Bracket set for 2018 AAC Baseball Tournament

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Fourth seed ECU (39-15) will open the 2018 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championships on Tuesday, May 22 when it plays No. 5 seed UCF (35-19) at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Fla. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. (ET).

The Pirates, who finished tied for third in the conference in 2018, will be joined in their half of the bracket by top-seed Houston (33-21) and No. 8 seed Tulane (24-31) who play at 7 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, May 22. The winners will meet on Thursday, while the losing team face an elimination game on Wednesday.

ECU won two of three games against UCF in Orlando, Fla., which was both teams AAC opening weekend (March 23-25). The Pirates dropped the Friday contest, 9-1, before bouncing back with wins the next two days (12-4 and 11-6). A year ago, ECU and UCF met twice during the Championships with the Pirates winning both games 14-3 and 4-0 on their way to the title game against Houston.

On the other side of the bracket, teams begin play on Wednesday with No. 7 Wichita State (34-19-1) facing No. 2 USF (32-18-1) at 11 a.m. (ET). Third-seed UConn (32-18-1) will square off against No. 6 seed Cincinnati (28-26) at 3 p.m. (ET).

The 2018 tournament will be played in a double-elimination format through the semifinal round. The championship final is a winner-take-all matchup Sunday, May 27, which will determine The American’s automatic entrant to the NCAA Championship.

Live coverage of the first five days of the championship - as many as 14 games - will be provided by the American Digital Network Plus, the conference's new home for live events on the Facebook platform. The May 27 final will be televised at 12 Noon (ET) on ESPNews.

Tickets for the championship will be available at Spectrum Field each day of the tournament or may be purchased in advance by calling the box office at 727-467-4457. The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central

(http://www.theamerican.org/sports/2018/3/1/baseball.aspx).

2018 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

SPECTRUM field • clearwater, fla.

Tuesday, May 22 (American Digital Network Plus)

Game 1 – No. 5 UCF (35-19) vs. No. 4 ECU (39-15) – 3 p.m.

Game 2 – No. 8 Tulane (24-31) vs. No. 1 Houston (33-21) – 7 p.m.

Wednesday, May 23 (American Digital Network Plus)

Game 3 – No. 7 Wichita State (34-19-1) vs. No. 2 USF (32-18-1) – 11 a.m.

Game 4 – No. 6 Cincinnati (28-26) vs. No. 3 UConn (32-18-1) – 3 p.m.

Game 5 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 – 7 p.m.

Thursday, May 24 (American Digital Network Plus)

Game 6 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 – 11 a.m.