MASON, Ohio – The 36th edition of the BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by JEEP gets underway on Thursday afternoon with the opening round doubleheader. First pitch of the tournament, which returns to Prasco Park, home of the Cincinnati Spikes club, is set for 2:30 p.m. ET with No. 2 seed Creighton against No. 3 seed Seton Hall. The second game of the doubleheader will start no earlier than 6:30 p.m. and features regular-season champion UConn against tournament co-host Xavier, the No. 4 seed.
Creighton, Seton Hall and Xavier are all repeat tournament teams from 2019, while UConn makes its first appearance in the BIG EAST championship field since 2013. The Huskies won it all that year, 8-1 over Notre Dame in the title game in Clearwater, Fla. The Huskies spent the last seven years competing in the American Athletic Conference and rejoined the BIG EAST in July 2020.
No. 2 Creighton is the defending champion having won it all 9-8 over Xavier in Mason in 2019. Seton Hall was the runner-up in 2018 after forcing a game seven against St. John’s. The Pirates lost the championship game 7-0. That championship was also held at Prasco Park.
The BEDN talent grid for the first five games of the tournament, May 27-29, includes John Fanta, Matt Schumacker, Mike Schmaltz and Bob Brainerd. Championship Sunday, May 30, on FS2 will have play-by-play by Brainerd and Baseball Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven as the analyst. Fanta and Schmaltz will provide dugout reports.
The winner of the tournament receives the league’s automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Championship.
Xavier won the tournament in 2014, 2016 and 2017. Creighton won the tournament in 2019.
The second game of Thursday’s doubleheader features a Montgomery Inn promotion.
Thursday’s #BIGEASTbase Coverage:
Game 1
No. 2 Creighton (23-13, 15-6 BIG EAST) vs. No. 3 Seton Hall (23-23, 16-11 BIG EAST)
2:30 p.m. ET (First pitch at 2:34)
Watch On BEDN |
Live Stats
2021 Series Record: Series was split, 2-2 (May 14-16 in South Orange, N.J.)
BIG EAST Tournament Record: Creighton leads the series, 6-0
Last BIG EAST Tournament Meeting: Creighton won 10-9 (Game 1 of 2019 BIG EAST Tournament)
Why We’re Watching:
Thursday will be the sixth time in seven years the Bluejays and Pirates will meet in the first round of the tournament. Creighton is 6-0 all-time in the championship against Seton Hall. In 2015, the Bluejays sent the Pirates to the losers’ bracket with a 7-4 opening day win, then defeated SHU once again in the Saturday game, 12-1 en route to their second Championship appearance. In 2016, in Maryland, Creighton defeated Seton Hall 6-5. In 2017, Creighton won 4-1. The game was scoreless through five before the Bluejays got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. The last time these two teams met in the tournament, the opening round of 2019 also at Prasco Park, Seton Hall had an 8-4 lead with one out in the top of the eighth inning when a 58-minute lightning delay halted the game. Once the game resumed, the momentum switched and the Creighton bats came to life. The Bluejays scored six runs in the eighth and ninth innings. 2021 is Creighton’s sixth tournament appearance. The Bluejays are 10-7 (.588) in the championship. Creighton missed the tournament in 2018. This is the 25th tournament appearance for Seton Hall. The Pirates have a 37-44 (.457) record in the championship. Seton Hall has won the tournament three times and was runner-up five times. The Pirates were runners up in 2018 after forcing the if-necessary game 7 against St. John’s. Seton Hall won the championship in 2011.
Game 2
No. 1 Connecticut (30-16, 13-4 BIG EAST) vs. No. 4 Xavier (25-24, 15-11 BIG EAST)
6:34 p.m. ET (or at least 45 minutes after Game 1)
Watch On BEDN |
Live Stats
2021 Series Record: Series was split, 2-2 (April 25-27 in Cincinnati, Ohio)
BIG EAST Tournament Record: First meeting
Last BIG EAST Tournament Meeting: First meeting
Why We’re Watching:
Thursday will be the first meeting between UConn and Xavier in the BIG EAST Championship. Both teams have recorded impressive resumes in the tournament’s history. Xavier boasts the highest winning percentage of any school in the BIG EAST championship at 11-3 (.786). The Musketeers have made it to Championship Sunday four times in seven seasons winning it all in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Huskies won the last championship they played in before rejoining the league, defeating Notre Dame 8-1 in Clearwater, Fla., in 2013. UConn is making its 16th appearance in the championship and boasts a record of 32-24 (.571) which ranks fourth best of 18 teams who have played a tournament game in the past 35 years. UConn has made it to championship Sunday eight times with three titles (1990, 1994, 2013). When the Huskies and Musketeers met in late April, it was a series charged with many runs scored and many schedule adjustments. Xavier won the first game of the series, 5-0, as Nick Zwack was credited with a complete-game shutout. The Huskies won game two of the doubleheader 8-5 to even the score. Game three of the series spanned two days as the full game lasted four hours and 55 minutes and was eventually called due to darkness . The two teams picked up the game the following morning (April 27). With the teams tied at 13-13 through 11 innings, UConn scored two runs in the top of the 12th after a safety squeeze bunt by Zach Bushling and a solo homer by BIG EAST Player of the Year Kyler Fedko to win it for UConn, 15-13. Xavier won the final game of the series, 6-5. XU rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the series.
2021 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by JEEP
Thursday, May 27 – BIG EAST Digital Network Presented by SoFi
Game 1: #2 Creighton vs. #3 Seton Hall, 2:30 p.m. ET
Game 2: #1 UConn vs. #4 Xavier, 6:30 p.m. ET (approx.)
Friday, May 28 – BEDN
Losers’ bracket/Elimination Game at 2:30 p.m. ET (Game 3)
Winners’ bracket at 6:30 p.m. ET (Game 4) (approx.)
Saturday, May 29 – BEDN
Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser (Elimination Game) at 2:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, May 30 – Championship (FS2)
Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner at 1 p.m. ET
**an If-necessary game will be played at 4:30 p.m. ET should the Game 4 winner lose **