Championship information page

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference has announced the seeding for the 2023 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases, which will be played at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina. Regular-season champion Samford has claimed the top seed in the tournament, which is slated for May 24-28.

All eight Southern Conference teams will participate in the tournament, with seeds 5 and 8 participating in single-elimination game on Wednesday, May 24, at 3 p.m., and seeds 6 and 7 playing in a single-elimination game later that day at 7 p.m. for the right to advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket. The championship game will take place Sunday, May 28, at 12 p.m., with a second game, if necessary, to begin 40 minutes after the completion of the first contest.

The SoCon tournament will begin Wednesday with fifth-seeded VMI (26-28, 9-11 SoCon) taking on No. 8 The Citadel (22-29, 7-14) for the chance to advance to face No. 4 seed ETSU (25-27, 10-11) on Thursday at 3 p.m., followed by sixth-seeded UNCG (22-32, 9-12), the defending tournament champion, facing off against No. 7 seed Western Carolina (21-32, 8-12) in Wednesday’s second game for the chance to advance to face No. 3 seed Wofford (37-17, 12-9) on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Citadel took two of three from VMI during the squads’ regular-season meetings. ETSU won the regular-season series against both squads, 2-1. UNCG took two of three from Western Carolina this season, with Wofford losing two of three to the Spartans and winning two of three from the Catamounts. UNCG downed Wofford twice on the final day of the 2022 tournament to claim the title.

No. 1 seed Samford (32-22, 15-6) will see its first action at the tournament on Friday at 9 a.m. when it takes on the winner of game three. Samford won the regular-season series against all three of its potential opponents, taking two of three from ETSU and VMI and sweeping The Citadel. The red-hot Bulldogs swept Mercer in their final regular-season series to vault the Bears for the regular-season title and the top seed in the tournament. Samford, which took two of three from Kansas the weekend prior, enters the SoCon tournament having gone 10-3 in its last 13 games. The Bulldogs, who were picked fourth in the preseason poll by the league’s coaches and third by the media, are seeking their second tournament title in three seasons. Samford’s No. 1 seed is its first since 2019.

No. 2 seed Mercer (32-23, 13-8) takes the field at the tournament for the first time on Friday at 12:30 p.m. against the winner of game four. The Bears, who are the second seed for the second straight season, swept Wofford, took two of three from UNCG and lost two of three to Western Carolina during the regular season.

Two more Friday games take place at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The remaining teams will compete in a trio of games on Saturday, which are scheduled for 12 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., setting the stage for Sunday’s title game(s).

All games will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to a NCAA Baseball Regional. 

May 24 (Wednesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: #5 VMI vs. #8 The Citadel, 3 p.m. 
Game 2: #6 UNCG vs. #7 Western Carolina, 7 p.m.

May 25 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
 (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. #4 ETSU, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. #3 Wofford, 7 p.m.

May 26 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
 (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. #1 Samford, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. #2 Mercer, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6, 7:30 p.m. 

May 27 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
 (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 12 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30 p.m. 
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, 7 p.m.
 
May 28 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (SDN)
Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, 12 p.m.
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12


^ if necessary