Pirates Travel To College Park Regional
May 15, 2011 | Softball
May 15, 2011
East Carolina NCAA Tournament Central
NCAA Tournament Bracket 
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Baylor Bears | Lehigh Mountain Hawks | Maryland Terrapins
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Conference USA tournament champion East Carolina softball team is heading to the University of Maryland for the College Park Regional to begin the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Pirates (39-20) earned C-USA's automatic bid into the post-season event after defeating Tulsa 4-1 in the league's tournament championship game Saturday. ECU is joined by the host Terrapins (39-17), Baylor (40-12) and Lehigh (33-21) in the College Park Regional. Baylor enters the tournament as the top seed in the region and the No. 11 national seed.
East Carolina begins action in the double-elimination regional Friday against the host Terrapins at 7:30 p.m. inside Robert E. Taylor Stadium on the campus of the University of Maryland. The Bears will face Lehigh at 5:00 p.m.
The Pirates have faced Maryland three times already in 2011 and Lehigh once, but have never played Baylor. ECU fell to the Terrapins 3-1 in Athens, Ga., Feb. 13 and split a doubleheader with Maryland in College Park March 9. East Carolina won the opener 3-2 and lost in the nightcap 4-2. At the Pirate Clash in Greenville Feb. 26, ECU downed the Mountain Hawks 8-0 in six innings.
The berth is East Carolina's second straight, fourth overall and third in the last four seasons. The Pirates were in the NCAA Tournament in 1999, falling to Arizona and Southeast Missouri State and returned in 2008, defeating Mississippi Valley State and losing to Louisiana-Lafayette and LSU. A year ago, ECU went one step further at the Austin Regional, advancing to the regional final for the first time in program history after beating Iona and Texas. The Pirates lost to BYU in the opening round and in the last contest.
The College Park Regional host Terrapins dropped a 7-3 decision to North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals and earned at at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Baylor received an at-large bid to the post-season event after going 11-7 in Big 12 play, good for fourth place in the conference. Lehigh claimed the Patriot League tournament title to gain the automatic selection.
Joining East Carolina in the NCAA Tournament are fellow Conference USA members Houston, Memphis, Tulsa and UAB. The Cougars head to Austin, Texas, and face Louisiana-Lafayette in the opening round while the host Longhorns, who earned the No. 3 national seed, take on Texas State. The Tigers open with Chattanooga in the Tuscaloosa Regional. Host and No. 2 national seed Alabama squares off against Jackson State. The Golden Hurricane will travel to the University of Oklahoma and play Missouri State in the opening game. No. 9 national seed and the host Sooners take on Iona to complete the region. Rounding out the C-USA teams is UAB, which heads to Athens, Ga. The Blazers meet Florida State while Georgia takes on Georgia State.
It is only the second time in league history C-USA has sent five teams to the tournament. The conference also joined the Big 12, Pac 10 and SEC as the only leagues with five or more representatives in the event.
Saturday's Conference USA tournament title allowed East Carolina to become the first team to capture back-to-back C-USA crowns since DePaul in 2004-05. The Pirates entered this year's event as the No. 5 seed and became the lowest seed to claim the title and the first host team to win the championship since Tulsa in 2006.
NCAA Softball College Park Regional Ticket Information
All-session tickets are $25 and $20 for students and seniors. Single-session tickets are $10 and $8 for students and seniors. To purchase tickets, log on to the Terrapin Ticket Office online at www.umterps.com or call 1-800-IM-A-TERP.
