team that is hitting .325 overall, with 85 hits, 17 doubles, five triples, eight home runs, 56 RBIs, 60 runs and 13 stolen bases while playing short with a .944 fielding percentage. Johnny Cole is hitting .347 for USCB with 61 hits and 18 doubles and seven long balls, driving in 40 runs while scoring 41 times.

The Sand Sharks have a 5.10 team ERA with 250 strikeouts in 414.2 innings. Junior Delatorre is 7-3 with a 3.26 ERA in 12 starts, registering three complete games with 80 strikeouts. Jamie Strock has a 2.35 ERA and 6-4 record in 80.1 innings while Blake Drew has eight saves and a 7-3 mark out of the bullpen.

USCB is 5-10 all-time in Fort Myers with one runner-up finish.

No. 6 Thomas (22-23-1, 13-13)
Mike Lee's Night Hawks make their second straight appearance at the conference tournament, looking for the program's first win after going 0-2 last season. Thomas swept Florida Memorial in its final league series to clinch a spot in the tournament.

TU is hitting .280 as a squad with 417 hits, including 80 doubles and 24 homers. Jalbert Melo is averaging .346 from the plate with 53 hits and 13 doubles, scoring 34 runs for the Night Hawks. Kaleb Holbook paces the team with 35 RBIs while Josh Bruijn's eight home runs are the best on the team. Jake Desuyo has 52 hits and 41 runs scored.

Thomas' team ERA is 5.34 in 379.1 innings, recording 318 strikeouts on the year. Tate Lambert leads the team with seven wins and a 3.49 ERA in 69.2 innings. Lambert's 69 Ks is a team-best while Austin Hicks has five saves and 48 strikeouts in 19 appearances.

TU is 0-2 all-time at the conference tournament.

The tournament will be unofficially kicked off at the conference awards banquet on Thursday night (April 30) and the games begin in earnest on Friday, May 1 as the top-seeded Seahawks take on No. 6 Thomas at 11 a.m. Second-seeded Embry-Riddle will tangle with the No. 5 Sand Sharks at 3 p.m. while the nightcap will feature the No. 3 Bobcats and No. 4 Fire at 7 p.m.

Visit the 2015 Sun Conference Baseball Tournament Headquarters to keep up to date with all the action, and note that every game can be heard live via John Phillips by clicking here.