2017 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Tournament was held at J. I. Clements Stadium on the campus of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia from May 24 to May 28, 2017, using a double-elimination format. The winner of the tournament earned the Sun Belt Conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.[1][2]

2017 Sun Belt Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	10
Format	Single-elimination
Finals site	J. I. Clements Stadium Statesboro, Georgia
Champions	South Alabama (12th title)
Winning coach	Mark Calvi (1st title)
MVP	Brendan Donovan, South Alabama
Television	ESPN3

2017 Sun Belt Conference baseball standings
	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
East Division
Coastal Carolina^x^† ‍‍‍	22	–	7	–	1		.750			37	–	19	–	1		.658
No. 26 South Alabama^‡^y  ‍‍‍	22	–	8	–	0		.733			40	–	21	–	0		.656
Georgia Southern  ‍‍‍	18	–	12	–	0		.600			38	–	21	–	0		.644
Troy  ‍‍‍	16	–	14	–	0		.533			31	–	25	–	0		.554
Georgia State  ‍‍‍	10	–	20	–	0		.333			22	–	33	–	0		.400
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍	8	–	22	–	0		.267			19	–	36	–	0		.345
West Division
UT Arlington^x  ‍‍‍	20	–	10	–	0		.667			30	–	25	–	0		.545
Louisiana–Lafayette  ‍‍‍	19	–	10	–	1		.650			35	–	21	–	1		.623
Arkansas State  ‍‍‍	13	–	16	–	0		.448			28	–	27	–	0		.509
Texas State  ‍‍‍	13	–	17	–	0		.433			29	–	30	–	0		.492
Little Rock  ‍‍‍	11	–	18	–	0		.379			21	–	34	–	0		.382
Louisiana–Monroe  ‍‍‍	6	–	24	–	0		.200			12	–	43	–	0		.218
x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Seeding

In a change from previous years, the seeding for the tournament was modified with the re-introduction of division play. The #1 seed would be the division winner with the best record, and the other division winner would be the #2 seed. This would reward each division winner for winning their division. Once the #1 seed is determined, the other division winner is automatically granted the #2 seed, even if that team's overall conference record isn't the second best. Seeds 3-10 are then assigned regardless of division based on conference winning percentage, with the bottom four seeds competing in a play-in round. The remaining eight teams will then play a two bracket, double-elimination tournament. The winner of each bracket will play a championship final.[3]

Team W–L Pct Seed East Division Coastal Carolina 22–7–1 .750 1 South Alabama 22–8 .733 3 Georgia Southern 18–12 .600 5 Troy 16–14 .533 6 Georgia State 10–20 .333 10 Appalachian State 8–22 .267 –

Team W–L Pct Seed West Division Texas-Arlington 20–10 .667 2 Louisiana–Lafayette 19–10–1 .650 4 Arkansas State 13–16 .448 7 Texas State 13–17 .433 8 Little Rock 11–18 .379 9 Louisiana–Monroe 6–24 .200 –

Schedule

Due to poor field conditions and the threat of further inclement weather the first round of the tournament was postponed. Alternative sites and make-up schedules are being examined.[4] On May 24 the Sun Belt announced that the tournament would move to a single elimination format.[5]

Game	Time*	Matchup^#	Television	Attendance
Thursday, May 25
1	3:00pm	No. 10 Georgia State vs. No. 7 Arkansas State	ESPN3
2	6:30pm	No. 9 Little Rock vs. No. 8 Texas State
Friday, May 26
3	9:00am	No. 6 Troy vs. No. 3 South Alabama	ESPN3
4	12:30pm	No. 7 Arkansas State vs. No. 2 Texas-Arlington
5	4:00pm	Winner Game 2 vs. No. 1 Coastal Carolina
6	7:30pm	No. 5 Georgia Southern vs. No. 4 Louisiana-Lafayette
Semifinals – Saturday, May 27
7	3:00pm	Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4	ESPN3
8	6:30pm	Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Championship – Sunday, May 28
9	1:00pm	Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8	ESPN3
*Game times in EDT. # – Rankings denote tournament seed.

Bracket

Play-in round

The first two matchups of the tournament were single-elimination and were be held on Thursday May 25, 2017.

Thursday, May 25

Team	R
(10) Georgia State	4
(7) Arkansas State	21^7

Thursday, May 25

Team	R
(9) Little Rock	2
(8) Texas State	3

Single-elimination round

Coastal Carolina faced the team that won on the day before with the lowest seed with the other winner against Texas-Arlington. The tournament was originally scheduled to be a double elimination tournament. Due to weather and poor field conditions they had to make the tournament single elimination.

	Quarterfinals ESPN3					Semifinals ESPN3					Final ESPN3
	1	Coastal Carolina	5
	8	Texas State	7
						8	Texas State	5
						5	Georgia Southern	11
	4	Louisiana–Lafayette	6
	5	Georgia Southern	7^11
											5	Georgia Southern	6^10
											3	South Alabama	7
	2	Texas–Arlington	2
	7	Arkansas State	4
						3	South Alabama	4
						7	Arkansas State	2
	3	South Alabama	9
	6	Troy	1

References

1. "2016-17 Championships Schedule". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
2. "2017 Division I baseball conference tournaments, automatic qualifiers". NCAA. May 28, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
3. "Sun Belt Announces Changes to Baseball Regular Season, Championship Format; Future Championship Sites Named". Sun Belt Conference. November 11, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
4. "Poor field conditions cancel Tuesday's First Round at the Sun Belt baseball championship". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
5. "Updated Schedule for the Sun Belt Baseball Championship". Sun Belt Conference. Retrieved May 24, 2017.