Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Baseball	SIUE Baseball SIUE Athletics

May 15, 2005 Cougars NCAA Bound         EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville baseball team has earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament that begins Thursday in Allendale, Mich.         "It has been a great year," said SIUE baseball coach Gary Collins. "It has been an exciting year. We haven't been a dominant team, but we know how to win close ball games."         The Cougars will be the No. 5 seed in the North Central Region hosted by Grand Valley State. SIUE takes on the second-seeded Northern Kentucky Norse Thursday at 12:30 EDT in the first round of the six-team double elimination tournament.         "It will be a good game," said Collins. "We will throw (Kyle) Jones and take our chances."         SIUE enters the NCAA Tournament with a 38-17-1 record. That is the most wins by a Cougar team since 2001 when SIUE was 41-27. That was the last time SIUE made the NCAA Tournament advancing to the D-II College World Series in Montgomery, Ala.         The Cougars will send Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year Kyle Jones to the mound Thursday. Jones is 10-1 on the year with a 0.92 earned run average. Jones set a new single season record of shutouts in a season with six. He has also recorded 100 strikeouts in 78 and two-third innings.         The Cougars have an earned run average of 2.11, while holding a .240 team batting average.         "With out a doubt, pitching is our strength," said Collins.         The Cougars also set a new standard for GLVC wins in a season. The previous best was 19. SIUE far surpassed that with 30 this season.                 -siue cougars-