Second-seed Saint Augustine's College will take on third-seed Winston-Salem State Thursday to open the 2011 CIAA Baseball Championships. Game time is 10 a.m. on the campus of Virginia State.
The tournament is a double-elimination format. The SAC-WSSU victor advances to Friday's winner's bracket to face the winner of Thursday's game between top-seeded Chowan and fourth-seeded Virginia State, which starts at 1 p.m. The SAC-WSSU loser will play the Chowan-VSU loser Thursday at 4 p.m.
The Falcons (34-16 overall) are the defending CIAA champions. They finished second in the CIAA in the regular season with a 24-4 record.
The Falcons defeated WSSU four times during the regular season. The scores were 3-2 and 5-2 in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Feb. 15, and 7-2 and 6-5 in Cary, N.C., on March 29.
Shortstop Rashad Ingram (Sr./Savannah, Ga.), the CIAA player of the year, leads the Falcons, who placed eight players on the All-CIAA first and second teams. Other Falcons to watch for in the tournament are pitcher Brandon Stewart (Sr./Riverdale, Ga.), catcher Josh Bishop (Sr./Richmond, Va.), center fielder Joe Pierce (Sr./Wetumpka, Ala.), left fielder Wayne Lewis (Jr./Charlotte, N.C.), third baseman Alex Howard (Jr./Wilson, N.C.), utility player Chris Vette (Sr./Hampton, Va.) and second baseman Kevin White (Sr./Dunn, N.C.).
