Baseball Championship Bracket (PDF) | Championship Central
2017 Sun Belt Softball Championship bracket announced
NEW ORLEANS – The seeds and matchups for this week's 2017 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship, hosted at J.I. Clements Stadium on the campus of Georgia Southern University, have been determined following the conclusion of the conference's regular season on Saturday evening.
The tournament begins on Tuesday, May 23, and ends with the championship game on Sunday, May 28. All games of the tournament will be available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. The tournament format combines single and double-elimination play. Two single elimination first round games on Tuesday precede the start of double elimination play between the remaining eight teams. The top ten (10) teams, based on conference winning percentage will compete for the tournament title.
The Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina (37-18-1, 22-7-1) earned the top seed after they swept Appalachian State over the weekend to capture their East division crown. The Chants are playing in their first season as members of the Sun Belt. Coastal swept its final three conference series and went 9-1 over its last ten games.
With the new tournament format for 2017 – single-elimination combined with double elimination – the Chants will face the lowest remaining seed from Tuesday’s first round matchups on Wednesday, May 24 at 4 p.m. ET.
UTA won the West division on Friday with its win over Texas State. The Mavericks are 30-24 overall and 20-10 in league play. The Mavericks will play the highest remaining seed from Tuesday’s first round on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
South Alabama earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will take on No. 6 Troy in the first matchup on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. ET. This will be the fourth meeting of the season between the Jaguars (36-19, 22-8) and the Trojans (31-24, 16-14). USA closed out the regular season with a 2-1 series win over Troy.
Louisiana closed out the regular season with its fourth consecutive win, sweeping the ULM Warhawks to finish 35-20-1 overall and 19-10-1 in league play. The Ragin’ Cajuns will take on tournament host and fifth-seeded, Georgia Southern (36-20, 18-12), in Wednesday’s finale at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The tournament begins on Tuesday with single elimination games between No. 7 Arkansas State (26-26, 13-16) and No. 10 Georgia State (22-32, 10-20) at 3:00 p.m. ET. In Tuesday night’s finale, No. 8 Texas State takes on No. 9 Little Rock (21-33, 11-18) at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The Sun Belt champion will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2017 Baseball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, May 23 (start of single-elimination)
Game 1: 3:00 p.m. (ESPN3) - No. 7 Arkansas State vs. No. 10 Georgia State
Game 2: 6:30 p.m. (ESPN3) - No. 8 Texas State vs. No. 9 Little Rock
Wednesday, May 24 (start of double-elimination)
Game 3: 9:00 a.m. (ESPN3) - No. 3 South Alabama vs. No. 6 Troy
Game 4: 12:30 p.m. (ESPN3) - No. 2 UTA vs. 1st Round Winner (High Seed)
Game 5: 4:00 p.m. (ESPN3) - No. 1 Coastal Carolina vs. 1st Round Winner (Low Seed)
Game 6: 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3) - No. 4 Louisiana vs. No. 5 Georgia Southern
Thursday, May 25
Game 7: 9:00 a.m. (ESPN3) - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 8: 12:30 p.m. (ESPN3) - Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 9: 4:00 p.m. (ESPN3) - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
Game 10: 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3) - Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Friday, May 26
Game 11: 3:00 p.m. (ESPN3) - Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 9
Game 12: 6:30 p.m. (ESPN3) - Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 10
Saturday, May 27
Game 13: 9:00 a.m. (ESPN3) - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11
Game 14: 12:30 p.m. (ESPN3) - Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 12
*Game 15: 4:00 p.m. (ESPN3) - Winner Game 13 vs. Loser Game 13 (if necessary)
#Game 16: 7:30 p.m. ^ (ESPN3) - Winner Game 14 vs. Loser Game 14 (if necessary)
Sunday, May 28 (Championship Game)
Championship: 1:00 p.m. (ESPN3) - Winner take all
* Game 15 is necessary if the winner of Game 11 also wins Game 13.
# Game 16 is necessary if the winner of Game 12 also wins Game 14.
^ If Game 15 is not necessary and Game 16 is necessary, Game 16 shall begin 75 minutes after the conclusion of Game 14.
All times are Eastern and Subject to Change without Notice
2017 Baseball Championship seeds and Sun Belt records
1. Coastal Carolina (37-18-1, 22-7-1)
2. UTA (30-24, 20-10)
3. South Alabama (36-19, 22-8)
4. Louisiana (35-20-1, 19-10-1)
5. Georgia Southern (36-20, 18-12)
6. Troy (31-24, 16-14)
7. Arkansas State (26-26, 13-16)
8. Texas State (27-29, 13-17)
9. Little Rock (21-33, 11-18)
10. Georgia State (22-32, 10-20)