BIG EAST Championship Central
 
MASON, Ohio  – The BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by Jeep continues Friday with the first elimination game of the tournament at 2:30 p.m., following by the winners’ bracket at 6:30 p.m. No. 2 Xavier and No. 4 Seton Hall will play first, followed by No. 1 Creighton vs. No. 3 St. John’s. Matt Schumacker, Paul Fritschner and Mike Schmaltz will be in the booth and in the dugouts on Friday. Watch live on the BIG EAST’s main twitter handle or on the BIG EAST Digital Network on Caffeine.
 
Friday’s #BIGEASTbase Coverage: 
Game 3 (Elimination Game)
No. 2 Xavier (25-30) vs. No. 4 Seton Hall (25-27)
2:30 p.m. (First pitch at 2:33)
Watch on @BIGEASTDigital: Twitter Live | Caffeine
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/xavier/baseball/


2019 Series Record:  Seton Hall defeated Xavier, 2-1 (May 3 – May 5, at Xavier)
BIG EAST Tournament Record: Xavier leads the series, 1-0
Last BIG EAST Tournament Meeting:  Xavier won, 5-3 (2014 Tournament Game 5)
Overall Series Record: Seton Hall leads the series, 11-8
 
Why We’re Watching: 
Friday’s opener is the first elimination game of the tournament. Seton Hall is the lone team to win a series against Xavier this year, defeating the Musketeers in Ohio 3-1 in the opener and 11-3 in the second game. Xavier won the final 7-5. Xavier has not lost a tournament game since 2014. Coincidentally, the last time the Pirates and Musketeers played each other in the championship was the same tournament. Xavier defeated Seton Hall, 5-3, in Brooklyn, N.Y. at MCU Park. The Pirates led 3-0 through five innings before the Musketeers rallied with five runs over the sixth and seventh. With the win, Xavier advanced to Championship Sunday and won the 2014 Tournament Title.  
 
Game 4
No. 1 Creighton (36-11) vs. No. 3 St. John’s (31-21)
6:33 p.m. ET (or at least 45 minutes after Game 1)
Watch on @BIGEASTDigital: Twitter Live | Caffeine
Live Stats:  http://www.sidearmstats.com/xavier/baseball/
 
2019 Series Record:  Creighton won the series 2-1 (May 10-12, at Creighton)
BIG EAST Tournament Record: St. John’s leads the series, 3-1.
Last BIG EAST Tournament Meeting: St. John’s won, 10-2 (2017 Tournament Game 5)
Overall Series Record: St. John’s leads the series, 11-10
 
Why We’re Watching: 
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the championship final, which will be played on Saturday at 6 p.m., due to weather. The last time St. John’s and Creighton met in championship action, the Red Storm defeated the Bluejays 10-2 at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, eliminating Creighton from the 2017 Tournament. St. John’s finished the tournament as the runner-up. During the season, Creighton won the series against St. John’s 2-1, winning the opener 11-0 and the series finale 4-2. St. John’s won Saturday’s game 6-4. In the 2016 tournament, Creighton ended St. John’s run in the tournament with a 4-3 10-inning victory. The 2016 title appearance was Creighton’s last in the championship game. In 2015, St. John’s won the title against Creighton, 8-7, in Omaha.
 
2019 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented By Jeep 
Thursday, May 23 – First Round (BEDN)
Game 1: No. 1 Creighton 10, No. 4 Seton Hall 9
Game 2: No. 3 St. John’s 2, No. 2 Xavier 0
 
Friday, May 24 – Second Round (BEDN)
Game 3: No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 4 Seton Hall, 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 1 Creighton vs. No. 3 St. John’s, 6:30 p.m. ET
 
Saturday, May 25 – Semifinal (BEDN)
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser at 1 p.m. ET
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 winner at 6 p.m. ET
 
Sunday, May 26 – Championship (FS2) – if necessary **
Game 7: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner at 1 p.m. ET
**an If-necessary game will be played should the Game 4 winner lose in Game 6 **