May 22, 2013
2013 C-USA Baseball Championship Information
The matchup for the 2013 C-USA Baseball Championship Game is set. For the third time in five years, Rice will face Southern Miss in the title game. The Owls won in 2009 in Hattiesburg, but Golden Eagles won the next year at Cougar Field in Houston. It will be Rice's sixth championship game in eight years as a member of C-USA and the Owls own a 4-1 record in the game. Southern Miss is 2-2 in title contests, winning in 2003 and 2010.
In Friday action, Alex Byo went 8.1 innings, leading Tulane past East Carolina, 6-5. Mason Robbins nad three hits and two RBI as Southern Miss moved past Houston, 4-2. UAB concluded its season with a 5-1 victory over UCF, as Alex Luna fired 6.2 innings of two-hit ball.
Thursday's action opened with Justin Montemayor posting four hits and Austin Pruitt settling down to toss a complete game as Houston downed East Carolina, 9-4. Drew Griffin had three hits and two RBI to lead Memphis over UAB, 6-5. In the nightcap, Jordan Stephens and two other pitchers combined to allow just two hits as Rice defeated UCF, 5-1.
Memphis opened the championship with a 6-1 win over UCF, as Carter White drove in a career-high three runs. Southern Miss then rallied to defeat Tulane, 10-7, as Blake Brown doubled, homered and extended his hitting streak to 20 games. Rice took the night game over UAB, 3-1, as Austin Kubitza struck out nine and allowed just two hits in 7.2 innings pitched.
The championship features the top eight teams in regular-season league play. Those eight will be split into two four-team pools (or pods), with the winner of each pod playing in a single championship game. Teams are assigned pods based on seed, which are determined by the order of finish in regular-season conference play.
Each team is guaranteed to play three games. Teams in each pod will play all three other teams in its pod. The team with the best composite record in each pod advances to the championship game. Two-way ties in a pod will be broken by head-to-head play. In the case of a three-way tie, the highest seed will advance.
Game times are 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the championship game slated for 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The championship game will be nationally-televised by CBS Sports Network.
Pod number one features No.1 seed Rice, No. 4 seed Memphis, No. 5 seed UCF and No. 8 seed UAB. Pod number two includes No. 2 seed Southern Miss, No. 3 seed East Carolina, No. 6 seed Houston and No. 7 seed Tulane.
Game Schedule
Wednesday, May 22
Game 1 (4) Memphis 6, (5) UCF 1
Game 2 (2) Southern Miss 10, (7) Tulane 7
Game 3 (1) Rice 3, (8) UAB 1
Thursday, May 23
Game 4 (6) Houston 9, (3) East Carolina 4
Game 5 (4) Memphis 6, (8) UAB 5
Game 6 (1) Rice 5, (5) UCF 1
Friday, May 24
Game 7 (7) Tulane 6, (3) East Carolina 5
Game 8 (2) Southern Miss 4, (6) Houston 2
Game 9 (8) UAB 5, (5) UCF 1
Saturday, May 25
Game 10 (1) Rice 10, (4) Memphis 1
Game 11 (6) Tulane 3, (7) Tulane 2
Game 12 (3) East Carolina 8, (2) Southern Miss 7
Sunday, May 26 (televised by CBS Sports Network)
Championship Game
Southern Miss vs. Rice 1:00p
All Times Central
Each game of the championship from Wednesday through Saturday will be streamed live on the C-USA Digital Network. The championship game of the tournament on Sunday, May 26 will be televised live by CBS Sports Network, beginning at 1 p.m. CDT. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. UAB is the defending tournament champion.
Tickets for the championship are available via Ticketmaster.com.