Jump to content

2017 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2017 Sun Belt Conference
baseball tournament
Teams10
FormatSingle-elimination
Finals site
ChampionsSouth Alabama (12th title)
Winning coachMark Calvi (1st title)
MVPBrendan Donovan (South Alabama)
TelevisionESPN3
2017 Sun Belt Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
East Division
Coastal Carolinax ‍‍‍ 22 7 1   .750 37 19 1   .658
No. 26 South Alabamay  ‍‍‍ 22 8 0   .733 40 21 0   .656
Georgia Southern  ‍‍‍ 18 12 0   .600 38 21 0   .644
Troy  ‍‍‍ 16 14 0   .533 31 25 0   .554
Georgia State  ‍‍‍ 10 20 0   .333 22 33 0   .400
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍ 8 22 0   .267 19 36 0   .345
West Division
UT Arlingtonx  ‍‍‍ 20 10 0   .667 30 25 0   .545
Louisiana–Lafayette  ‍‍‍ 19 10 1   .650 35 21 1   .623
Arkansas State  ‍‍‍ 13 16 0   .448 28 27 0   .509
Texas State  ‍‍‍ 13 17 0   .433 29 30 0   .492
Little Rock  ‍‍‍ 11 18 0   .379 21 34 0   .382
Louisiana–Monroe  ‍‍‍ 6 24 0   .200 12 43 0   .218
x – Division champion
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament was held at J. I. Clements Stadium on the campus of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, from May 24 to May 28, 2017, using a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[1][2]

Seeding

[edit]

In a change from previous years, the seeding for the tournament was modified with the re-introduction of division play. The #1 seed would be the division winner with the best record, and the other division winner would be the #2 seed. This would reward each division winner for winning their division. Once the #1 seed is determined, the other division winner is automatically granted the #2 seed, even if that team's overall conference record isn't the second best. Seeds 3–10 are then assigned regardless of division based on conference winning percentage, with the bottom four seeds competing in a play-in round. The remaining eight teams will then play a two bracket, double-elimination tournament. The winner of each bracket will play a championship final.[3]

Team W–L Pct Seed
East Division
Coastal Carolina 22–7–1 .750 1
South Alabama 22–8 .733 3
Georgia Southern 18–12 .600 5
Troy 16–14 .533 6
Georgia State 10–20 .333 10
Appalachian State 8–22 .267
Team W–L Pct Seed
West Division
Texas-Arlington 20–10 .667 2
Louisiana–Lafayette 19–10–1 .650 4
Arkansas State 13–16 .448 7
Texas State 13–17 .433 8
Little Rock 11–18 .379 9
Louisiana–Monroe 6–24 .200

Schedule

[edit]

Due to poor field conditions and the threat of further inclement weather the first round of the tournament was postponed. Alternative sites and make-up schedules are being examined.[4] On May 24 the Sun Belt announced that the tournament would move to a single elimination format.[5]

Game Time* Matchup# Television Attendance
Thursday, May 25
1 3:00pm No. 10 Georgia State vs. No. 7 Arkansas State ESPN3
2 6:30pm No. 9 Little Rock vs. No. 8 Texas State
Friday, May 26
3 9:00am No. 6 Troy vs. No. 3 South Alabama ESPN3
4 12:30pm No. 7 Arkansas State vs. No. 2 Texas-Arlington
5 4:00pm Winner Game 2 vs. No. 1 Coastal Carolina
6 7:30pm No. 5 Georgia Southern vs. No. 4 Louisiana-Lafayette
Semifinals – Saturday, May 27
7 3:00pm Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 ESPN3
8 6:30pm Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Championship – Sunday, May 28
9 1:00pm Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 ESPN3
*Game times in EDT. # – Rankings denote tournament seed.

Bracket

[edit]

Play-in round

[edit]

The first two matchups of the tournament were single-elimination and were held on Thursday May 25, 2017.

Thursday, May 25
Team R
(10) Georgia State 4
(7) Arkansas State 217
Thursday, May 25
Team R
(9) Little Rock 2
(8) Texas State 3

Single-elimination round

[edit]

Coastal Carolina faced the team that won on the day before with the lowest seed with the other winner against Texas-Arlington. The tournament was originally scheduled to be a double elimination tournament. Due to weather and poor field conditions they had to make the tournament single elimination.

Quarterfinals
ESPN3
Semifinals
ESPN3
Final
ESPN3
         
1 Coastal Carolina 5
8 Texas State 7
8 Texas State 5
5 Georgia Southern 11
4 Louisiana–Lafayette 6
5 Georgia Southern 711
5 Georgia Southern 610
3 South Alabama 7
2 Texas–Arlington 2
7 Arkansas State 4
3 South Alabama 4
7 Arkansas State 2
3 South Alabama 9
6 Troy 1

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2016-17 Championships Schedule". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  2. ^ "2017 Division I baseball conference tournaments, automatic qualifiers". NCAA. May 28, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "Sun Belt Announces Changes to Baseball Regular Season, Championship Format; Future Championship Sites Named". Sun Belt Conference. November 11, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  4. ^ "Poor field conditions cancel Tuesday's First Round at the Sun Belt baseball championship". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  5. ^ "Updated Schedule for the Sun Belt Baseball Championship". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved May 24, 2017.