NEW YORK – The same field of four who competed for the #BIGEASTbase Championship crown a year ago in Aberdeen, Md., are back at it again, this time at the home of the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Creighton, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Xavier make up the four-team bracket for the 2017 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by Jeep, May 25-28.
Creighton is the No. 1 seed and the 2017 BIG EAST regular-season champion with a .733 winning percentage and an 11-4 league record. The Bluejays will face No. 4 seed Seton Hall, which finished the season with a .556 winning percentage and a 10-8 record. The Pirates had a non-conference series this weekend, playing at Southeastern Louisiana.
St. John’s will be the No. 2 seed in the tournament, finishing up with a 13-5 conference record and a .722 winning percentage. The Red Storm, nationally ranked in the top 20 since the third week of the season, will face No. 3 Xavier, the 2016 BIG EAST Baseball Tournament champions.
Xavier finished at 10-6 (.625) and capped the regular season with a 3-0 series sweep over Georgetown. Creighton went 1-1 at Butler and St. John’s went 2-1 against Villanova to finish the 2017 regular season.
The format of the tournament is double elimination. The first five games of the championship will be carried on the BIG EAST Digital Network, hosted by FOX Sports GO. Championship Sunday will air on FS2, including a Game 7 if necessary. Game 1 on Thursday between No. 2 St. John’s and No. 3 Xavier and will start at 2:30 p.m. local/3:30 p.m. ET. Game 2 between No. 1 Creighton and No. 4 Seton Hall will start at approximately 6:30 p.m. local/7:30 p.m. ET.
The winner of the tournament receives the league’s automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Championship.
Xavier won the tournament in 2014 and 2016, St. John’s was the champion in 2015. Creighton has been the runner up in the last three years.
2017 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented By Jeep
Thursday, May 25 – First Round (BEDN)
Game 1: #2 St. John’s vs. #3 Xavier, 2:30 p.m. local/3:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: #1 Creighton vs. #4 Seton Hall, 6:30 p.m. local/7:30 p.m. ET
Friday, May 26 – Second Round (BEDN)
Losers’ bracket at 2:30 p.m./local/3:30 p.m. ET (Game 3)
Winners’ bracket at 6:30 p.m. local/7:30 p.m. ET (Game 4)
Saturday, May 27 – Semifinal (BEDN)
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser at 2:30 p.m. local/3:30 p.m. ET (Game 5)
Sunday, May 28 – Championship (FS2)
Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner at 12 p.m. local/1 p.m. ET
**an If-necessary game will be played at 3:30 p.m. local/4:30 p.m. ET should the Game 4 winner lose **
BIG EAST Championship Central