May 24, 2009

Rankings are from CBI Composite Poll

2009 Conference Tournaments

CBI Live: #1 LSU 6, #8 Vanderbilt 2

Around the Tournaments
Rice scores two in eighth to win C-USA crown

Virginia claims ACC title, Louisville prevails in Big East

Conference USA

#2 Rice 8, #5 Southern Miss 6 (Southern Miss eliminated)

In Hattiesburg, Miss., Jimmy Comerota had a run-scoring infield single in the bottom of the eighth to snap a 6-6 tie as Rice (39-15) defeated host Southern Miss (35-23) to win the Conference USA title. Comerota stole second and scored an insurance run for the Owls. Brock Holt had three hits and a run, and Rick Hague had two hits and two runs for Rice. Diego Seastrunk and Anthony Rendon both drove in two for the Owls. Ryan Berry (right) pitched the ninth for his first save. Kameron Brunty and Tyler Koelling both knocked in two for the Golden Eagles.

ACC

#6 Virginia 6, #1 Florida State 3 (FSU eliminated)
In Durham, N.C., John Hicks knocked a two-run, one-out single with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to snap a 3-3 tie for sixth-seeded Virginia (43-12-1) as the Cavaliers beat top-seeded Florida State (42-16) for the ACC Championship. The Seminoles committed three errors, and the Cavs scored two unearned runs. Tyler Wilson (8-3) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, while Kevin Arico struck out the side in the ninth for his 10th save. Mike McGee went 4 for 4 with a run for FSU, while Jason Stidham had two hits, including a homer, and knocked in three for the Seminoles.

Big East

#1 Louisville 11, #6 Connecticut 3 (UConn eliminated)

In Clearwater, Fla., Andrew Clark, the tourney Most Outstanding Player, went 2 for 5 and Phil Wunderlich added a three-run homer as Louisville topped UConn for its second straight Big East title. Ryan Wright had a two-run double to cap a three-run first for the Cardinals (44-15). Mike Nemeth homered for the Huskies (36-24) before Adam Duvall went deep in the fourth and Josh Richmond’s two-run single made it 6-1. Wunderlich had his three-run knock in the ninth. Wright finished with three hits and two RBI. Nemeth and Peter Fatse both had three hits for UConn.

Atlantic Sun
#1 Jacksonville 7, #2 Lipscomb 4 (Lipscomb eliminated)
In DeLand, Fla., Alex Martinez blasted a two-run homer in the ninth, and Chuck Opachich was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for an insurance run to lift top-seeded Jacksonville (36-20) past second-seeded Lipscomb (21-31) to win the Atlantic Sun Championship. Both drove in a pair for the Dolphins, who scored a run in four consecutive innings, beginning in the fourth. Matt Loosen (4-1) pitched 2.1 scoreless and one-hit innings for the win.

Big 12

#1 Texas 12, #3 Missouri 7 (Missouri eliminated)

In Oklahoma City, Cameron Rupp had a grand slam to highlight an 11-run fourth as Texas outscored Missouri for the Big 12 title in front of 5,316 fans at Bricktown Ballpark. Brandon Loy and Preston Clark both had two hits and two RBI for the Longhorns (41-13-1). Austin Holt scored three and Greg Folgia drove in three for the Tigers (34-25).

Horizon

#3 Wright State 6, #1 Illinois-Chicago 2 (12) (UIC eliminated)

In Lorain, Ohio, Tristan Moore had an RBI double to snap a 2-2 tie in the top of the 12th and sparked a four-run rally as Wright State outlasted UIC to claim its third Horizon title. Ryan Ashe capped the 12th with a two-run single. Tourney MVP Kory Twede went 4 for 5 with two RBI for the Raiders (33-28). Michael Schum (4-6) allowed one earned run in 6.1 innings of relief with one walk and five strikeouts to earn the victory. Brett Schaefer had three hits and one RBI for the Flames (29-23). The Raiders will be making their third trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Southern

#2 Georgia Southern 7, #1 Elon 3 (Elon eliminated)

In Greenville, S.C., tourney Most Outstanding Player Kyle Blackburn belted a three-run homer in the top of the sixth to snap a scoreless tie and propel Georgia Southern past Elon to win the Southern Conference crown in front of 2,388 fans at Fluor Field. Shortly after Blackburn’s blast, the teams endured a 2:09 rain delay. When play resumed, Griffin Benedict had a two-run single to spark a three-run seventh as the Eagles (42-15) took a 6-0 lead. The Phoenix (40-16) scored three over the final two innings. Bennett Davis had two doubles for Elon. Chris Mederos (11-1) pitched five shutout innings prior to the rain delay with three hits, no walks and six strikeouts to earn the victory.

Sun Belt

#1 Middle Tennessee 3, #7 ULM 1 (ULM eliminated)
In Troy, Ala., the Blue Raiders scored all three of their runs in the third and held on as top-seeded Middle Tennessee (43-16) beat seventh-seeded ULM (32-27) for the Sun Belt Championship. Kenneth Roberts (10-1), the tourney MVP, gave up just one run on four hits over six innings with five strikeouts for the win. Coty Woods pitched three scoreless innings for his 14th save. Zach Dean went 2 for 3 with a walk and RBI for MTSU. Perry Smith had a double and a run for the Warhawks.

SWAC

1W Southern 12, 3E Alcorn State 10 (Alcorn State eliminated)

In Baton Rouge, La., Southern scored all its runs in the first four innings as it outscored Alcorn State to claim the SWAC crown on its home field. Brad McDavid had a three-double in a four-run third as the Jaguars (30-15) took the lead for good. Todd Stevenson had a three-run homer in the fourth to give Southern a 12-6 lead. The Braves (29-19) scored single runs in the fourth and fifth before Adrian Bowens and Jabari Graham knocked in runs in the eighth to make it 12-10. Alcorn State twice brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but could not plate the equalizer. Southern pitcher Jarrett Maloy was named MVP, going 2-0 in the tournament.

WAC

#3 Fresno State 5, #4 New Mexico State 3 (NMSU eliminated)

#3 Fresno State 9, #4 New Mexico State 7

In Honolulu, tourney MVP Jordan Ribera hit a two-run homer in the first game and had another in the second as defending national champion Fresno State defeated NMSU (44-17) twice to capture its four straight WAC title. Ribera went 3 for 5 in the opener before going 2 for 3 in the championship contest with two runs and two RBI. His two-run dinger in the bottom of the eighth snapped a 3-3 tie.Matt Morris tossed 2.2 scoreless innings to earn the win in the title tilt. Holden Sprague recorded the win in the first game by going 4.1 innings with two strikeouts. Tom Mendonca had two hits, including a homer, in the opener for the Bulldogs (32-28).