Baseball Named as Fourth Seed and Host of NCAA Championship East Regional
NCAA East Regional Championship Central
NCAA.com selection announcement
NCAA Championship Regional brackets (PDF)
Archived selection show video
INDIANAPOLIS (May 23, 2021) -- The Road to Cary will once again run through Rindge, New Hampshire. The Franklin Pierce University baseball team has been named as the fourth seed and host of the NCAA Championship East Regional, as announced Sunday night by the NCAA. The Ravens picked up an at-large bid to the six-team, double-elimination tournament, which will run Thursday, May 27 through Sunday, May 30 at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Franklin Pierce will open pursuit of its eighth regional crown at 3 p.m. Thursday against third-seeded Molloy.
Franklin Pierce will host the tournament for the ninth time in the 16 seasons since Pappas Field opened to start the 2005 campaign, as the institution also hosted regional play in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2016. The Ravens are a seven-time NCAA regional champion (2016, 2013, 2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2003), and have claimed the regional trophy five of the eight times they have served as hosts. For Franklin Pierce, it is the 16th NCAA Championship berth in program history and marks the third straight trip to the national tournament.
Each of the six teams will play its first game on Thursday. In addition to the Franklin Pierce (22-9) game against Molloy (21-9), second-seeded St. Thomas Aquinas (25-5) will face fifth-seeded Goldey-Beacom (20-7) at 11 a.m., and top seed Southern New Hampshire (24-6) will play six-seeded Dominican (N.Y.) (19-13) in the nightcap at 7 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 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. Game times for Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., while Sunday’s play will begin at noon. A full schedule is included at the bottom of this story.
In light of current COVID-19 guidelines issued by the state of New Hampshire and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pappas Field will be open to spectators throughout the East Regional. Spectators must maintain appropriate social distance from participants and credentialed tournament staff at all times. Face masks will be required within designated areas of Pappas Field.
Tickets will be available each day at the main gate of Pappas Field. Daily admission will be $8 for adults and $5 for children (12 and under), senior citizens (65+) and college students (with valid institutional ID). Per NCAA policy, no complimentary admission will be permitted.
Franklin Pierce will provide live stats and live video throughout the duration of the tournament. Details and links will be available at the Championship Central web page, which will be live at https://www.fpuravens.com/ncaa later Sunday night or Monday morning.
SNHU, Dominican and Molloy all received automatic bids to the tournament as champions of Northeast-10 Conference, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and East Coast Conference, respectively. Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce from the NE10, Goldey-Beacom from the CACC and St. Thomas Aquinas from the ECC all earned at-large selections.
Franklin Pierce and SNHU are the only teams returning from what was an eight-team field in 2019, the most recent edition of the East Regional, and NYIT will not be present to defend its regional crown after the school suspended its athletic programs amid the pandemic. Goldey-Beacom will make its first-ever NCAA Championship appearance when it takes the field on Thursday.
Franklin Pierce and Molloy have never met in the postseason, though the Ravens hold a 14-7 advantage in 21 all-time meetings with the Lions. The two have met just three times since the start of 2015, with Franklin Pierce holding a 2-1 record. All 21 previous meetings between the two have been on spring trips to Florida or the Carolinas, though Molloy did travel to Pappas Field for its NCAA Championship debut in the 2016 East Regional.
The winner of the East Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship finals, scheduled for June 5-12, 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.
NCAA Baseball Championship East Regional
Hosted by Franklin Pierce University
Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field (Rindge, N.H.)
Double elimination (seeds in parentheses)
Minimum 45 minutes between games, unless otherwise noted
Thursday, May 27
Game 1: (2) St. Thomas Aquinas vs. (5) Goldey-Beacom - 11 a.m.
Game 2: (3) Molloy at (4) Franklin Pierce - 3 p.m.
Game 3: (1) Southern New Hampshire vs. (6) Dominican - 7 p.m.
Friday, May 28
Game 4: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 1 Loser - 11 a.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 2 Loser - 3 p.m. (Game 2 Loser eliminated with loss)
Game 6: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 7 p.m.
If four teams remain after Game 6, the following schedule will be used:
Saturday, May 29
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner - 11 a.m.
Game 8: Game 6 Loser vs. Game 4 Winner - 3 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 9: Game 7 Loser vs. Game 8 Winner - 7 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Sunday, May 30
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - Noon
Game 11: Game 10 rematch* - 40 minutes after conclusion of Game 10
* 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 29
Game 7: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser - 11 a.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 8: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner - 3 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner - 7 p.m. (Game 7 Winner eliminated with loss)
If two teams remain after Game 9, the following schedule will be used:
Sunday, May 30
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner - Noon
Game 11: Game 10 rematch* - 40 minutes after conclusion of Game 10
* 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 30
Game 10: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser - Noon (loser eliminated)
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner - 3:30 p.m.