Tournament Central
The Blue Raiders are currently 14-10 in Sun Belt play and can not finish worse than 14-16 with a .467 win percentage. With eight of 11 teams making the tournament there are guaranteed to be a least three teams below Middle Tennessee at the end of the regular season.
The Sun Belt is the fifth best league in the country by RPI ahead of the Big East, Conference USA, Big West and Southern. Teams in the Sun Belt have defeated a number of ranked opponents this season including Kentucky, LSU, Southeastern Louisiana, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
Seeding for the double-elimination tournament is determined by win percentage with the highest percentage taking the No. 1 seed. Currently the Blue Raiders are fourth in the league with Florida Atlantic leading the way at 19-8 for a .708 winning percentage.
South Alabama and UL-Lafayette are tied for second 16-8 (.667) with the Jaguars holding the tie-breaker after winning the series 2-1. South Alabama and UL-Lafayette each hold the tie-breaker over the Blue Raiders.
There are two weekends left in conference action with Florida Atlantic and New Orleans each having their off week remaining in the regular season.
The tournament officially begins on Wednesday, May 26 but the festivities begin the night before. Tuesday, May 25 will be Family Night with the Sun Belt Conference and the Blue Raiders playing host at Reese Smith Jr. Field. The event is open to the public and will feature an awards ceremony, student-athlete home run derby and fireworks. Gates for Family Night will open at 7 p.m.
When the tournament begins there will be four games per day beginning at 9 a.m. until Championship Day. On Saturday, May 29 there is only one single-elimination championship game unless if necessary games need to be played prior to the game that will crown the champion and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Fans may purchase tickets for the tournament by calling the Middle Tennessee Ticket Office at 1-888-YES-MTSU or visiting the Middle Tennessee ticket office at Reese Smith Jr. Field during home baseball games. Fans may also purchase tickets online through Ticketmaster.
Ticket prices for the Sun Belt Championships are as follows: all session booklets $75, single session chairbacks $15 and general admission $10. Students from Sun Belt schools get in free with their student I.D. and children 2 and under are admitted free of charge.
For group tickets contact Brad Smith or Allison Bradley in Blue Raider Marketing at (615) 898-5322 or (615) 494-8951.
Visit the Sun Belt Tournament Central page at goblueraiders.com for extended information on the Sun Belt Championships. More information on the Sun Belt Championships will be provided in the coming weeks on goblueraiders.com as it becomes available.
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