(NewsNation) — Baseball players at Alabama’s Birmingham-Southern College are looking to make it to the NCAA World Series next Friday — the same day their school is set to close.

If they end up making it to the College World Series after this weekend’s super regional in Grandville, Ohio, it will be the last time the Division III Panthers play together as a team.

Birmingham-Southern College’s Board of Trustees announced in March that the school is closing on May 31, after legislation aimed at securing a taxpayer-backed loan stalled in the Alabama Statehouse. Still, the baseball team was able to win 17 of its final 21 games, giving it an at-large NCAA regional berth.

Coach Jan Weisberg told “Morning in America” that the possibility of Birmingham-Southern closing had been hanging over the team’s head for two years. Players didn’t lose hope for this baseball season, though. 

“I think we’ve always thought that we could do it,” senior outfielder Ian Hancock said. “We’ve been close, plenty of times, just fallen a little short.”

Hancock says they didn’t let the closing of their college become a distraction. 

“We’ve been focused every day on just enjoying our time together, and finishing strong, like coaches always told us,” Hancock said. 

Hansen McCown, also a senior and right-handed pitcher, said the news was hard to hear, but his teammates immediately locked down on their goals and concentrated on the season ahead. Meanwhile, Weisberg got to work as well, trying to find underclassmen new colleges to attend. 

“It goes both ways,” McCown said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.