COLLEGE BASEBALL: CORNING GRAD TERWILLIGER HELPS EAST CAROLINA TO CONFERENCE TITLE, TOP 8 OVERALL SEED FOR NATIONALS (2022-05-31)

Southern Tier Sports Report
Corning grad Ben Terwilliger and the East Carolina baseball team (48-18) won the American Athletic Conference title and they earned the Nil. 8 National Seed and the top seed in the Greenville Regional for this year’s NCAA Baseball Championships.

East Carolina is making its 32nd postseason appearance and sixth in the past seven years.

Terwilliger got the save in the first game of the conference tournament, a 7-4 win over South Florida. He went two innings, striking out seven and allowing just one hit and no runs.

Terwilliger had two wins and five saves this year, throwing 31 innings, with a 3.48 ERA. He has 42 strikeouts in the 31 innings.

East Carolina made the tournament after winning the American Athletic Conference Championship on Sunday 6-1 over Baylor.

It was an 18th straight win for the Pirates, the longest current win streak in the country, and one shy of the conference record. It was the third conference title for East Carolina (2015, 2018 and 2022) and the team is now 3-1 in championship finals.

It’s just the second time in school history the Pirates have earned a top eight overall seed at nationals, following the 2001 club that was a 7th seed.

It’s the ninth time in program history the school has been the top seed in a regional, and it’s the fourth straight season with the top regional seed. The team has been seeded top 16 each of the past four seasons (No. 12 in 2018, No. 10 in 2019, No. 13 last year and 8 this season).

The team has qualified for regional competition in 18 of the past 23 seasons with a tournament (there was no tournament in 2020 due to Covid).

The Pirates will host the regional at Clark LeClair Stadium when they meet No. 4 Coppin State in the first round on Friday. The other two teams in the regional are No. Virginia and No. 3 Coastal Carolina.

The Pirates own a 7-4 records against teams in the tournament this year, going 2-0 against Campbell and 1-0 against Maryland and Michigan, while going 1-2 against North Carolina, 2-1 against VCU and 0-1 against Virginia Tech.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF EAST CAROLINA ATHLETICS.