5/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina softball team begins its pursuit of a Big South Tournament championship on Wednesday as the second-seeded Chanticleers face No. 7 seed Charleston Southern, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. at Terry Field in Rock Hill, S.C.
Coastal (35-20 overall) went 18-6 in regular-season conference play to finish among the top two in the standings for the fifth straight year and is seeking its record seventh Big South tourney title. Charleston Southern (22-32 overall) was just 10-14 in the conference.
The Chanticleers swept the series versus the Bucs, but each game was close. Coastal took game one in an 11-5 win of its doubleheader but was put to the test in game two for the win. The Chants were down 8-0 through three innings and rallied back to an 11-10 win -- the teams' largest comeback win from deficit this season. The series finale was played just two weeks later, with another tight scoring game but the Chants battled out the 4-3 win for the sweep.
Tournament Quick Hits:
* The last time Coastal Carolina won the Big South Tournament was in 2012, with CCU defeating CSU in the Championship game 4-1.
* Coastal has posted a 12-6 record in post season play versus Big South teams since they last won the tournament in 2012.
* CSU and Coastal have faced off against each other 14 times in Big South tournament play with the Chants holding the 9-5 advantage in tournament action.
*Coastal leads the league with a .329 batting average while ranking 17th in the nation.
*Coastal has finished among the top two in the standings for the fifth straight year.
* Wednesday's game between CSU and Coastal Carolina will be the first postseason matchup between the teams since the 2014 Big South Championship Game. The Bucs and Chants did not play in the postseason last year.
* The Chants have won the last 16-18 games in regular season conference play. They were on an 11 game winning streak until Longwood snapped the streak in game one of its series.
The 2016 Softball Championship presented by Musco Sports Lighting begins Wednesday, May 11 with five games scheduled and concludes with a "winner-take-all" Championship contest on Saturday, May 14 at 2:00pm. All games May 11-12 will be carried on the Big South Network. ESPN3 will air 2-4 games on Friday, May 13 as well as Saturday's Championship game. The Big South's champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Championship. In-game statistics will be available on www.BigSouthSports.com and www.winthropeagles.com.
To stay up to date with schedule changes follow @GoCCUSports or @CoastalSoftball. Also, all schedule changes may also be found on goccusports.com.
Wednesday, May 11 (Games 1-5)
Game 1: No. 8 Gardner-Webb vs. No. 9 Winthrop, 9:00am (single elimination)
Game 2: No. 4 Radford vs. No. 5 Campbell, 12:00pm
Game 3: No. 1 Longwood vs. 8/9 Winner, 2:30pm
Game 4: No. 2 Coastal Carolina vs. No. 7 Charleston Southern, 5:00pm
Game 5: No. 3 Liberty vs. No. 6 Presbyterian, 7:30pm
Thursday, May 12 (Games 6-11)
Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 3, 9:00am
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 11:30am
Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 3, 2:00pm
Game 9: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 4:30pm
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8, 7:00pm
Game 11: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 9, 9:30pm
Friday, May 13 (Games 12-13 [14-15])
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 10:00pm (TV: ESPN3)
Game 13: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 11, 12:30pm (TV: ESPN3)
Game 14: if necessary, 3:00pm ** (TV: ESPN3)
Game 15: if necessary, 5:30pm ** (TV: ESPN3)
Saturday, May 14 (Championship Game)
TBA vs. TBA, 2:00pm (TV: ESPN3)
** - Game 14 will be necessary if the winner of Game 10 defeats the winner of Game 9. Game 15 will be necessary if the winner of Game 11 defeats the winner of Game 8. If both games are played, they will both be played on Saturday.
