Pirates Tabbed Top Seed at NCAA Kinston Regional
May 31, 2004 | Baseball
Greenville, N.C. --- East Carolina was tabbed the No. 1 seed at the 2004 NCAA Kinston Regional and will host Tennessee, UNC Wilmington and Stony Brook, Friday through Sunday, June 4-6, at Historic Grainger Stadium in Kinston, N.C.
ECU (48-11), the Conference USA regular season champion, opens against America East Conference champion and No. 4 seed Stony Brook (29-25), who is making its first NCAA Regional appearance, Friday at 7 p.m. Friday's other first round game, scheduled for 3 p.m., has second-seeded Tennessee (37-22) of the Southeastern Conference against third-seeded UNC Wilmington (38-21), champion of the Colonial Athletic Association.
The regional continues Saturday with games slated for 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday's championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m., with a second game to follow, if necessary, 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
The winner of the Kinston Regional will be matched up with the champion of the Columbia Regional, hosted by South Carolina and also featuring North Carolina, Coastal Carolina, and The Citadel, in an NCAA Super Regional, scheduled for June 11-14 at a campus site to be determined.
East Carolina is making its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and its 20th overall appearance. The Pirates, who were ousted by South Carolina in last year's Atlanta Regional, are hosting a regional for the second time.
Kinston's Historic Grainger Stadium, home of the Class A Affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, is hosting an NCAA event for the second time. It was also home of a Super Regional in 2001 between ECU and Tennessee. Grainger Stadium has also served as the site of the 2002 Conference USA Baseball Tournament and the CAA Baseball Tournament from 1995-99.
"When they flashed the Pirate head on the screen it gave everybody goose bumps," said Pirate head coach Randy Mazey. "The player are the ones who have put themselves into a position to do this. They're the ones who have given their heart and soul to this university and this program, and now they're being rewarded."
Along with East Carolina, NCAA Regionals will also be hosted by Arkansas, Cal State Fullerton, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Rice, South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, and Virginia.
Tournament Schedule (All times EST)
Friday, June 4
Game 2: No. 2 Tennessee (37-22) vs. No. 3 UNC Wilmington (38-21), 3:00 p.m.
Game 1: No. 1 East Carolina (48-11) vs. No. 4 Stony Brook (29-25), 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 5
Game 3, Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11:00 a.m.
Game 4, Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3:00 p.m.
Game 5, Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 6
Game 6, Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1:00 p.m.
Game 7 (if necessary), Same teams, 45 minutes after Game 6
