No. 14/26 Baseball Named Third Seed in NCAA Championship East Regional, Hosted by Southern New Hampshire (UPDATED: 3 p.m. Monday with Schedule and Ticket Info)

Ravens open play at 7 p.m. on Thursday against Saint Anselm at Penmen Field

NCAA Championship East Regional Championship Central
NCAA.com Selection Announcement
NCAA Championship East Regional Bracket (PDF)
Archived Selection Show Video

RINDGE, N.H. (May 15, 2012) – The No. 14/26 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team has been named as the third seed of the NCAA Championship East Regional, as announced Sunday night by the NCAA. The Ravens, the Northeast-10 Conference runner-up, earn an at-large bid in the six-team, double-elimination tournament, which will run Thursday May 17 through Sunday, May 20 and be hosted by top seed Southern New Hampshire at Penmen Field in Manchester, N.H. Franklin Pierce will open play on Thursday against fourth-seeded Saint Anselm at 7 p.m.

Each of the six teams will play their first games on Thursday. In addition to the Franklin Pierce (36-17-1) game against Saint Anselm (28-23-2), top-seeded SNHU (38-12) will face sixth-seeded Dowling (31-17) at 11 a.m. and second-seeded Le Moyne (40-13-1) will play fifth-seeded Wilmington (Del.) (32-16) at 3 p.m.

From there, three games will be played Friday, with one winners' bracket game, one losers' bracket game and one game which will feature both a first-day winner and a first-day loser. Saturday will feature three games as well, while Sunday is scheduled for either one or two games, depending on how the rest of the tournament plays out. A full schedule for the East Regional is below.

Each day of the tournament, ticket prices will be as follows: $5 for adults and $3 for children (ages 2-12)/seniors and college students with valid ID. Children under two-years-old will be admitted free of charge. Per NCAA policy, no complimentary admissions will be issued.

Le Moyne, Wilmington and Dowling all received automatic bids to the tournament as champions of the Northeast-10 Conference, Central Collegiate Athletic Conference and East Coast Conference, respectively. Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce, Southern New Hampshire and Saint Anselm all earned at-large selections out of the Northeast-10. Half of the field returns from last year's East Regional, as Franklin Pierce, Wilmington and Dowling all participated in the 2011 event in Rindge.

The winner of the East Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship National Finals, scheduled for May 26 through June 2 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Seven other regional tournaments will be conducted this week, with each sending its champion to Cary as well. Franklin Pierce finished as a semifinalist in the East Region a year ago and is a five-time regional champion (2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2003).

NCAA Baseball Championship East Regional
Hosted by Southern New Hampshire University
Penmen Field (Manchester, N.H.)
Double Elimination
Seeds in Parentheses

Thursday, May 17
Game 1: (6) Dowling at (1) Southern New Hampshire - 11 a.m.
Game 2: (2) Le Moyne vs. (5) Wilmington - 3 p.m.
Game 3: (3) Franklin Pierce vs. (4) Saint Anselm - 7 p.m.

Friday, May 18
Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 11 a.m.
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner - 7 p.m.

If four teams remain after Game 6, the following schedule will be used:
Saturday, May 19
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner - 11 a.m.
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser - 3 p.m.
Game 9: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 7 Loser - 7 p.m.

Sunday, May 20
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - Noon
Game 11: Game 10 rematch* - 4 p.m.
* Game 11 only necessary if Game 9 Winner wins Game 10.
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If five teams remain after Game 6, the following schedule will be used:
Saturday, May 19
Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser - 11 a.m.
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner - 3 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner - 7 p.m.

If two teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used:
Sunday, May 20
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - Noon
Game 11: Game 10 rematch* - 4 p.m.
* Game 11 only necessary if Game 8 Winner wins Game 10.

If three teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used:
Sunday, May 20
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser - Noon
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner - 4 p.m. 

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).