FROM THE CITADEL PRESS RELEASE

Charleston, S.C. – No. 9 Wofford defeated seventh-seeded The Citadel, 6-2, in their very first meeting in tournament history Friday afternoon in the third round of the Southern Conference Tournament at Riley Park. Eric Sturkie’s solo home run in the second proved to be the game-winner as he paced the Terriers with two RBI on the day. The Bulldogs will play the winner of the Elon-UNC Greensboro game Friday night to figure out who they will face Saturday, May 26 at noon at Riley Park.

The Bulldogs’ only runs were scored by two homers as junior left fielder Chris Swauger and freshman catcher Richard Jones each belted a round-tripper in the contest. Unfortunately it was not enough for the Dogs even though they matched Wofford’s 11 hits.

Swauger, Jones and senior first baseman Zach Brown each collected two hits on the day. Brown ripped his 21^st double of the season, tying him for fifth place in single-season two-baggers, along with Swauger who hit that mark in 2006. Brown is also tied for fifth in all-time doubles with 52.

Freshman lefty Nick Sprowls (0-2) suffered the loss in only his second career start as the went 1.2 frames, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out and walking one. Terrier starter Ben Austin (11-5) earned his second win of the tourney after taking a 5-3 victory over Furman in the first game of the single-elimination round. Austin tossed 5.2 innings as he was responsible for both homers and surrendered eight hits while fanning two and walking one.

The Citadel jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first with Swauger’s solo shot over the right field wall. Wofford did not stay behind long as the Terriers answered back with two of their own. Michael Gilmartin punched a single through the left side to start things off and moved to second on a sac bunt. Shane Kirkley then tripled to the gap in right center to plate Gilmartin. Brandon Waring followed that up with a base hit to left to drive in Kirkley and give Wofford a 2-1 advantage.

Sturkie added to the Terrier lead in the second as he registered a solo job just inside the right field foul pole. Freshman catcher Richard Jones pulled the Bulldogs back within one in the fourth as he went deep for the third time in four games to make it 3-2. Jones now has 15 round-trippers on the season to lead the club.

A Bulldog error in the fifth led to three unearned runs to put Wofford up by four. Adam Wood notched an infield single with one out before Sterling Dye bunted one back to the mound that was mishandled, allowing Dye to reach safely while putting Wood on second. Keith Munns drew a walk to load the bases for Sturkie who lifted a sac fly to right to drive in Wood. Gilmartin notched a double to push Dye across the dish. Munns then raced home on a wild pitch before Bulldog hurler Link Saunders forced a groundout to get out of the inning.

The Citadel put three runners in scoring position over the final four frames, but was unable to push any across. The Dogs even threatened in the ninth with two outs as they put runners on first and second, but Terrier closer Charles Vartanian caught the final batter looking to preserve the 6-2 win and pick up the save. Vartanian closed out the final 3.1 frames and held the Dogs to only three hits while not giving up any runs and striking out five.

Saunders posted another solid outing after recording a save in each of the last two Citadel victories. The right-hander relieved Justin Smith in the fifth and held the Terriers scoreless and only allowed one hit while fanning three and walking one. Smith registered four strikeouts of his own, also in three innings of work.

No. 7 The Citadel will return to tournament action on Saturday, May 26 at noon and will either have a rematch with No. 3 Elon or will face No. 5 UNC Greensboro.

Tags: Southern Conference, The Citadel, Wofford

Monmouth 7 Central Connecticut State 1

Monmouth advance to the Northeast Conference Championship game with a 7-1 victory over Central Connecticut State in a winner bracket game on Friday afternoon. Monmouth got six innings from Ryan Buch as he let up one run on five hits to up his record to 9-2. Kyle Breese pitched three scoreless innings while giving up only one hit to pick up his first save of the season. The offense leader for the Hawks was Kyle Messineo who went 4-4. CCSU starter Ken Kerski only lasted 3.1 innings while giving up five runs to drop his record to 7-2.

Monmouth Recap
CCSU Recap

Quinnipiac 4 Mount St. Mary’s 1

The Bobcats kept their hopes alive of a NEC Conference Championship by knocking off Mount St. Mary’s in an elimination game 4-1. Quinnipiac starter Pat Egan pitched a complete game three hitter as he kept the Mount St. Mary’s offense off balance throughout the game and send the Bobcats to another elimination game to follow later in the evening. Egan’s record on the season goes to 4-3 while Mount St. Mary’s starter Andrew Germuth gets the loss to drop to 8-5. The Bobcat offense was led by Tim Binkoski who went 3-4 with two RBI and a run scored.

Quinnipiac Recap
Mount St. Mary’s Recap

Central Connecticut State 5 Quinnipiac 0

The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils ended intrastate rival Quinnipiac’s season with a 5-0 shutout victory in the last game on Friday evening which was an elimination game for each squad. Pat Scribner was masterful as he pitched a complete game shutout while striking out twelve batters and walking none. His record goes to 6-6 while Quinnipiac starter Chris Gloor gets the loss to drop his record to 4-2. The Blue Devils advance to the Championship game on Saturday against Monmouth where they have to defeat the Hawks twice to win the NEC Championship and get a spot in the NCAA Regionals.

CCSU Recap
Quinnipiac Recap

The NEC has recaps of every game available by clicking here.

The CBB is expected to be in attendance for the Championship game(s) on Saturday and will provide a full report from New Britain Stadium.

Tags: Central Connecticut, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, NCAA Tourney, Northeast Conference, Quinnipiac

Tulane broke open a one-run game in the sixth inning by adding three to its tally and tacked on another in the seventh to pull away from Southern Miss and grab a 6-2 victory in game ten of the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship at Clark-LeClair Stadium on the campus of East Carolina University. The victory was Tulane head coach Rick Jones’ 600th at the helm of the Green Wave and propelled his team into a Saturday semifinal game against No. 2 East Carolina at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Tulane (34-25) grabbed the early lead on an Anthony Scelfo solo home run to right field in the bottom of the first. The Wave then went up 2-0 when Aja Barto hit his sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth.

Southern Miss (38-21) cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the sixth inning after Michael Ewing crushed his seventh home run over the right field fence. The ball not only cleared the outfield wall, but the fence separating the baseball stadium from the football practice fields.

In the sixth, Tulane used two hits to score three runs and pull away from the Golden Eagles.

Game story

Tags: Southern Miss, Tulane

Wake Forest 3 Clemson 2 (Final)

Brett Linenkohl scored the tying run in the eighth inning and then in the bottom of the ninth drove home the winning run to lead Wake Forest to the 3-2 victory over Clemson. Brad Kledzik started for Wake Forest and gave them 7.1 innings while giving up six hits and two runs. Eric Nielsen picked up the victory by pitching the final 1.2 innings while giving up only one walk. Clemson starter Ryan Hinson 6.1 innings while giving up only one run but got a no-decision. Stephen Clyne pitched the ninth inning for the Tigers and gave up the winning run which was unearned in 0.2 innings. Wake Forest will take on Miami at 7 pm Saturday.

Wake Forest Recap
Clemson Recap

Miami 9 Florida State 3

Eric Erickson picked up his tenth victory of the season by giving up three runs in eight innings as the Hurricanes defeated Florida State 9-3 in Day 3 of the ACC Tournament. Ryan Strauss got the loss for the Seminoles as he gave up five runs in 4.2 innings. His record drops to 9-3. The Hurricanes were led on offense by Jemile Weeks who went 3-5 with 3 RBI and two runs scored. Tony Thomas Jr. led the Noles offense with a homer and a double while going 2-4. Florida State needs some help to get to the ACC Championship game as they need to defeat Clemson tomorrow at 4 pm and have Wake Forest defeat Miami in the nightcap.

Miami Recap
FSU Recap

Tags: ACC, ACC Tournament, Clemson, FSU, Wake Forest

In the first game of “Elimination Friday” in the Conference USA baseball tournament, Memphis left no doubt as to who would be moving on and who would be heading home. The Tigers scored five runs in the first and four in the second and cruised to a 12-6 victory over Central Florida. Ben Grisham went the distance for Memphis, allowing only four earned runs and striking out five.

Joey Lieberman highlighted the first-inning UM attack, smacking a three-run shot over left field that crossed the street behind the stadium before stopping. Three Golden Knight errors aided Memphis’ efforts in the second inning. A pair of Tiger errors and a Dwayne Bailey triple helped UCF get on the board in the fourth, cutting the Memphis lead to 9-3.

Memphis will face Rice in a 9 a.m. EDT contest on Saturday. Central Florida finishes its season at 27-32.

Tags: Memphis, UCF

Game 5: No. 6 Florida Atlantic 7, No. 7 Western Kentucky 6 (WKU Eliminated)

FAU Recap

Western Kentucky Recap

Game 6: No. 8 South Alabama 5, No. 5 Louisiana-Monroe 3 (ULM Eliminated)

USA Recap

ULM Recap

Game 7: No. 2 New Orleans 7, No. 3 Middle Tennessee 5

UNO Recap

Middle Tennessee State Recap

Game 8: No. 1 Louisiana 9, No. 4 Troy 7

Louisiana Recap

Troy Recap

The Daily Advertiser Recap

Tags: FAU, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, New Orleans, South Alabama, Sun Belt, Troy, Western Kentucky

Harrison Eldridge stole home (video link) in the bottom of the 10th inning to give East Carolina another dramatic victory in game eight of the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship at Clark-LeClair Stadium on the campus of East Carolina University. After the Pirates loaded the bases in the 10th, Eldridge broke for home on 1-0 pitch from Tyler Conn. Stephen Batts squared to bunt, but the pitch got away from the catcher and Eldridge crossed home plate for the deciding score.

Starting pitchers Barry Bowden and Dustin Sasser were both impressive though the first five scoreless innings. Sasser gave up the game’s first run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a lead-off solo home run by Jody Blount.

Sasser was then pulled from the game and finished with four strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.

Bailey Daniels entered the game for Sasser and kept the game close with 1.2 scoreless innings on one hit to keep the Pirates within striking distance.

Complete story here.

Tags: East Carolina, Southern Miss

Fueled by an outstanding relief performance from Matt Langwell, Rice defeated Memphis, 7-5, in game seven of the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship at Clark-LeClair Stadium on the campus of East Carolina University. The win moves the Owls into Saturday’s semifinals, while the Tigers move to Friday afternoon’s 3 p.m. game to face UCF. The victory was the 20th in a row for Rice, which sets a new Conference USA record.

Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Ryne Tacker had his roughest outing of the season, allowing five earned runs and four hits before being pulled in the first inning. Matt Langwell stepped in to shut the door on Memphis, throwing 7.1 innings of shutout ball. He struck out nine and walked just one to improve to 6-1 on the season.

Cole St.Clair secured the victory with a one-two-three ninth inning to pick up his sixth save in 11 appearances.

Complete story here.

Tags: Memphis, Rice

UConn 8 St. John’s 7 (Final)

UConn senior first baseman Matt Untiet hit a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the ninth to give the Huskies an 8-7 walkoff victory over St. John’s in an elimination game. Matt Karl (2-2) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to get the victory. Colin Lynch (1-1) got the loss for the Red Storm by giving up two runs in 2.2 innings. St. John’s is eliminated from the tournament and will await a possible NCAA tourney berth while UConn will play USF on Friday at 1 pm. The Huskies have to knock off USF twice tomorrow to advance to the Big East Championship game.

UConn Recap
St. John’s Recap

Rutgers 11 Villanova 0

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights got a fabulous start from Matt Giannini who pitched a complete game while scattering eleven hits as they cruised to an 11-0 victory over Villanova in an elimination game. Todd Frazier went 4-6 with two RBI and three runs scored. Villanova ends their season with a 29-25 record while Rutgers takes on Louisville at 10 am and need to beat the Cardinals twice to advance to the championship game on Saturday.

Rutgers Recap
Villanova Recap

Remember, The Big East is providing free webcasts which can be accessed by clicking here.

Tags: Big East, Big East Conference Tournament, Rutgers, St. John's, UConn, Villanova

Bryan Altman hit a grand slam to lead The Citadel to a 6-5 victory over Elon on Thursday evening. Bulldog Justin Smith (7-4) picked up the victory for The Citadel by pitching two innings while allowing only one run. Link Saunders picked up his seventh save by going two scoreless innings. Elon starter Jesse Lewter (4-4) got the loss as he gave up six runs in seven innings. The Citadel will face Wofford at 4:30 pm on Friday while Elon will play Appalachian State at 1 pm.

Tags: Elon, Southern Conference, The Citadel

Virginia 4 Georgia Tech 1 Final

Sean Doolittle gave the Cavaliers 5.1 innings while allowing only 1 run but picked up a no decision. Georgia Tech starter Eddie Burns gave up 1 run in six innings and also picked up the no decision. The Cavaliers got to Georgia Tech reliever Jared Hyatt (8-1) for three runs in two innings of work to get his first loss of the season. Jake Rule picked up the victory for the Cavs to put his record at 6-4. Michael Schwimer picked up his second save of the season as he didn’t allow a run in the final 1.1 innings. Brandon Guyer and Brandon Marsh each went 2-4 to lead the Cavs offense. Tony Plagman drove in the only run for the Yellow Jackets.

GT Recap
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Recap
UVA Recap
Daily Progress Recap

North Carolina 14 NC State 5 (Final)

The UNC Tar Heels picked up a big 14-5 victory over the NC State Wolfpack as they keep their hopes alive of making the ACC Championship game on Sunday. Robert Woodard worked through 7.2 innings while giving up all five Wolfpack runs to up his record to 9-2. The North Carolina offense was led by Tim Fedroff who went 4-5 with three runs scored and two RBI while Dustin Ackley went 3-6 with two runs scored and also drove in two runs. Eric Surkamp (4-4) started for the Wolfpack but was ineffective as he gave up seven runs (four earned) in five innings.

UNC Recap
NC State Recap
News and Observer Recap

Tags: ACC, ACC Tournament, NC State, UNC, UVA

On Thursday night, Tulane found itself caught in a pitcher’s battle. The Green Wave scattered eight hits and managed only two runs in their loss to East Carolina.

Things didn’t stay that way during their second-round game in the Conference USA Tournament. Tulane smacked 21 hits and topped its Wednesday total in three different innings as the Green Wave eliminated UAB 13-5.

Anthony Scelfo led the way for Tulane, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and one RBI. Four other Green Wave players had three hits on the day and four had multiple RBIs.

Tulane advances to a 6:30 p.m. EDT game on Friday against the loser of the East Carolina-Southern Miss game. UAB finished its season with a 25-34 mark under first-year coach Brian Shoop.

Tags: Tulane

Central Florida and Houston opened Day Two of the Conference USA Baseball Tournament with a game for the ages - at least for those who love dominating pitching.

Wes Musick went the distance for the Cougars in this elimination game, allowing only one run, six hits and striking out five. Unfortunately for him, UCF’s Jaager Good was better, allowing only four hits and no runs while striking out nine in his seven innings of work before turning it over to his bullpen. The Golden Knights sent the Cougars home in the elimination contest with a 1-0 decision.

Matt Horwath opened the home part of the sixth inning for UCF with a bunt for a single, and advanced to third thanks to the work of the next two Golden Knight batters. Kiko Vazquez brought Horwath home with a ground ball, and UCF had all the runs it would need to advance in the tournament.

UCF advances to a 3 p.m. Friday game against the loser of the Rice-Memphis contest later today. Houston ends its season with a 28-29 record.

Game story

Tags: Houston, UCF

The Sunbelt tournament started yesterday with the following games at South Alabama. A recap of the full game is available at The Daily Advertiser. Click here for a full day recap.

Middle Tennessee 6 Florida Atlantic 1

Recap

New Orleans 11 Western Kentucky 6

Recap

Troy 7 Louisiana-Monroe 0

Recap

Louisiana 3 South Alabama 2
(10 innings)

Recap
The Daily Advertiser Game Article

There has also been some talk about the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns hosting a NCAA Regional in the first round of the upcoming tournament. The full article can be found here. My projections have Louisiana going to Arkansas for the NCAA Regionals. The projections are available here.

Tags: FAU, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, NCAA Tourney, New Orleans, Regional Projections, South Alabama, Troy, Western Kentucky

FROM THE CITADEL PRESS RELEASE

Charleston, S.C. – Seventh-seeded The Citadel knocked off No. 2 Western Carolina, 7-2, in the first round of double-elimination play in the Southern Conference Tournament Tuesday night at Riley Park. Sophomore hurler Matt Crim tossed seven innings of shutout ball and tied a career-best eight strikeouts while freshman catcher Richard Jones belted his third home run in as many games.

The Bulldogs held the Catamounts scoreless all the way until two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Blake Murphy drew a bases loaded walk. Senior hurler Link Saunders came in to record the final out and pick up his sixth save of the year as he caught Kenny Smith looking to end the game.

Jones put the Bulldogs on the board first for the second consecutive night with a solo shot to right in the second inning. Jones has homered in the last three games, belting a round-tripper in his first at bat in the last two. Junior third baseman Matt Arnold was able to race home from third on a passed ball to give the Dogs a 2-0 advantage.

The Citadel struck again in the fourth as senior center fielder Chance Smith ripped a run-scoring double to the gap in left center. Junior left fielder Chris Swauger followed that up with a base hit up the middle to make it 4-0 Bulldogs.

Swauger earned his second RBI of the evening with a solo bomb off the batter’s eye in the ninth before sophomore Sonny Meade was awarded a free pass. Brown followed that up with a two-bagger off the top of the wall in right to plate freshman Matt Simonelli, who entered the game as a pinch-runner for Meade. Jones then sent Brown across the dish with a single to right, extending The Citadel lead to seven.

After holding opponents to 22 consecutive scoreless innings, the Bulldogs surrendered two bases-loaded walks with two outs in the ninth.

Crim (7-3) earned the victory for the Dogs as he tossed 7.0 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while fanning eight and walking four. Western starter Tyler Sexton (8-3) suffered the loss as he lasted 3.2 frames, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits while striking out two and walking one.

Swauger, Jones and Arnold each collected three-hits on the night as Arnold extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. Nick Liles lead the Catamount offense with three hits of his own, including a triple.

No. 7 The Citadel will now face No. 3 Elon in game 10 of the SoCon Tournament on Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Riley Park. The Bulldogs were 1-2 versus the Phoenix during the regular season when they visited Riley Park. The Dogs are 2-1 when facing Elon in the SoCon Tournament. The last time the two met in the tourney was in 2006 when The Citadel eliminated top-ranked Elon with a 14-11 victory.

Tags: Southern Conference, The Citadel, Western Carolina