2005 C-USA Baseball Tournament Information
5/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 24, 2005
IRVING, Texas - After winning their fourth regular season Conference USA championship, top-ranked Tulane will be the No. 1 seed at the 2005 Conference USA Tournament presented by POWERade, which begins Wednesday in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Green Wave finished with a 24-6 record in C-USA play, marking the second-highest victory total ever in league games. At 47-9 overall, Tulane owns the best record in division I baseball. The last time won the Conference USA regular season title was 2001, when the Green Wave went on to win the C-USA Tournament and eventually advance to the College World Series.
The Green Wave will face UAB (31-25) in the second game of the tournament on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. EDT. The Blazers (14-16 in C-USA) posted their second-highest victory total in league games and open tournament play having posted back-to-back 30 win seasons for the first time since 1996-97. Tulane's balanced attack is led by two of the top two-way performers in the country in Brian Bogusevic and Micah Owings. Bogusevic, a semifinalist for the Xanthus-Dick Howser Trophy and Roger Clemens Award, is 11-1 with a 2.55 ERA and 108 strikeouts on the mound, while batting .340 at the plate. Owings, a transfer from Georgia Tech, has shined in New Orleans, going 8-4 with 99 strikeouts and just 15 walks as a pitcher, while hitting .325 with a team-high 15 homers and 50 RBI. Freshman OF Clint Toomey is UAB's leading hitter at .338, while workhorse Eric Roberts (29 appearances and nine saves) anchors the pitching staff. Tulane swept the three-game series between the teams in New Orleans in April.
The tournament will get underway at 9:00 a.m. CDT on Wednesday when No. 5 seed Houston (27-28, 16-13) takes on No. 4 seed East Carolina (34-22, 18-12). The Cougars feature a trio of solid starting pitchers in Matt Farrington (7-5, 3.31 ERA), Kevin Roberts (3.59 ERA, 77 strikeouts) and Brad Lincoln (100 K's with just 21 walks). East Carolina rebounded from an 0-5 start in league play to win its final seven C-USA series and earn the No. 4 seed. The Pirates have battled the injury bug all season long, having used 39 different starting lineups, but will look to a now-healthy Brian Cavanaugh (.375) to jump start their attack. Houston and ECU did not face each other in the regular season.
For the fourth straight year, Louisville (32-22, 15-14) and TCU (37-18, 20-10) will meet in the Conference USA Tournament, as these teams square off at 4:00 p.m. CDT on Wednesday. The schools just played last weekend in Fort Worth, where the Horned Frogs won two-of-three. Junior OF Boomer Whiting (team-high .333 batting average, 26 stolen bases) and senior IF J.T. LaFountain (.332, 7 homers, 47 RBI) pace the Cardinal attack. TCU is led by one of the top pitchers in America, Lance Broadway. Broadway shut out No.1 Tulane on Friday night for his nation-leading 13th win. He also has a school record 135 strikeouts. TCU is the defending C-USA Tournament champion.
Sixth-seeded USF (32-29, 15-14) faces third-seeded Southern Miss (38-18, 20-10) in the 7:30 game on Wednesday. USF is back in the Conference USA Tournament after a one-year absence and will be out for a revenge after getting swept in Hattiesburg last weekend. The Bulls are led by senior 3B Jeff Baisley, a .355 hitter who has hit a league-high 26 doubles. The Golden Eagles are closing in on another 40-win season and their attack is led by senior C Brad Willcutt, who is batting .327 with 17 doubles, 15 home runs and a league-best 76 RBI. Southern Miss has made back-to-back appearances in the C-USA Tournament championship game, winning the 2003 title.
The championship game of the tournament on Sunday, May 29 will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network and CSTV: College Sports Television. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Courtesy of Conference USA
