East Carolina will make its fourth appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals when the Pirates face Texas Tech in best-of-three series for a trip to the College World Series.
Game 1 begins Friday at 8 p.m. ET, while Game 2 is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. A third game, if necessary, would be played Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. The first two games will be televised on ESPNU, while Game would be carried on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.
The Pirates are making their fourth appearance in an NCAA Super Regional, but are looking for their first trip to the College World Series. ECU last played in the Super in 2009, when they fell to North Carolina.
East Carolina does have one national championship to its credit. The Pirates won the 1961 NAIA title and finished third in the 1963 NAIA tournament.
Despite some drama in Game 2 last week, East Carolina cruised to the Charlottesville Regional title in comparatively easy fashion. The Pirates defeated each of the other three teams in the Charlottesville Regional, including a 9-1 win against Bryant – which entered the tournament as the national leader in wins; an 8-6 win against Virginia, which won the 2015 NCAA title; and an 8-4 win against William & Mary.
Texas Tech, the No. 5 national seed, earned its Super Regional Monday bid as the Red Raiders edged Dallas Baptist 5-3 in a winner-take-all game for the Lubbock Regional title.
Both East Carolina and Texas Tech have proven their proficiency at the plate this season. ECU is hitting .291 as a team, while Texas Tech is batting .295. But East Carolina’s team earned-run average of 3.40 ranks among the nation’s top 30 as well. The Pirates are expected to go with Evan Kruczynski in Friday’s opener. Kruczynski is 7-1 with a 1.86 ERA this season, ranking in the national top 20 in ERA.
American Athletic Conference teams have combined to go 18-17 in the NCAA tournament in its first three seasons. The American was 9-5 in the 2014 tournament, 3-8 in 2015 and is 6-4 so far in 2016.
NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
Super Regional · Lubbock, Texas
Friday, June 10
East Carolina at Texas Tech (ESPNU) 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 11
East Carolina at Texas Tech (ESPNU) 3 p.m.
Friday, June 12 (if necessary)
East Carolina at Texas Tech (ESPN2/ESPNU) 3 p.m.
all times Eastern