Carson Perkins and the Canisius Golden Griffins baseball team are off to the NCAA Tournament, after taking out Monmouth to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

In 15.1 innings, the 6-foot-4 pitcher from Bienfait went 2-0 on the season, to go along with his 4.02 ERA. Canisius will meet the Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis on Friday, June 1, in game one of the NCAA regional bracket.

Perkins success comes as no surprise to his former coach Blaine Kovach, who got to see his arm talent up close and personal for a couple seasons in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League.

"I first met Carson when he was trying out for our Summer Games team in Meadow Lake," Kovach said. "The first time I got to see him pitch was in the Carlyle gym, and I knew he was going to do something special seeing him pitch. I was lucky enough to have him for two years with the (Midget AAA Southeast) Twins. He has a special arm, he's just a great ball player and great person in general."

After hearing the news that Perkins and the Golden Griffins would be moving on to play in the NCAA Tournament, his former coach spoke with excitement about what lies ahead for the pitcher from south east Saskatchewan.

"It's huge. It's an amazing accomplishment for him and he deserves every little bit of that. I hope he goes there and soaks it all in and enjoys every minute of it. There's not many coaches or teams around in the league that can say they have a former player going for the NCAA championship. It's a huge accomplishment for him," Kovach concluded.

The Canisius Golden Griffins take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday night in Minneapolis, in game one of the NCAA regional bracket.