HATTIESBURG, Va. -- After defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd, 6-5, in dramatic fashion on Saturday, the Old Dominion Monarchs are set to begin the 2016 Conference USA Baseball Championship as the No. 6 seed. ODU will face No. 3 seed Southern Miss in the first round on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET at Pete Taylor Park.
The Championship makes a return to Hattiesburg for the sixth time in the league's history, as Southern Miss also hosted the 2015, 2014, 2009, 2005 and 1996 C-USA Championships at Pete Taylor Park. This year's tournament features the top eight teams in regular-season league play, as the format is two double-elimination brackets with four teams each, with the winners of each bracket meeting in a single-elimination championship game. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. Fans making the trip may purchase tickets via SouthernMissTickets.com or for more information, visit the C-USA Championship Central page.
Each game of the championship from Wednesday through Saturday will be streamed live on the C-USA Digital Network. The championship game of the tournament on Sunday, May 29 will be televised live by CBS Sports Network, beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
Old Dominion has participated in the C-USA Championships every year since joining the league in 2013-14, one of just four teams to do so, and the Monarchs will face the Golden Eagles for just the second time since becoming a member. The last time ODU faced Southern Miss was in an elimination game in the 2015 C-USA Championship. Connor Barron's two-out RBI hit in the top of the 12th lifted third-seeded Southern Miss to a 2-0 victory over seventh-seeded ODU. The game marked the second longest game in C-USA Tournament history and the first time two teams went past nine innings scoreless in a tournament game. ODU starter Adam Bainbridge pitched 8.1 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing nine hits and walking only one, while USM's starter James McMahon went 8.2 innings allowing five hits, one walk and five strikeouts. Nick Walker led ODU with three hits, while Justin Hayes had two hits for the Monarchs.
Game Schedule || All Times Eastern
Wednesday, May 25
Game 1 (5) Louisiana Tech vs. (4) Rice || 10:00a
Game 2 (8) Charlotte vs. (1) Florida Atlantic || 1:30p
Game 3 (6) Old Dominion vs. (3) Southern Miss || 5:00p
Game 4 (7) FIU vs. (2) Marshall || 8:30p
Thursday, May 26
Game 5 Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 || 10:00a
Game 6 Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 || 1:30p
Game 7 Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 || 5:00p
Game 8 Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 || 8:30p
Friday, May 27
Game 9 Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7 || 4:00p
Game 10 Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 8 || 7:30p
Saturday, May 28
Game 11 Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9 ||10:00a
Game 12 Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10 || 1:30p
Game 13 Same teams as Game 11 || 5:00p (if necessary)
Game 14 Same teams as Game 12 || 8:30p (if necessary)
Sunday, May 29 (televised by CBS Sports Network)
Championship Game || 2:00p