Central Islip, N.Y. - Bridgeport, Dowling, LIU Post, and St. Thomas Aquinas have earned spots in the upcoming East Coast Conference Baseball Championship. The tournament, hosted by Molloy College at Mitchel Field in Uniondale, N.Y., will run from Thursday, May 7th through Saturday, May 9th. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship.
Bridgeport and Dowling shared the ECC Regular Season Championship after finishing with 15-9 ECC records, but Dowling earns the top seed in the tournament after winning the season series over Bridgeport.
Dowling, who earned a share of their second straight regular season title, is making their fifth straight appearance in the tournament. The Golden Lions (27-13 overall) will take on No. 4 seed, LIU Post (17-16, 14-10 ECC) in a first round matchup. The Pioneers are back in the ECC Tournament for the first time since the 2012 season. In their regular season series, LIU Post won three of the four games between the two teams.
Bridgeport earns the No. 2 seed after clinching the first ECC Regular Season Championship in program history. The Purple Knights (23-22, 15-9 ECC), like Dowling are back in the ECC Championship for the fifth straight season. Their first round opponent will be two-time defending ECC Champions and No. 3 seed, St. Thomas Aquinas.
The Spartans, also the defending NCAA East Region Champions, have the longest current streak of ECC tournament appearances. They have now made the championship field eight years in a row after finishing the regular season with a 24-17-1 (14-10 ECC) record.
The two schools wrapped up their regular seasons against each other, with the Purple Knights taking three of four.
The tournament will begin with the Bridgeport vs. St. Thomas Aquinas matchup at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. LIU Post and Dowling will follow at 3:00 p.m.
Check back to www.eccsports.org throughout the week for an ECC Baseball Championship page, which will have links to live stats, live video, recaps, and all other pertinent information about the tournament. In addition, the Saturday championship round of the tournament will have a high-quality video broadcast on the ECC website provided by JHP, Inc.
2015 ECC Baseball Championship hosted by Molloy College at Mitchel Field - Uniondale, N.Y.
Thursday, May 7
12:00 PM - No. 3 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 2 Bridgeport
3:00 PM - No. 4 LIU Post vs. No. 1 Dowling
Friday, May 8
10:00 a.m. - Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two
1:00 p.m. - Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two
4:00 p.m. - Winner Game Three vs. Loser Game Four
Saturday, May 9
12:00 p.m. - Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Five
If necessary - 30 minutes after the completion of Game Six
