CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Tulane Green Wave, which withstood a three-and-a-half-hour rain delay in a must-win game Saturday, claimed the American Athletic Conference regular-season title to earn the No. 1 seed for the 2016 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship. The tournament begins Tuesday, May 24, at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida.
The 2016 tournament will be played in a double-elimination format through the semifinal round. The championship final is a winner-take-all matchup Sunday, May 29, which will determine The American’s automatic entrant to the NCAA Championship.
Tuesday’s tournament-opening doubleheader will be televised by CBS Sports Network. Games from Wednesday, May 25, through Saturday, May 28, will be on The American Digital Network. The May 29 final will be televised at noon ET on ESPNews.
Tulane (37-17) claimed its first regular-season conference title since 2005, and its first American Athletic Conference crown in any sport, as the Green Wave defeated Houston 4-3 Saturday to finish at 15-7 in The American. Tulane finished percentage points ahead of second-place East Carolina, which finished 15-8-1 in conference play. The Green Wave will play its tournament opener Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET against No. 8-seeded UCF (25-31).
East Carolina (34-19-1) enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed on the heels of a series sweep of UCF to close the regular season. The Pirates, who won last year's American Athletic Conference Championship, begin defense of their tournament title Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET against No. 7-seeded USF (23-31).
UConn (33-22) enters the tournament as the hottest team in The American as the Huskies closed the regular season with nine straight wins to claim the No. 3 seed. The Huskies will begin tournament play Wednesday against Memphis (19-37), the No. 6 seed, at 3 p.m. ET.
The championship opener will feature Cincinnati (26-28-1), the No. 4 seed, against No. 5-seeded Houston (33-22) at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday. The Bearcats, who were picked eighth in The American's preseason coaches' poll, won five of their eight conference series to finish four places higher than their projection.
Tickets for the championship will be available at Bright House 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 page at
www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.
2016 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
bright house field • clearwater, fla.
Tuesday, May 24 (CBS Sports Network)
Game 1 – No. 5 Houston (33-22) vs. No. 4 Cincinnati (26-28-1) ...................... 3 p.m.
Game 2 – No. 8 UCF (25-31) vs. No. 1 Tulane (37-17)................................... 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 25 (American Digital Network)
Game 3 – No. 7 USF (23-31) vs. No. 2 East Carolina (34-19-1)..................... 11 a.m.
Game 4 – No. 6 Memphis (19-37) vs. No. 3 UConn (33-22)............................ 3 p.m.
Game 5 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2.......................................... 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 26 (American Digital Network)
Game 6 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4........................................ 11 a.m.
Game 7 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2..................................... 3 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4..................................... 7 p.m.
Friday, May 27 (American Digital Network
Game 9 – Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5...................................... 11 a.m.
Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6...................................... 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 28 (American Digital Network)
Game 11 – Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9.................................. 10 a.m.
Game 12 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10.................................. 1 p.m.
Game 13 – Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 (if necessary)......... 4:30 p.m.
Game 14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary)......... 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 (ESPNews)
Game 15 – Semifinal winners..................................................................... Noon
all times Eastern