Baseball: Big East Pairings Set
May 19, 2003 10:13 AM | General
May 19, 2003
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rutgers has earned the top seed in the four-team field for the 2003 BIG EAST Baseball Championship, scheduled for May 22-24 at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J. The Scarlet Knights finished 19-6 in league play, earning their first conference title since 2000 and third in the past six years. Rutgers, 33-18 overall, is ranked No. 22 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Top 25 poll.
West Virginia, 18-6 in league action, is seeded second. Picked to finish 10th in the preseason, the Mountaineers recorded a nine-game improvement in league wins from 2002, posting their highest BIG EAST finish since 1997. WVU has won 16 of its last 22 games. This is the Mountaineers fifth BIG EAST Championship appearance.
Defending BIG EAST Champion Notre Dame enters the championship as the No. 3 seed with a 16-7 conference mark. ND has reached the event for eight straight seasons. The Fighting Irish recorded their 15th straight 40-win season this year, finishing with a 40-15 overall record. Rutgers and Notre Dame have participated in every BIG EAST Championship since beginning conference play in 1996.
Fourth-seeded Virginia Tech captured a berth by defeating Notre Dame on the final Saturday of the regular season. The Hokies will be making their third straight appearance since joining the league in 2001. VT, with a 34-21 overall mark, has won at least 30 games for the 21st time under head coach Chuck Hartman.
On Friday, the last two games of the day (3:30 and 7 p.m.) will be televised LIVE by College Sports Television. CSTV is the first 24-hour college sports network and is available on DirecTV Channel 610. For more information on how to receive the network, log on to www.cstv.com.
In the first round on Thursday, May 22, Virginia Tech will play Rutgers at 3:30 p.m., followed by Notre Dame versus West Virginia in the 7 p.m. nightcap. The double-elimination tournament will conclude on Saturday with the BIG EAST Champion earning the league’s automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Commerce Bank Ballpark box office at (908) 252-0700.
2003 BIG EAST Baseball Championship
- - Commerce Bank Ballpark, Bridgewater, N.J. - -
| THURSDAY, MAY 22 | ||
| Game One | No. 1 Rutgers vs. No. 4 Virginia Tech | 3:30 p.m. |
| Game Two | No. 2 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 7 p.m. |
| FRIDAY, MAY 23 | ||
| Game Three | Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two | Noon |
| Game Four | Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two (CSTV) | 3:30 p.m. |
| Game Five | Winner Game Three vs. Loser Game Four (CSTV) | 7 p.m. |
| SATURDAY, MAY 24 | ||
| Game Six | Winner Game Four vs Winner Game Five | 3:30 p.m. |
| Game Seven | Same Teams as Game Six, if necessary | 7 p.m. |
