By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA – USF's powerful Chris Norton is helping the conference get the festivities started before the Big East Baseball Championship officially gets underway in Clearwater.

Norton is one of eight Home Run Derby participants that will step to the plate during Tuesday night's opening ceremonies at Bright House Field. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the Home Run Derby will follow the conference's yearly awards presentation at 7 p.m.

Norton, a senior, earned the starting job behind the plate at the start of the season and hasn't disappointed, batting .296 with four homers and 37 RBIs in 51 games.

The fourth-seeded Bulls (35-20) get their tournament run started 8 p.m. Wednesday against fifth-seeded Rutgers (26-28).  USF took two of three from the Scarlet Knights to finish the regular season last weekend in Tampa. The Bulls are looking to return to the championship game for the second straight season.

Watch All the Action Live

Fans can head over to BigEastBaseball.com for full coverage of the conference tournament. The site will provide links to ESPN3 telecasts of all games from the first four days of competition along with coverage of Tuesday's opening ceremonies and Home Run Derby.

Sunday's Big East championship game will be televised nationally on ESPNU starting at noon.

Ticket Info

Fans can purchase tickets by following the provided LINK or by calling the Bright House Field ticket office at 727-467-4457. A tournament pass is $32 and a single-day pass is $8 for adults. A tournament pass is $16 and a single-day pass is $6 for seniors 65 and older, children 5-13, students with an ID and active military members. Children 4 and under get in free.

Home Run Derby Participants

Connecticut – LJ Mazzilli (.362, 5 HR, 45 RBI)

Louisville – Zak Wasserman (.223, 0 HR, 20 RBI)

Notre Dame – Trey Mancini (.396, 6 HR, 52 RBI)

Pittsburgh – Elvin Soto (.318, 6 HR, 40 RBI)

Rutgers – Ross Costello (.172, 3 HR, 14 RBI)

St. John's – Frank Schwindel (.348, 5 HR, 52 RBI)

Seton Hall – Sal Annunziata (.322, 6 HR, 37 RBI)

USF – Jimmy Falla (.306, 2 HR, 47 RBI)

Wednesday, May 22 - Four games

(ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)

Game 1 – No. 6  St. John's (23-33) vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh (40-15), 10 a.m.

Game 2 – No. 7 Notre Dame (31-23) vs. No. 2 Seton Hall (36-17), 1 p.m.

Game 3 – No. 8 Connecticut (30-25) vs. No. 1 Louisville (46-10), 5 p.m.

Game 4 – No. 5 Rutgers (26-28) vs. No. 4 USF (35-20), 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 23 - Four games

(ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)

Game 5 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2, 10 a.m.

Game 6 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, 1 p.m.

Game 7 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 5 p.m.

Game 8 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 8 p.m.

Friday, May 24 - Two games

(ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)

Game 9 – Loser of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 5, 4 p.m.

Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 7, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 25 - Two, three, or four games

(ESPN3 and BigEastBaseball.com)

Game 11 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9, 10 a.m.

Game 12 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10, 1 p.m.

Game 13 – Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11, 5 p.m. (if necessary)

Game 14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12, 6:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.

(if necessary; game would be at 6:30 if Game 13 is not necessary, 8 p.m. otherwise)

Sunday, May 26 - Championship game

(live television on ESPNU)

Game 15 – Winner of Group 1 vs. Winner of Group 2, Noon