Seeding for the 2018 Big South Baseball Championships came down to the final day of the regular season, after it was all said and done, Radford University clinched the No. 6 seed in the tournament to be contested this week at the Liberty Baseball Stadium in Lynchburg.
The Highlanders will defend the 2017 title, winning two of the last three championships, Radford looks to become the first back-to-back tournament champion since Coastal Carolina (2011, 2012).
Radford entered the final conference weekend with the possibility of finishing as high as the three seed and as low as the six seed. After dropping two games to Campbell and Gardner-Webb taking two over Longwood, both teams finished with 14-13 conference marks. With the Runnin’ Bulldogs season sweep over the Highlanders in March, Gardner-Webb receives the No. 5 seed, while Radford falls to the No. 6 slot.
In the last three tournaments, Radford holds a 10-2 record, while compiling a 4-6 record as the No. 6 seed. The sixth seed has appeared in four championship games, winning one. UNC Asheville won the 2006 tournament as the No. 6 seed, defeating No. 5 Liberty 16-11 in Conway, S.C.
The Highlanders were scheduled to face No. 3 host- Liberty Tuesday afternoon possibly the last time the two Commonwealth foes will meet on the diamond. Radford took the season series over the Flames. In Big South Tournament games, Radford is 3-10 against Liberty, possessing a 24-36 record in the tournament’s history. Liberty is leaving the conference following the completion of the tournament.
The Big South Championship tournament is a double-elimination format and features eight squads competing for the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals — highlighted by a “Winner-Take-All” championship game on Saturday, May 26 that will be televised live on ESPNU. First pitch of the title game will be 12:00pm.
The tournament continues today with Games 5-8 on ESPN+, Games 9-10 on Thursday, May 24 on BSN, and Games 11-12 and any if necessary contests on Friday, May 25 on ESPN3. The Championship game will be played Saturday, May 26 at 12:00pm and will be televised live on ESPNU.
The complete Conference Championship schedule appears below, and all games Tuesday and Thursday will be video streamed live for free on the Big South Network. On Wednesday, the tournament can be viewed with a subscription to ESPN+. Friday’s action will be carried on ESPN3.
Wednesday, May 23 (Games 5-8) – ESPN+
Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 9:30am
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 45 minutes following Game 5
Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4:30pm
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 45 minutes following Game 7
Thursday, May 24 (Games 9-10) – Big South Network
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 5, 3:00pm
Game 10: Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 6, 45 minutes following Game 9
Friday, May 25 (Games 11-12 [13-14]) – ESPN3
Game 11: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 10:00am
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 10, 45 minutes following Game 11
Game 13: if necessary – Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, 5:00pm (7 innings)
Game 14: if necessary – Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12, 45 minutes following Game 13 (7 innings)
Saturday, May 26 (Championship Game) – ESPNU
Winner Game 11 (or 13) vs. Winner Game 12 (or 14), 12:00pm
–RU Athletics
