5.9.2002 Conference USA Baseball Notebook
Jesse Crain |
A huge conference weekend is one the horizon. Just one-half game seperates the top four teams (Houston, Southern Miss, TCU and Louisville) in the best regular season race ever. Those four squads are the first to qualify for the eight-team, double-elimination conference tournament in Kinston, N.C. May 21-26. Get ready for the weekend's action with this week's baseball notebook, along with updated stats.
HITTER OF THE WEEK
MORGAN BOJORQUEZ, LOUISVILLE
Junior, 1B, Miami, Fla.
Bojorquez helped Louisville to its first series win over Tulane in 10 years by going 6-for-14 (.429) with three home runs and 10 RBI. He homered in each game of the series and drove in at least three runs in each outing. In one four at-bat stretch, Bojorquez was 4-for-4 with two singles, two home runs and seven RBI. He added three hits in a pair of non-conference wins earlier in the week, finishing the week with nine hits and two walks in five games.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
JOHN MAINE, CHARLOTTE
Junior, RHP, Hartwood, Va.
Maine turned in his best performance of the year to help Charlotte split Sunday's doubleheader with Cincinnati. He threw the first complete game shutout by a 49er pitcher since 1999, allowing just one hit and striking out a season-high 13 to pick up his team-leading fifth win of the season.
C-USA NOTEBOOK
CHARLOTTE
The 49ers dropped two-of-three games to Cincinnati, with junior RHP JOHN MAINE throwing his best game of the year in the victory. He tossed his first career complete game shutout, striking out 13 Bearcat batters and allowing just one hit over seven innings in a 2-1 win. It was Charlotte's first complete game shutout since 1999. Maine has moved into sixth place on Conference USA's all-time strikeout list with 283. Three of the top six all-time leaders are 49ers, with John MacKay leading with 409 K's and Ryan Baker ranking third with 322. Freshman OF ADAM WILLARD went 5-for-10 against Cincinnati, recording a leadoff hit in all three games. Charlotte smacked six doubles in the UC series, including a pair by ALEX DERHAK.
CINCINNATI
The Bearcats took two-of-three games at Charlotte over the weekend, their first back-to-back series wins since the first two weekends of the season. Cincinnati has now won 10 of its last 15 games, posting double-digit runs in eight of those eight wins. The Bearcats have raised their team batting average from .273 to .293 during that stretch and hit 33 home runs in the 15 games, compared to 30 round-trippers in the season's first 30 games. Junior C CHRIS HAMBLEN hit his career-high 13th home run in Sunday's 8-1 win. Sophomore OF AARON MOLL has 12 homers, and junior OF JAKE SMITH has hit 10. Moll's 12th homer was a grand slam in Friday's 17-7 win, his third grand slam of the season. He is batting .583 (7-for-12) with the bases loaded. Senior JOE LIST had his 13-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday, but is batting .344 (21-for-61) with eight homers and 23 RBI in 16 games. In the last 15 games, OF JUSTIN NIEFER has raised his batting average from .233 to .375 by going 26-for-53 (.491). UC has turned 27 douoble plays in the last 12 games. The Bearcats have set single-game records for double and home runs this year, but have yet to hit a triple in 2002.
EAST CAROLINA
The Pirates dropped two-of-three to Saint Louis this past weekend, snapping a string of five straight series wins. East Carolina's pitching staff allowed just six earned runs in the three games and enters this week with a team ERA of 3.23. Freshman 1B DARRYL LAWHORN hit his 14th home run of the season on Sunday to break the school record for homers by a freshman. He also owns the ECU freshman record for total bases (140) and is just three hits and three RBI short of breaking those records. Junior RHP NEAL SEARS made his 63rd relief appearance on Sunday, breaking the school record. He is 6-1 with a 2.30 ERA in 25 games this season. Rookie reliever GREG BUNN recorded his fifth save of the season on Sunday. No ECU freshman had ever compiled more than two saves prior to this year.
HOUSTON
The Cougars dropped two-of-three at home to South Florida over the weekend. Friday and Saturday's losses marked the first time that Houston has ever lost back-to-back Conference USA games at Cougar Field. Junior BRETT COOLEY extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games with hits in all four games last week. He has hit safely in 26 of his last 27 outings. Sophomore OF MICHAEL BOURN tied a career-high with four stolen bases in the series finale against USF, giving him 28 steals in 35 attempts this year. That total is the fifth-best in school history and he needs just two more to tie Eric Lee (1997-00) for third place in UH history with 65 thefts. Freshman reliever RYAN WAGNER set a new career high with eight strikeouts in 3.0 innings against Texas-San Antonio on April 30 for his first career save.
LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals won the final two games of the series at Tulane, their first series victory over the Green Wave since 1993. Louisville was 4-1 last week with double figure hits in all five games. The Cards have recorded 10 or more hits 28 times and are 21-7 in those games. U of L is batting .309 as a team, 31 points higher than last season's .278 mark and has hit 55 homer runs in 44 games, compared to 39 in 61 outings last season. Sophomore OF MARK JURICH had a double, three home runs and nine RBI last week, while C KEN TIRPACK batted .500 (7-for-14) with a double, a homer and six RBI. Senior RHP JOSH RING picked up two victories last week to improve to 6-3 on the year. Her struck out a career-best 10 in Sunday's win at Tulane. Freshman LHP ZACH JACKSON also won twice last week and now has a team-leading seven wins on the year (7-1). Sophomore 2B J.T. LaFOUNTAIN is 4-for-6 with the bases loaded this season, after hitting a bases-loaded double against Tulane on Sunday.
MEMPHIS
The Tigers dropped all three games at Southern Miss this past weekend. Freshman RHP DANIEL de ARMAS threw 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief on Saturday, allowing just one hit after entering the game in the second inning. Senior C BARRETT SMITH was 2-for-3 with a double and a two run homer, his sixth of the season, in Friday's series opener. Freshman SS BRENT DLUGACH hit safely in each game, recording a pair of hits in each of the final two games of the USM series.
SAINT LOUIS
The Billikens posted a pair of wins at No. 14 East Carolina over the weekend, limiting the Pirates to just five runs in the three game series. Junior RHP COREY LAWSON threw his eighth complete game of the season in Sunday's 2-1 victory in game one, allowing one run on four hits. That is the most complete games by a Saint Louis pitcher since 1987 and he is just one short of tying the school record of nine, set by All-American John Marcum on the 1965 team that advanced to the College World Series. Sophomore KRIS WEBER allowed just one earned run on three hits and struck out four over seven innings in Friday's 6-2 win. Sophomore KYLE WORT hit .385 last week with three of his five hits going for doubles. The Billikens got timely hitting and pitching last week as SLU hit .310 with runners in scoring position, while holding opponents to just a .188 average in that situation. Saint Louis picked up six two-out RBI over the four-game stretch.
SOUTH FLORIDA
USF became the first C-USA club ever to win back-to-back games at Houston when it won the first two games of the weekend series. It marked the third time in the last four years that the Bulls have won the regular season series from Houston. USF sophomore RHP JON UHL put together the first complete game of his career in Saturday's 9-2 win. Freshman C DEVIN IVANY led the Bulls at the plate against UH with four hits, including three for extra bases; he drove in two runs Friday and a run Saturday with his first career triple. A pair of unlikely hitters smacked solo home runs in the series opener as junior 2B MIKE MACALUSO hit his third of the season and sophomore 1B/DH KRIS COURIER hit his second. Junior LHP RYAN GLOGER earned the win in the series opener when he held UH to four hits through 5 2/3 in an eventual 10-9 win as the Cougars scored seven runs following his departure. Senior RHP JOHN GORHAM earned his first save of the season Friday, striking out the game's final batter, the only hitter he faced.
SOUTHERN MISS
The Golden Eagles are tied for first place in Conference USA with a 16-7 league ledger (33-16 overall) after sweeping Memphis to finish off a 4-0 week. Southern Miss outscored its opponents 45-11 on the week, scoring at least nine runs in each outing. In 49 games this spring, the Golden Eagles have hit 116 doubles and 46 homers, surpassing their 2001 total of 102 and 44, respectively, over 59 games. Freshman 2B JARRETT HOFFPAUIR hit .429 last week with a double, his first collegiate home run and his first stolen base. Senior OF JEFF COOK hit .375 with three stolen bases, three double and five runs drive in, raising his team-leading RBI total to 55. Junior 3B ALLEN WINNINGHAM (team-leading .366 with 19 doubles, seven homers and 34 RBI) will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken left fibula.
TCU
The Horned Frogs posted their third C-USA series sweep by taking all three games against UAB this past weekend. TCU has moved to within one-half game of first place with a 16-8 league ledger. After an 8-0 blanking in the series opener, the Frogs used a pair of big innings to spark the other two series wins. TCU posted a season-high 11 runs in the seventh inning of Saturday's 13-8 victory and tallied all seven of their runs in the first inning of Sunday's 7-3 triumph. Junior OF TERRY TROFHOLZ (.462 average) saw his 21-game hitting streak ended on Sunday. It was also the first C-USA game that he has not produced at least one hit. Sophomore RHP CLAYTON JEROME threw seven strong innings on Saturday, allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts. He is now 8-3 on the year, which includes a 7-1 mark in C-USA games. TCU recorded its first triple play in three seasons in Friday's night's series opener.
TULANE
The Green Wave dropped the final two games of the Louisville series, their first series loss to the Cardinals since 1993. Tulane won the first game of the series with another strong performance from junior LHP NICK BOURGEOIS, who allowed tow runs over seven innings, striking out four to improve to 8-2 on the year. Senior 2B JAMES JURRIES had five hits against Louisville, including a double, two home runs (both in Saturday's game) and three RBI. The 12 total bases in the series allowed him to become Conference USA's all-time leader in total bases with 586. Junior 1B AARON FELDMAN had five hits against Louisville, including a pair of doubles and three RBI. Sophomore ANTHONY GIARRATANO was 6-for-11 in the series with two doubles and three RBI.
UAB
The Blazers dropped all three games in their first-ever meetings with TCU over the weekend. Junior 1B MATT WOMBLE hit .545 (6-for-11) at TCU with two doubles, a triple and three RBI. Junior OF MITCH JONES had four hits in the series, including a triple, an RBI and four runs scored. Junior LHP JON BURGETT followed up his Pitcher of the Week performance last week by allowing just one run on three hits over 5 2/3 innings of relief at TCU. Senior OF ERIC LYON was 5-fof-12 (.417) in the series with a double and two RBI.
LAST WEEK'S STARS
Other than the players of the week, here's a look at some of the top performances in Conference USA during the games of Apr. 29-May 5:
HITTING
CHA - ADAM WILLARD - went 5-for-10 (.500) against Cincinnati, leading off all three games with a hit. Had a double and scored three runs.
CIN - AARON MOLL - was 4-for-11 at Charlotte with two home runs and five RBI. Hit his third grand slam of the year on Friday and was 3-for-4 in game one Sunday.
HOU - CHRIS SNYDER - drove in nine runs in four games last week, including seven against USF. Had three multiple-RBI games.
SLU - DREW EDER - hit .600 (3-for-5) with runners in scoring position, .500 (3-for-6) with runners on and .667 (2-for-3) with two outs. Drove in the game-winning run in Sunday's 2-1 victory at No. 14 East Carolina.
USF - DEVIN IVANY - Three of his four hits at Houston were for extra bases. Had three hits in the series opener, including a pair of doubles. Drove home a run Saturday with his first career triple.
USM - GRIFF ISRAEL - hit .643 (9-for-14) in four USM victories, hitting safely in each game. Had a triple, two home runs and nine RBI on the week. Both of his home runs were three-run shots.
TCU - WALTER OLMSTEAD - went 6-for-16 (.375) with five extra-base hits (two doubles, one triple and two homers). He drove in six runs and scored times.
TUL - GERALD CLARK - hit .688 (11-for-16) in four games last week with a 1.188 slugging percentage. Had at least two hits in each game, finishing the week with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.
PITCHING
CIN - CHAD PENNINGTON - threw his second complete game of the year in Sunday's 8-1 win, allowing six hits and striking out three. Gave up just two hits after the second inning and only one runner reached second base in the game.
SLU - COREY LAWSON - threw his eighth complete game of the season at No. 14 East Carolina on Sunday, allowing one run on four hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.
USF - JON UHL - pitched his first career complete game in a 9-2 win at Houston on Saturday. Allowed just four singles and two runs, while striking out three and working around four walks.
USM - SHEA DOUGLAS - picked up his ninth win of the year at against Memphis on Friday, striking out nine batters and allowing two runs on five hits over five innings pitched.
TCU - PATRICK NEWBURN - scattered six hits and struck out a career-high 10 batters in Friday's series opening 8-0 victory over UAB. He walked only two while picking up his second complete game of the year.
DOUGLAS (AND WIFE) DELIVERS
It was quite a night at Pete Taylor Park for Southern Miss junior LHP SHEA DOUGLAS on May 3. Douglas picked up his league-leading ninth victory with nine strikouts over five innings against Memphis, but that's only part of the story. Shea's wife, Shaun, whose due date with the couple's first child was also on Friday, came to the park to watch her husband pitch. Her water broke in the fourth inning and she then headed to the hospital. Shea was made aware of this, pitched one more inning and then followed her to the hospital. On Saturday morning at 7:15 a.m., the couple became the proud parents of a healthy baby girl, Lexus McKenzie Douglas.
PEAK PERFORMERS
Here's a look at some of the top single game performances in C-USA this season.
MULTIPLE HOME RUNS IN A GAME
3 Joe List, CIN vs. South Florida, Apr. 12
3 Chris Hamblen, CIN vs. Memphis, Mar. 31
3 Allen Winningham, USM at TCU, Mar. 15
2 James Jurries, TUL vs. Louisville, May 3
2 Chris Hamblen, CIN vs. Tulane, Apr. 27
2 Brad Wilcutt, USM at Southeastern Louisiana, Apr. 25
2 Chris Snyder, HOU vs. Cincinnati, Apr. 21
2 James Jurries, TUL vs. TCU, Apr. 20
2 Jake Smith, CIN at Ohio, Apr. 16
2 Jon Kaplan, TUL at UAB, Apr. 14
2 Gerald Clark, TUL at UAB, Apr. 12
2 Chris Hamblen, CIN vs. South Florida, Apr. 12
2 Bryan Stelmack, TUL vs. Saint Louis, Mar. 29
2 James Jurries, TUL vs. Charlotte, Mar. 17
2 Darryl Lawhorn, ECU at Cincinnati, Mar. 15
2 Marshall Wilson, TCU vs. Southwest Texas, Mar. 10
2 Mark Jurich, LOU vs. Illinois, Mar. 10
2 Brett Cooley, HOU vs. Lousiana-Lafayette, Mar. 10
2 Josh Bolen, LOU vs. Kent State, Mar. 8
2 Mark Jurich, LOU vs. Eastern Kentucky, Mar. 6
2 Jeff Cook, USM vs. Buffalo, Mar. 2
2 Clayton McCullough, ECU vs. New York Tech, Feb. 22
2 Darryl Lawhorn, ECU vs. Central Florida, Mar. 3
2 Warren Gaspar, ECU vs. Delaware, Feb. 15
2 James Jurries, TUL at Pepperdine, Feb. 10
COMPLETE GAMES
Corey Lawson, SLU (2) at East Carolina (1), May 5
John Maine, CHA (4) vs. Cincinnati (0), May 5
Chad Pennington, CIN (8) at Charlotte (1), May 5
Jon Uhl, USF (9) at Houston (2), May 4
Patrick Newburn, TCU (8) vs. UAB (0), May 3
Corey Lawson, SLU (5) vs. Houston (9), Apr. 28
B.J. Borsa, CIN (11) vs. Tulane (1), Apr. 28
Brad Sullivan, HOU (7) at Saint Luis (3), Apr. 26
Jeff Brown, UAB (12) at Memphis (2), Apr. 21
Beau Richardson, TUL (4) vs. TCU (3), Apr. 21
Daniel Stewart, USM (6) vs. Mississippi State (3), Apr. 17
B.J. Borsa, CIN (11) vs. South Florida (1), Apr. 14
John Maine, CHA (2) vs. East Carolina (3), Apr. 14
Mike Tisdale, LOU (3) at Southern Miss (1), Apr. 13
Kyle Shoemaker, TCU (11) vs. Saint Louis (1), Apr. 13
Mike Tisdale, LOU (5) vs. Cincinnati (3), Apr. 7
B.J. Borsa, CIN (3) at Louisville (5), Apr. 7
Corey Lawson, SLU (4) vs. UAB (1), Apr. 6
Chad Pennington, CIN (6) at Louisville (2), Apr. 6
Wes Jaillet, LSU (16) vs. UAB (2), Apr. 5
Corey Lawson, SLU (6) at Tulane (2), Mar. 31
Charlie Rogers, USM (8) vs. Cincinnati (0), Mar. 24
Corey Lawson, SLU (1) vs. Louisville (2), Mar. 23
John Gorham, USF (13) at Memphis (2), Mar. 23
Brad Sullivan, HOU (8) vs. Tulane (0), Mar. 22
Clayton Jerome, TCU (5) at East Carolina (1), Mar. 22
B.J. Borsa, CIN (0) at Southern Miss (2), Mar. 22
Shea Douglas, USM (2) vs. Cincinnati (0), Mar. 22
Mike Tisdale, LOU (6) at Saint Louis (1), Mar. 22
Corey Lawson, SLU (5) at South Florida (2), Mar. 17
Justin Brown, CHA (5) vs. St. Joseph's (3), Mar. 14
Corey Lawson, SLU (4) vs. Northwestern (3), Mar. 10
B.J. Borsa, CIN (8) vs. Cleveland State (3), Mar. 10
Shea Douglas, USM (5) vs. Eastern Illinois (0), Mar. 8
Corey Lawson, SLU (4) vs. Belmont (3), Mar. 2
Scott Barber, LOU (8) vs. Butler (2), Mar. 1
Clayton Jerome, TCU (12) vs. Sam Houston State (0), Feb. 23
John Gorham, USF (6) vs. Jacksonville (1), Feb. 15
10 OR MORE STRIKEOUTS IN A GAME
16 Brad Sullivan, HOU (15) vs. Memphis (1), Apr. 12
15 Nick Bourgeois, TUL (7) at Memphis (0), Apr. 5
15 Brad Sullivan, HOU (8) vs. Tulane (0), Mar. 22
13 John Maine, CHA (4) vs. Cincinnati, May 5
13 Mike Tisdale, LOU (6) at Saint Louis (1), Mar. 22
12 Brad Sullivan, HOU (10) vs. Cincinnati (2), Apr. 19
12 Wes Jaillet, SLU (16) vs. UAB (2), Apr. 5
12 John Maine, CHA (4) vs. UAB (2), Mar. 23
12 Shea Douglas, USM (2) vs. Cincinnati (0), Mar. 22
12 Shea Douglas, USM (5) vs. Eastern Illinois (0), Mar. 8
12 Shea Douglas, USM (15) vs. Lipscomb (2), Feb. 15
11 Nick Bourgeois, TUL (15) vs. UAB (7), Apr. 12
11 Corey Lawson, SLU (4) vs. UAB (1), Apr. 6
11 Davey Penny, ECU (13) at UAB (3), Mar. 30
11 Joey Charron, TUL (5) vs. Villanova (4), Feb. 17
10 Josh Ring, LOU (12) at Tulane (4), May 5
10 Patrick Newburn, TCU (8) vs. UAB (0), May 3
10 Austin Faught, HOU (10) vs. Cincinnati (1), Apr. 21
10 Kris Weber, SLU (6) vs. Southern Miss (5), Apr. 20
10 Tony Falls, UAB (9) vs. Memphis (8), Apr. 19
10 John Maine, CHA (2) vs. East Carolina (3), Apr. 14
10 Clayton Jerome, TCU (6) vs. Saint Louis (0), Apr. 12
10 Brad Sullivan, HOU (5) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (2), Mar. 8
10 Nick Bourgeois, TUL (4) vs. UCLA (1), Mar. 2
10 Daniel Stewart, USM (7) at McNeese State (9), Feb. 22
2002 HITTERS/PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
Conference USA names a Hitter of the Week and a Pitcher of the Week each week. The award is selected by the Conference office and is announced on Mondays throughout the season. Here's a look at this season's winners:
HITTER OF THE WEEK
F11 Chris Snyder C Houston
F18 Brad Dorrmann IF Cincinnati
Bryant Ward 3B East Carolina
F25 Jesse Crain SS Houston
M4 Jeff Cook OF Southern Miss
M11 Mark Jurich OF Louisville
M18 Brad Lamm SS Charlotte
J.T. LaFountain IF Louisville
M25 Paul Cookman OF Memphis
A1 Walter Olmstead 1B TCU
A8 Darryl Lawhorn 3B East Carolina
A15 Brett Cooley 1B/OF Houston
A22 Myron Leslie SS South Florida
A29 Nate Fish C/IF Cincinnati
Clint Stoy OF Southern Miss
MY5 Morgan Bojorquez 1B Louisville
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
F11 Kyle Shoemaker LHP TCU
F18 John Gorham RHP South Florida
F25 Mike Tisdale RHP Louisville
Stephen Castleman RHP Southern Miss
M4 Sam Narron LHP East Carolina
M11 Shea Douglas LHP Southern Miss
M18 Corey Lawson RHP Saint Louis
M25 Brad Sullivan RHP Houston
Shea Douglas LHP Southern Miss
A1 Jesse Crain RHP Houston
A8 Nick Bourgeois LHP Tulane
Corey Lawson RHP Saint Louis
A15 Brad Sullivan RHP Houston
Clayton Jerome RHP TCU
A22 Joey Charron LHP Tulane
A29 Jon Burgett LHP UAB
MY5 John Maine RHP Charlotte
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE TELEVISED
The championship game of the 2002 Conference USA Baseball Tournament will be televised live on Sunday, May 26 on affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. First pitch at Grainger Stadium in Kinston, North Carolina is slated for 2:00 p.m. EDT. Don Russell, who has handled play-by-play on numerous C-USA television events over the past seven years, will be joined in the booth by analyst Jerry Kindall, former head coach at the University of Arizona. Below is a list of confirmed clearances for the game (as of May 6). Additional clearances will be added up to the championship.
CONFIRMED CLEARANCES:
Dallas/Fort Worth (KFWD) - Live
Fox Sports Net South - May 27th or May 28th at 11:00 a.m. CT
Jackson, Miss. - WBMS (UPN) - Live
St. Louis (Charter Comm.) - Live
NESN - Live
Comcast Charter Southeast - Live
Louisville (WFTE)
Cox Cable New Orleans (if Tulane participates)
Fox Sports Net Chicago
American Forces TV Network
Cincinnati (Time Warner Cable)
Memphis (WBII)
JURRIES IS OUT...AND ON THE RISE
Tulane senior 2B JAMES JURRIES continues his rise on the Conference USA career charts, ranking in the Top 10 of nine different statistical categories. Here's a look at where he ranks.
Category No. Rank
At-Bats- 905 6th
Hits- 324 2nd (tied)
Runs Scored- 270 2nd
Doubles- 63 5th (tied)
Triples- 11 2nd (tie)
Home Runs- 59 2nd
RBI- 244 2nd
Total Bases- 586 1st
Stolen Bases- 70 8th
STRIKEOUT CHART
Charlotte's JOHN MAINE and SHEA DOUGLAS of Southern Miss continue to make their way up the Conference USA all-time strikeout list. Here's a look at where the two junior standouts currently stand (as of May 6):
Strikeouts
Player Years G K
John McKay, CHA 96-00 84 409
Shane Nance, HOU 97-00 69 388
Ryan Baker, CHA 97-00 72 322
Craig House, MEM 96-99 70 309
Jared Berkowitz, TUL 97-00 70 303
John Maine, CHA 99-01 49 283
Scott Glaser, USF 96-99 68 273
Shea Douglas, USM 99-01 40 270
Jason Navarro, TUL 96-97 34 245
Brian Bentley, LOU 97-00 58 243
2002 C-USA TOURNAMENT
The 2002 FedEx Conference USA Baseball Tournament will be held May 21-26 in Kinston, North Carolina. East Carolina will serve as the host institution for the event, which will take place 30 miles from ECU's Greenville campus. The games will be played at Grainger Stadium, the historic home of the Kinston Indians, single A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The championship game of the tournament on Sunday, May 26 will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. Tulane is the defending tournament champion.