ECU Earns No. 2 Seed At The American Championships
May 17, 2015 | Baseball
Championship Central l Championship Bracket 
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Following its road sweep at Cincinnati on Saturday, East Carolina will take aim for its first postseason league title since 2002 when it opens play as the No. 2 seed at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championships. The six-day event will start Tuesday, May 19 and run through Sunday, May 24 at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida.
ECU (36-20), who earned the second seed in its first year as a member of The American, will open the championships against No. 7 seed UCF (31-25) on Wednesday, May 20 at 11 a.m. (ET). The Pirates swept the Knights earlier in the season in Greenville (6-5/10 inn., 3-2, 6-5) winning all three games by one run. In the series history between the two programs, which dates back to 2002, this will mark just the third time they have played one another in postseason action (ECU 6-3 win in 2009; UCF 11-1/8 inn win in 2012).
The 2015 tournament returns to a double-elimination format through the semifinal round. The championship final is a winner-take-all matchup Sunday, May 24, which will determine The American's automatic entrant to the NCAA Championship.
Tuesday's tournament-opening doubleheader will be televised by CBS Sports Network. Games from Wednesday, May 20, through Saturday, May 23, will be on The American Digital Network. The May 24 final will be televised at 12 Noon (ET) on ESPNU.
Houston, who clinched a share of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title Friday before claiming the outright title Saturday afternoon, has earned the top seed for the baseball championships. The Cougars finished the regular season 39-17 overall and 16-8 in conference play - just one game ahead of the Pirates (14-9). Last year Houston won the inaugural American Championship as the No. 3 seed. They enter the postseason winners in nine of its last 10 games and are 15-2 in its last 17 contests. The Cougars won their last four American Athletic Conference games of the season to claim the outright conference title and set up a first-round matchup against No. 8 seed Cincinnati (15-39, 6-18 American) Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Tulane (33-21, 13-11 American) grabbed the No. 3 seed on the final day of the regular season as the Green Wave took both ends of a doubleheader with Memphis Saturday to finished in a tie with USF for third place. Tulane earned the tiebreaker based a series win against the Bulls in the regular season. The Green Wave will take on No. 6 seed UConn (33-23, 11-13 American) Wednesday at 3 p.m. in their tournament opener.
USF (32-22-1, 13-11 American) is the No, 4 seed after the Bulls rallied to take the last two games of their series with UCF to close the regular season. USF will play the first game of the 2015 American Championship as the Bulls face No. 5 seed Memphis (35-19, 12-12 American) Tuesday at 11 a.m.
The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference's Championship Central page.
2015 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
BRIGHT HOUSE FIELD ? CLEARWATER, FLA.
Tuesday, May 19 (CBS Sports Network)
Game 1 - No. 5 Memphis (35-19) vs. No. 4 USF (32-22-1) - 3 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 8 Cincinnati (15-39) vs. No. 1 Houston (39-17) - 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20 (American Digital Network)
Game 3 - No. 7 UCF (31-25) vs. No. 2 East Carolina (36-20) - 11 a.m.
Game 4 - No. 6 UConn (33-23) vs. No. 3 Tulane (33-21) - 3 p.m.
Game 5 - Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 21 (American Digital Network)
Game 6 - Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 - 11 a.m.
Game 7 - Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 3 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 7 p.m.
Friday, May 22 (American Digital Network)
Game 9 - Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 11 a.m.
Game 10 - Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6 - 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 23 (American Digital Network)
Game 11 - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 - 10 a.m.
Game 12 - Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 - 1 p.m.
Game 13 - Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 - 4:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Game14 - Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 - 7:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Sunday, May 24 (ESPNU)
Game 15 - Semifinal winners - 12 Noon
All times Eastern
