Conference USA recap for May 11-13

Rice has captured the regular season Conference USA Championship and will be the No. 1 seed at the C-USA Tournament in Greenville, N.C., May 23-27. The Owls are the first team to repeat as regular season Conference USA Champions since Tulane won back-to-back titles in 1997-98.

Rice swept all three games from Tulane over the weekend, increasing its winning streak to 14 games. The 14-game win string is tied for the third-longest in league history. Twice last season the Owls won 14 in a row.

The three losses gave Tulane a final conference record of 9-15, its first-ever losing record in Conference USA games. The Green Wave, who finish the regular with a series vs. Chicago State next weekend, are locked into the No. 7 seed at the conference tournament.

In addition to Rice, three other teams completed weekend sweeps, including two in league play. East Carolina moved into second place in the league standings after winning three in a row against UCF. UAB posted a series sweep at Marshall and the Blazers can finish no lower than sixth place in the regular season standings. In non-conference play, Southern Miss won three straight over Dallas Baptist, including a doubleheader sweep on Saturday that saw both games go to extra innings.

Houston and Memphis hooked up in a wild offensive explosion. The Cougars grabbed game one, 13-7 before the Tigers used a 10-run seventh inning to take game two, 16-10. UH won the series on Sunday with a 10-5 victory. Those two teams are now tied for third place entering the final week of conference play.

C-USA Standings

*****

Conference USA Players of the Week

A pair of batters that helped their teams win conference series on the road share this week's Hitter of the Wweek honors, as Houston's Ryan Lormand and UAB's Ryan Keedy share the award. Pitcher of the Week honors went to Rice freshman Ryan Berry, who wins the award for the third time this season after shutting down Tulane in Friday night's series opener.

Keedy helped lead the Blazers to a 3-1 record this past week with all four games being on the road. He hit an impressive .611 (11-for-18) for the week with a .944 slugging percentage. Errorless at first base for the week with 28 putouts, Keedy hit home runs in back-to-back innings at Troy on Tuesday. He laid down two sacrifice bunts for the week and walked three times. Keedy helped the Blazers clinch a C-USA Tournament berth with the club's sweep at Marshall, going 8-for-18 (.444) with four runs scored. The sweep also assured the team that it will finish no lower than sixth in the standings, the highest for the program since a fourth place finish in 1998.

Lormand, the Cougars leadoff hitter, scored at least two runs, hit safely in and knocked in at least one run in all three games at Memphis. He hit .556 (5-for-9) and topped all Cougars in runs (9), home runs (2), RBI (5), slugging percentage (1.222), walks (4), hit by pitches (2) and stolen bases (2). Lormand set the tone for the series in each game, reaching base safely to lead off and eventually scoring in the first inning. He led all players with four walks and tied career best with three RBI in the series opener on Friday. Lormand had a home run and scored four times on Saturday and closed out the series by starting a five-run first inning in a 10-5 win.

Berry, a true freshman, earned a win in his only appearance last week. The right-hander from Humble, Tex., worked a total of 8.0 innings in a nationally-televised start against C-USA foe Tulane on May 11. He did not allow any runs and gave up just two singles and one double. Berry registered six strikeouts with no walks and held 26 Green Wave batters to a composite .115 batting average before leaving the game with a comfortable 8-0 lead.

NCAA releases Division 2 and Division 3 Fields

The NCAA has released both its Division 2 and Division 3 brackets. The CBB will be attending a few games up at the Division 2 regional hosted by the Franklin Pierce Ravens who won the Northeast 10 conference. There will also be a Division 3 regional in Harwich MA in which Wheaton is the number 1 seeded team.

Division 2 Bracket
Division 3 Bracket

ACC Recap for May 13th

Clemson 11 FSU 6

The Clemson Tigers got two homers from Andy D'Alessio who also drove in five runs to hammer the FSU Seminoles 11-6. The victory by the Tigers clinched FSU's first series loss of the season. FSU starter Ryan Strauss was knocked out after 3.1 innings while giving up four runs. His record drops to 8-2. D.J. Mitchell started for the Tigers and was able to give them six innings where he allowed five runs.

Clemson Recap
FSU Recap

Georgia Tech 9 UNC 5 (Saturday's game)

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were able to finish off the Tar Heels and pick up a 9-5 victory in a suspended game from Saturday afternoon which was finished on Sunday. The Yellow Jackets received three hits from Wally Crancer including a homer to lead the Jackets to the victory and tie the series at a game a piece.

GT Recap
UNC Recap

UNC 14 Georgia Tech 11

Benji Johnson grabbed four hits to lead the Tar Heels to the 14-11 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the rubber game of their series. Luke Putkonen and Ryan Turner both lasted only 1.2 innings while giving up five runs a piece for their respective teams. Tim Federowicz got the victory in relief to even his record at 2-2 while Brad Rulon got the loss to drop to 2-3.

UNC Recap
GT Recap

NC State 8 Virginia 6

The NC State Wolfpack took game 3 of their series with Virginia to pick up a big conference series victory which basically clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament for the Wolfpack. NC State broke a 6-6 tie on a two run single by Ryan Pond to produce the winning runs for the Pack. Jake Rule get the loss for the Cavs by pitching 1.2 ineffective innings and giving up four walks and two runs to drop to 4-4. Andrew Taylor gets the win to put his record 3-2 and Erik McConnell got his 10th save of the season.

NC State Recap
UVA Recap

Duke 7 Virginia Tech 1 (Saturday's suspended game)
Virginia Tech 8 Duke 4

The Duke Blue Devils were able to clinch a series victory with a 7-1 victory in their suspended game from Saturday which was continued on Sunday. The Devils scored five runs in the sixth inning to take control and cruise to the victory in Game 1. In Sunday's originally scheduled game, the Hokies were led by Warren Schaffer and Sean O'Brien each put up three hits in the game as the Hokies were able to salvage the final game of the series 8-4.

Duke Recap
VT Recap

Game 1: Boston College 12 UMES 5 (7 innings)
Game 2: Boston College 12 UMES 3

The Boston College Eagles headed out of conference this weekend as they hosted the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks. They ended up finishing up the sweep of the Hawks on Sunday with 12-5 and 12-3 victories. Jared McGuire led the Ealges by going 4 for 7 on the day and Tony Sanchez drove in four runs in Game 1 as the Eagles cruised to the victory.

BC Recap

No. 7 Texas cruises to 10-4 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff!

It was one of those occasions that Texas fans don't see very often. For some, it may have been a first: Longhorns cheering for the Oklahoma Sooners.

However strange that may sound, it was the case Saturday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field as the score of Oklahoma's game with Missouri was announced during Texas' game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Oklahoma won 5-0, boosting the Longhorns' chances for a second consecutive Big 12 Conference title. The Longhorns' "magic number" dropped to two. Two victories by Texas (39-14, 18-6) next weekend against Texas A&M — or two more losses by second-place Missouri (34-14, 15-8) — would clinch the title for Texas. Missouri has four conference games left.

In the meantime, the Longhorns defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 10-4 in a nonconference game intended to keep Texas sharp before the A&M series, which begins Friday in College Station.

"We wanted to see how we could stay focused and concentrate," UT coach Augie Garrido said.

Russell Moldenhauer went 3 for 3 and drove in four runs for the Horns.

"This was one of my better days on the year," he said.

Moldenhauer hit his fifth home run of the season in the fifth inning to give Texas a 9-0 lead.

After he singled to make it a 10-0 game in the sixth, Arkansas-Pine Bluff tagged Josh Prince for four runs on three hits in the seventh.

TexasSports.com

Texas.Scout.com

The Citadel picks up a series victory over GA Southern

The Citadel Bulldogs have picked up their second straight victory over the previously hot Georgia Southern Eagles by a score on Saturday of 8-3 and 9-1 on Friday. On Saturday, The Citadel got four long balls to pace the team to the victory. Wes Wrenn pitched a complete game on Friday while only allowing only the one run to up his record to 4-5.

The Citadel Saturday Recap
GA Southern Saturday Recap
The Citadel Friday Recap
GA Southern Friday Recap

ACC Recap for May 12th

Clemson 7 Florida State 6

The Clemson Tigers got to Luke Tucker for three runs in the top of the ninth to erase a two run deficit and turn it into a 7-6 victory over the second ranked Seminoles. The Tigers took advantage of two walks by Tucker sandwiched around a single from Marquez Smith to load the bases for Taylor Harbin. He proceeded to hit a two run double down the left field line to tie the game at 6. Mark Martin then brought in Michael Hyde who intentionally walked the first batter he faced in Ben Paulsen. (I hate seeing relief pitchers coming into games to throw intentional walks). Doug Hogan then hit a sharp groundball to third baseman Jason Stidham who threw to second base but the relay throw to first was not in time to let the runner on third score the winning run. The Tigers got the final three outs from Alan Farina who ended up pitching 4.1 shutout innings of relief to pick up the win and up his record to 4-2. Luke Tucker picks up his first decision of the season who puts his record at 0-1.

Clemson Recap
FSU Recap

Virginia 4 NC State 2 (completion of yesterday's game)

Tyler Cannon was left on third base in a game tied at 2 when the rains came on Friday. When the game resumed on Saturday, Cannon promptly came home on a wild pitch from Jeff Stallings to take a 3-2. One batter later, Jeremy Farrell hit a homer to left to set up the final scoreline of 4-2.

Virginia Recap
NC State Recap

NC State 10 Virginia 7

The NC State Wolfpack scored eight runs in the first four innings to grab control of the second game of their weekend series with Virginia. The Wolfpack were led on offense by Marcus Jones who went 3-4 with two RBI. Sean Doolittle led the Cavs at the plate by going 2-4 with four RBI. Matt Packer got the loss for the Cavs as he was rocked for three runs in 1.2 innings with his record evening up at 3-3 while Jimmy Gillheeney got the win in relief to up his record to 4-2.

NC State Recap
UVA Recap

Miami 9 Wake Forest 8 (14 innings, completion of yesterday's game)

Jemile Weeks with one out in the 14th inning hit a single up the middle. After a strikeout to Dave DiNatale, Dennis Raben walked to force Weeks to second base. Gus Menendez then hit a line drive that landed in left field that drove in the speedy Weeks with the winning run. Eric Erickson picks up the victory by pitching three scoreless innings to put his record at 8-3. Eric Nielsen picks up the loss by going the final 4.1 innings to drop his record to 5-5.

Miami Recap
Wake Forest Recap

Wake Forest 12 Miami 10

Austin Jones hit a walk-off two run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Deacons a huge victory over the Miami Hurricanes in ACC action on Saturday. The Deacons came back from three two run deficits on the day and were able to get the win as they are battling for the final spot in the ACC Tournament with Boston College. Josh Ellis picked up the win to put his record at 5-2 while Michael Rudman got his first decision of the season to put his record at 0-1.

Wake Forest Recap
Miami Recap

Boston College 10 Maryland-Eastern Shore 2

The Boston College Eagles came back from the finals break and were able to pick up a 10-2 victory over the lowly Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks. Kevin Boggan only allowed 2 hits as he only pitched four innings to get some work in before an important series with Virginia this upcoming week. Ted Ratliff also pitched four innings and allowed both runs on three hits. Boston College blew open the game by scoring seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to let the BC Eagles cruise to the victory.

BC Recap
UMES Recap

Suspended Games

GT 6 UNC 1 Bottom of the fifth

GT Recap
UNC Recap

Virginia Tech 1 Duke 0 Top of the fifth

Virginia Tech Recap
Duke Recap

Cajuns take Sun Belt Title

One of our loyal readers sent me the above link of the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns winning the Sun Belt regular season title by crushing Arkansas-Little Rock by a score of 28-3 on Saturday. The championship is the Cajuns second title in the last three years. They missed the title in 2006 by a measly one game.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Recap
Arkansas-Little Rock Recap

CSTV Update

CSTV has been providing some excellent coverage this year. We have linked to some of the best content from the previous week below.

CSTV Player of the Year Watch

Doug Kroll's Bubble Watch

CSTV Tourney Projections

Eric Sorenson's Blog

Touching the Bases Blog

Going Yard Road Trip

Northeast-10 Tourney Preview

The Northeast-10 Conference Tournament takes place today in Lowell MA at the home of the Lowell Spinners. The teams participating are the Bryant University Bulldogs, UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Franklin Pierce Ravens, and Pace Settlers. Bryant knocked off Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday by a score of 4-2 while Pace University beat Bentley 5-2 in the opening round of the tourney. Franklin Pierce and UMass-Lowell each got byes in the tournament. Franklin Pierce (41-8) enters the weekend as the Number 1 ranked team in the Northeast region by the NCBWA. UMass-Lowell enters as the second seed with a record of 33-16 while Bryant is 29-20 and Pace is 28-24.

The College Baseball Blog will be attending the Northeast-10 Tourney this weekend likely on Sunday. The Blog will be taking the teaching exam on Saturday and might head up after the all-day exam but likely will spend Mother's Day in Lowell taking in the final games of the Northeast-10 Tourney.

Click here to listen to the FPC-Pace Game at 7 pm
Click here to listen to the Bryant-UML Game at 4 pm

Northeast-10 Official Website

The Citadel welcomes Georgia Southern

The Citadel Bulldogs will host Georgia Southern as they close out their home schedule with a weekend series with the Eagles.

Probable Starters

Friday: Wes Wrenn (3-6, 5.87 ERA) vs Aaron Eubanks (3-2, 3.23 ERA)
Saturday: Matt Crim (4-3, 5.76 ERA) vs Brian Wilkerson (4-7, 6.12 ERA)
Sunday: Matt Reifsnider (3-2, 4.58 ERA) vs Josh Lairsey (2-1, 6.75 ERA)

The Citadel Game Notes
GA Southern Game Notes

ACC Weekend Preview for May 11th-May 13th

Clemson at Florida State

The Clemson Tigers head down to Tallahassee, FL to take on the FSU Seminoles in a key ACC matchup for the upcoming ACC Championship in two weeks. Clemson enters the series with an overall record of 32-17 and an ACC record of 15-9. The Tigers are coming off a split of their mid-week out of conference games picking up a victory over Wofford 12-3 and lost to Furman 6-3. The Tigers survived a scare from Boston College last weekend as they took two out of three games. Doug Hogan is the active hitting leader for the Tigers with his .326 average while Brad Chaulk leads the team with a .407 average and might be back for the weekend series. Florida State enters with a 42-7 overall record and an outstanding 20-4 in the ACC. Florida State is coming off a three game sweep last weekend over Maryland in College Park. Florida State is led by number 1 starter Bryan Henry who enters the weekend with a perfect 12-0 with a 2.59 ERA. Tony Thomas Jr. leads the team in hitting with a .439 average. The CBB predicts that FSU sweeps the Tigers.

Probable Starters

Friday: Bryan Henry (12-0, 2.59 ERA) vs Daniel Moskos (3-3, 2.20 ERA)
Saturday: Danny Rosen (2-1, 3.50 ERA) vs David Kopp (5-2, 3.30 ERA)
Sunday: Ryan Strauss (8-1, 3.03 ERA) vs TBA

Clemson Game Notes
FSU Game Notes
Tallahassee Democrat Article on Local Talent

Georgia Tech at North Carolina

The Yellow Jackets head to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels. Georgia Tech is coming off a loss to Georgia on Wednesday to drop their overall record to 30-18 (14-9 ACC). GT is led by All-American candidates Matt Wieters (.370 BA, 9 HR) and Danny Payne (.379 BA). North Carolina enters the weekend on a hot streak as they have won seven out of their last eight games overall. North Carolina's overall record is 39-10 and 16-8 in the ACC. They are led by senior pitcher Robert Woodard who is an impressive 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA. Dustin Ackley leads the team in average at .444. The CBB predicts UNC to win two out of three games.

Probable Starters

Friday: David Duncan (6-2, 2.77) vs. Robert Woodard (7-2, 2.82)
Saturday: Eddie Burns (3-2, 3.09) vs. Alex White (4-3, 3.29)
Sunday: Ryan Turner (5-3, 4.24) vs. Luke Putkonen (6-1, 4.10)

GT Game Notes
UNC Game Notes

NC State at Virginia

The NC State Wolfpack head to Virginia this weekend in a key series for the Wolfpack in terms of getting into the ACC and NCAA tourneys. The Cavs are looking to secure hosting a regional in the NCAA Tournament. NC State has recently been led by Ryan Pond who is hitting .429 over the last eight games. Virginia has continued to receive outstanding pitching from Jacob Thompson who is a perfect 10-0 record and an 1.38 ERA. The CBB predicts that UVA sweeps the Wolfpack behind strong pitching.

Probable Starters

Friday: Eric Surkamp (4-2, 2.72) vs Jacob Thompson (10-0, 1.38)
Saturday: Andrew Brackman (6-4, 3.65) vs Matt Packer (3-2, 3.39)
Sunday: TBA vs Sean Doolittle (7-3, 2.11)

NC State Game Notes
UVA Game Notes

Miami at Wake Forest

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Miami Hurricanes meet in Winston-Salem as both schools are trying to secure spots in the ACC Tournament. The Boston College Eagles are right on the heel of the Deacons as they are only 1/2 game back while Miami could miss the ACC Tournament also if they fall off the map these next two weekends. Miami is led by Yonder Alonso (.371 BA, 16 HR, 60 RBI) and Mark Sobolewski (.357 BA) give the Hurricanes two potent bats. Wake Forest is led Brett Linenkohl who is hitting .418 over the last 17 games. The CBB predicts Miami to sweep the Deacons.

Probable Starters

Friday: Garrett Bullock (3-1, 4.44) vs Scott Maine (4-5, 3.19)
Saturday: Brad Kledzik (4-3, 4.79) vs Eric Erickson (7-3, 2.03)
Sunday: Ben Hunter (5-5, 4.97) vs Enrique Garcia (5-3, 3.12)

Wake Forest Game Notes
Miami Game Notes

Virginia Tech at Duke

The Virginia Tech Hokies head down to Duke in a series with very little impact on any postseason baseball. The CBB predicts VT takes two out of three games.

Probable Starters

Friday: Greg Fryman (2-8, 7.83 ERA) vs TBA
Saturday: Andrew Wells (3-4, 5.10 ERA) vs TBA
Sunday: Adam Redd (2-5, 3.91 ERA) vs TBA

Conference USA Wednesday recap

Memphis 8, Arkansas State 7
MEMPHIS - With the Tigers trailing by a run in the bottom of the ninth and down to its last strike, freshman Tyler Huelsing lifted a game-tying RBI-single to center and then scored from first on an error by the Arkansas State outfield to push Memphis past ASU 8-7 in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night at Nat Buring Stadium. The Tigers improve to 31-18 with its 11th last at-bat win. Arkansas State falls to 19-30.

Memphis will host C-USA foe Houston in its final home series of the year, beginning Friday. Arkansas State hosts Louisiana-Monroe in a Sun Belt Conference Series.

Arkansas State recap
Memphis recap

No. 3 Rice 6, Texas State 4
HOUSTON -- The Rice trio of Brian Friday, Joe Savery and Aaron Luna all collected three hits, and the Owls combined a big five-run third inning and a stellar relief outing by Matt Langwell to claim a 6-4 win over visiting Texas State Wednesday evening at Reckling Park in Houston. The victory was the Owls' 11th in a row and the 19th win in the last 20 games.

Rice improved to 38-11 on the season. Texas State fell to 32-18 overall.

The Owls' eight-game homestand continues with a three-game Conference USA weekend series May 11-13 at Reckling Park. Rice hosts Tulane in the second-to-last league series of the season. CSTV Networks has announced that the Friday baseball contest will be available as part of a special pay-per-view event. The special presentation of this match-up will be available live and on-demand via Internet video streaming. The Bobcats return to Southland Conference action Friday when they open a three-game series with McNeese State in San Marcos.

Texas State recap
Rice recap

No. 4 North Carolina 5, No. 30 East Carolina 1
GREENVILLE, N.C. - No. 4 North Carolina used seven pitchers to record 17 strikeouts as the Tarheels defeated No. 30 East Carolina 5-1 in front of the second largest crowd in school history (5,076 fans) Wednesday night at Clark-LeClair Stadium. The win allowed UNC to sweep the two-game series between the two schools.

North Carolina improved to 39-10 while East Carolina fell to 32-17.

The Pirates will be back in action this Friday night when they host UCF in a three-game Conference USA series. The Tar Heels are back in action at home this weekend for a three-game ACC set against Georgia Tech beginning Friday.

North Carolina recap
East Carolina recap

ACC Recap for May 9th

UNC 5 East Carolina 1

The North Carolina Tar Heels received homers from Tim Federowicz, Chad Flack, and Reid Fronk all hit homers to led the Tar Heels to a 5-1 victory at East Carolina. The Tar Heels used the game to get seven different pitchers some work and they were impressive as they combined to strike out 17 hitters while only allowing one run. Matt Danford picked up the win to put his record at 4-0 while Jeff Ostrander got the loss for East Carolina to drop his record to 2-1.

UNC Recap
East Carolina Recap

Furman 6 Clemson 3

The Furman Paladins picked up a surprising 6-3 victory over regional rival Clemson. The Paladins got a two run triple from Bobby Hubbard in the eighth inning to break open a close game. Furman reliever Spencer Hale pitched 3.1 strong innings while giving up only one run to pick up his first victory of the year for an overall record of 1-2. Clemson reliever P.J. Zocchi gave up two runs in four innings and grabbed the loss to drop his record to 3-2.

Furman Recap
Clemson Recap

UNC-Wilmington 8 NC State 4

Mark Carver led the Seahawks with three hits and drove in three runs to lead UNC-Wilmington to a 8-4 victory over NC State on Wednesday. Cody Dickens pitched four shutout innings to pick up the victory to put his record at 2-2 on the season while Wolfpack starter Sam Brown gets the loss as he up three runs in 2.1 innings to even his record at 1-1.

UNC-Wilmington Recap
NC State Recap

Duke 5 UNC-Greensboro 4

The Duke Blue Devils picked up a come from behind 5-4 victory over UNC-Greensboro in non-conference action. The Blue Devils scored three runs in the top of the ninth to grab the lead and were able to get the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory. The three run ninth was highlighted by a Brett Bartles two run homer to tie the game. After the Bartles home run, Alexander Hassan picked up a walk and was driven in by a Gabriel Saade triple. Duke reliever Michael Ness picked up the win to put his record at 4-3 while UNC-Greensboro reliever Kory Judd got the loss to even his record at 4-4.

Duke Recap
UNC-Greensboro Recap

Georgia 9 Georgia Tech 4

The Georgia Bulldogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets completed their season series with Georgia picking up a 9-4 victory to clinch the season series victory over the Yellow Jackets. The Bulldogs got great games from Matt Olson and Travis Parrott who each drove in three runs to lead the Bulldog offense. Ryan Wooley picked up the win in relief by pitching a perfect 0.2 innings to put his record at 1-1 on the season. Brad Rulon was credited with the loss to even his record at 2-2.

UGA Recap
GT Recap

Virginia Tech 9 VMI 0

The Virginia Tech Hokies picked up a 9-0 shutout victory at VMI on Wednesday. They were led by Rob Whitey, Andrew Wells, Scott Stoehr, and Rhett Ballard who combined on a three hit shutout of VMI. Whitey ups his record to 2-0 while VMI starter Chris Henderson gets the loss to put his record at 5-3.

VT Recap
VMI Recap

South Carolina takes out The Citadel

The South Carolina Gamecocks picked up their third win in their last four games with a 12-3 victory over intrastate rival The Citadel. Justin Smoak led the Gamecocks by picking up his 16th homer of the year while Phil Disher went 3-3 with an RBI. South Carolina starter Mike Cisco pitched seven strong innings while striking out ten Bulldog batters to up his record to 4-2. Chris McGuinness started for the Bulldogs but labored through two innings while giving up three runs on five hits. His record evens at 2-2 on the season.

South Carolina Recap
The Citadel Recap

Conference USA Tuesday recap

Memphis 10, Arkansas State 5
JONESBORO, Ark. - Freshman Brennon Martin scattered 10 hits and struck out four in 6.1 innings of work and senior Adam Amar tied the Memphis' all-time RBI record with a run-scoring single in the first inning, as the Tigers clinched their 30th win of the year in a 10-5 victory over Arkansas State Tuesday evening at Tomlinson Stadium. Amar's RBI was his 170th and ties him with Chris Marable, who lettered at the U of M from 1986-89.

The win guarantees the Tigers' fourth winning season since 1995. It also seals the program's first back-to-back winning seasons since the 1994 and 1995 campaigns. Memphis is now 30-18 on the year and Arkansas State is 19-29. The evening also marked the official opening of Barton's Baseball Deck at ASU's Tomlinson Stadium.

The two squads will meet in the series finale on Wednesday at Nat Buring Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.

Memphis recap
Arkansas State recap

Troy 20, UAB 15
TROY, Ala. - The UAB Blazers entered Tuesday's game at Troy as one of only three teams in the nation to have more triples than home runs, but that all changed as the Blazers blasted a season-high six home runs, only to be outdone by the Trojans who out-slugged the Blazers for a 20-15 victory at Riddle-Pace Field. Junior first baseman Ryan Keedy had two home runs to highlight his 3-for-4 showing.

Troy improves to 30-20 with the win, while UAB is now 20-30 and has completed its non-conference schedule.

The Blazers will next be in action on Friday when they begin a three-game Conference USA series at Marshall at 6 p.m. Troy will close out its home schedule with a Sun Belt Conference series against New Orleans this weekend. First pitch Friday night is set for 6 p.m.

UAB recap
Troy recap

UCF 14, Stetson 3
DELAND, Fla. - Mitch Herold's career-high nine strikeouts and the offense's record-breaking eighth inning enabled the UCF baseball team to defeat Stetson, 14-3, Tuesday in DeLand, Fla. The Knights (24-26) sent 17 batters to the plate in the eighth vs. the Hatters (36-13), notching 10 hits and scoring 11 runs, the most runs ever in an eighth inning by a UCF offense.

The Conference USA schedule resumes this weekend as UCF wraps up its seven-game road trip at No. 30 East Carolina. First pitch of the three-game series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. Stetson travels to Nashville, Tenn. to face Lipscomb in an Atlantic Sun Conference series.

Central Florida recap
Stetson recap

Citadel 8, No. 30 East Carolina 6
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Ryan Wood's career night was not enough to help East Carolina, as the Pirates fell 8-6 to The Citadel Tuesday night in midweek action at Clark-LeClair Stadium.

The Pirates will be back in action Wednesday night when the play host to No. 4 North Carolina. Jeff Ostrander will take the hill for ECU with a first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. (EDT). The Citadel will travel to Columbia, S.C. to face No. 7 South Carolina. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. EDT.

The Citadel recap
East Carolina recap

McNeese State to give away a Toyota Camry

The McNeese Baseball Program is doing a promotion on May 19th as they will host Armed Forces Day and give away a 1995 Toyota Camry. The Armed Forces Day will consist of military vehicles being at the stadium including Blackhawk Helicopter, Hummers, and other military vehicles. Local veterans will throw out the first. Lake Charles Toyota has donated the 1995 Toyota Camry but why couldn't they give away a brand new car instead?

McNeese State Release

The Citadel upsets ECU

FROM THE CITADEL PRESS RELEASE

Greenville, N.C. – Senior Justin Smith posted a strong outing for his sixth win of the year as sophomore Sonny Meade knocked in three to help lead The Citadel past No. 30 East Carolina, 8-6, in non-conference baseball action at Clark-LeClair stadium Tuesday night. The Bulldogs earned their second win over a ranked opponent this season after upsetting No. 1 South Carolina, 7-6, on Feb. 18 at Riley Park.

The Bulldogs improve to 26-21 on the year while the Pirates fall to 32-16. Senior Chance Smith and freshman Richard Jones paced the Dogs at the plate as they registered three hits each. Jones was only a triple shy of the cycle as he smashed his ninth home run of the season to give The Citadel an early lead in the first. Senior right fielder Joe Hoerter registered his first career hit with an RBI-single in the seventh as he made his first career start in the contest.

Ryan Wood had his first two home run outing and drove in four of ECU’s six runs. Wood was 4-for-5 on the night. The Citadel enjoyed 15 hits to the Pirates’ nine.

Justin Smith (6-3) enjoyed his longest outing since going seven against Columbia on March 11. The right-hander tossed 6.0 innings, holding the Pirates to only two runs on six hits while fanning four and walking three. Josh Ruhlman (4-1) suffered his first loss of the year as he went 3.2 frames, giving up six runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out three.

The Citadel attacked first as Jones blasted his second home run in as many games to give the Dogs a 1-0 advantage in the second. The Bulldogs got two on in the third courtesy of consecutive, one-out singles by sophomore designated hitter Sonny Meade and senior first baseman Zach Brown. Pirate starter Mike Anderson was then lifted for left-hander Josh Ruhlman who forced a strikeout and a fly out to end the frame.

East Carolina went ahead with a two-out, two-run shot in the third as Wood enjoyed his fourth round-tripper of the season. Ryan Tousley followed that up with a bunt single and tried to score on a single to right off the bat of Stephen Batts but was gunned down at the plate by Hoerter to end the inning.

The Bulldogs evened it up in the fourth on an RBI-single off the bat of Chance Smith and then recaptured the lead with two runs in the fifth. A throwing error by Pirate first baseman Batts allowed junior left fielder Chris Swauger to race all the way to second to start things off. Swauger took third on a passed ball and came in to score on a groundout by Meade. Brown and Jones smacked back-to-back base hits, while Brown moved to second on another throwing error. Freshman second baseman Bryan Altman then knocked in Brown on a fielder’s choice.

Meade extended The Citadel advantage to four in the sixth as he punched one through the right side to plate two with two outs. Two RBI-singles by freshman shortstop Kyle Jordan and Hoerter gave the Dogs two more in the seventh to make it 8-2.

Wood notched his second home run of the contest in the seventh to add a run for the Pirates before ECU was able to pull within two with three runs in the eighth. The Bulldogs walked the bases loaded before a wild pitch allowed the first run to score. An RBI-groundout by Jamie Ray made it 8-5 before Wood drove in his fourth run of the evening with a base hit through the left side. The Dogs then called on freshman lefty Nick Sprowls to force the final out and get The Citadel out of the inning still up by two.

Altman extended his hitting streak to 11 games in the ninth with a one-out, ground-rule double that bounced over the left center field wall. He was the only runner aboard for the Dogs that inning as Jason Neitz took to the hill and caught two Bulldogs swinging.

Sprowls returned in the ninth to get two quick outs before surrendering a two-bagger that was just fair down the left field line. The freshman then forced pinch-hitter David Forbes to go down on strikes to earn his second save of the year and preserve the 8-6 victory.

The Bulldogs are now 2-4 versus ranked opponents in 2007 while the contest with the Pirates was the first time the Dogs faced a nationally ranked foe on the road. The Citadel will now go to Columbia, S.C. to take on No. 7 South Carolina on May 9 at Sarge Frye Field. First pitch is slated for 8 p.m.

ECU Recap

NCBWA names National Players of the Week

DALLAS - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the Pro-Line Athletic National Player of the Week awards for the period ending May 8, today. Texas A&M junior infielder/outfielder Blake Stouffer was named National Hitter of the Week, while Hawai'i sophomore right-hander Matt Daly was named National Pitcher of the Week. The NCBWA Board reviews candidates from each Division I conferences each week and names winners each Tuesday throughout the season.

Stouffer hit .900 (9-for-10) for the week with eight RBIs in three games. The San Antonio, Texas, native also contributed three doubles, a home run and seven runs scored against Dallas Baptist. He slugged 1.500 and had an on-base percentage of .875, drawing four walks and was hit by a pitch. In Thursday's series opener and victory (11-10), Stouffer went 5-for-5 with two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scored. Friday the Aggies defeated the Patriots, 3-0 and Stouffer went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. In the series sweep on Saturday (14-6), Stouffer went 1-for-1 with a two-run homer and bases-loaded walk.

Daly, a Yorba Linda, Calif., native threw a one-hit complete-game shutout in Hawai'i's 8-0 victory at Hawai'i-Hilo on Friday. Daly took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, before giving up a single with one out. He walked the leadoff hitter to start the game before retiring the next 25 batters. He also struck out a career-high nine in the game.

With this week's honor, Daly automatically are named to the watch list for Roger Clemens Award, given to the national collegiate pitcher of the year, sponsored by the Greater Houston Baseball Organization.

Fort Worth-based Pro-Line Athletic supplies the official cap to more than 100 Division I college teams and official uniforms and team wear to six Division 1 college teams. This is the third season Pro-Line has sponsored the NCBWA's Players of the Week. The sponsorship provides for plaques to be awarded to each of the weekly winners and other promotional consideration. For more information about Pro-Line, visit their Website at: www.prolineathletic.com.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Website, www.ncbwa.com.

For more information, contact NCBWA Assistant Executive Director Mike Montoro (601-266-5947, michael.montoro@usm.edu).

2007 WINNERS:
Pro-Line Athletic Co., Hitter of the Week - Feb. 13 - Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt; Feb. 20 - Jericho Jones, Louisiana Tech; Feb. 27 - Mike Bianucci, Auburn; March 6 - David Doss, South Alabama; March 13 - Justin Bour, George Mason; March 20 - Corey Brown, Oklahoma State; March 27 - Matt LaPorta, Florida; April 3 - Tony Thomas, Jr., Florida State; April 10 - Travis Jones, South Carolina; April 17 - Kellen Kulbacki, James Madison; April 24 - Ryan Heath, Oakland; May 1 - Matt Horwath, UCF; May 8 - Blake Stouffer, Texas A&M.
Pro-Line Athletic Co., Pitcher of the Week - Feb. 13 - Spencer Steedley, Charlotte; Feb. 20 - James Simmons, UC Riverside; Feb. 27 - Brian Matusz, San Diego; March 6 - Sean Urena, Cal State Fullerton; March 13 - David Price, Vanderbilt; March 20 - Lance Lynn, Ole Miss; March 27 - Eric Rohr - Saint Louis; April 3 - Trey Barham, VMI; April 10 - Ryan Berry, Rice; Rick Zagone, Missouri; April 17 - Brad Brach, Monmouth; April 24 - Scott Barnes, St. John's; May 1 - James Adkins, Tennessee; May 8 - Matt Daly, Hawai'i.

Conference USA baseball notebook

As Conference USA enters the final two weeks of the regular season, there is still a lot to be decided. While Rice has a stranglehold on first place, the race for second contains many contenders, as does the quest for NCAA Tournament at-large selections. And, elsewhere in the standings, the jockeying for tournament seeding continues.

HITTER OF THE WEEK

MICHAEL EWING, SOUTHERN MISS Sophomore, OF, Beaumont, Texas Ewing batted .600 (6-for-10) to help lead the Golden Eagles to a 3-0 series sweep over Marshall this past weekend. He had three doubles, one home run and seven RBI in the series, while also drawing three walks and scoring three runs. In Friday night's opener, Ewing had a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer to account for four RBI. He finished with a .643 on-base percentage and collected 12 bases for a 1.200 slugging percentage for the week.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
T.J. HOSE, EAST CAROLINA Junior, RHP, Hagerstown, Md. Hose improved to 6-4 on the season after picking up the win in Friday night's 3-1 victory at Houston on CSTV. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out five. After giving up a hit in the first inning, Hose retired 16 of the next 18 batters, including 14 in a row at one point, and did not allow a runner past second base. The 7.2 innings worked tied a season-high and his four hits allowed was the second-fewest he has given up this season.

Click here for entire notebook.

The Citadel prepares for non-conference action

The Citadel Bulldogs will head to East Carolina on Tuesday and South Carolina on Wednesay in key out of conference game for the Bulldogs. The Citadel are comign off a weekend series in which they lost two out of three games against Southern Conference foe UNC-Greensboro. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs will send Senior starter Justin Smith (5-3, 6.75 ERA) to the mound to make his first start since April 1st to face East Carolina who has not annouced a starter yet. East Carolina picked up a weekend sweep over Houston in Conference USA action. On Wednesday, The Citadel will head to Columbia SC to take on the University of South Carolina. South Carolina is coming off a weekend in which they took two out of their three games with Kentucky. The starter for the Gamecocks is expected to be Mike Cisco (3-2, 4.63 ERA) against an undetermined starter for The Citadel.

The Citadel Game Notes
ECU Game Notes
South Carolina Game Notes