The 2019 Conference USA Baseball Championship, presented by The First, began Wednesday with four games on the schedule. All of today's games are on ESPN+ and live stats through StatBroadcast are available on the C-USA Baseball Championship Central page.
Championship Central
MARSHALL 6, LOUISIANA TECH 4 (12 inn.)
BILOXI. Miss.- It took a while - a good, long while, actually - but in the end, Marshall was able to pocket a postseason baseball victory that seemed ready to slip away.
First baseman Shane Hanon slipped a two-out, two-run single up the middle to give the Thundering Herd a 6-4 victory in 12 innings Wednesday afternoon over Louisiana Tech in the opening game of The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve at MGM Park.
At 4 hours, 49 minutes, it was the longest game in C-USA postseason baseball history, topping a 4-hour, 43-minute, game during the 2011 postseason.
“It was an all-around team effort,” Marshall coach Jeff Waggoner said. “(Third baseman) Raul (Cabrera) made a play; Elvis made a great play. We got a big hit from Shane. Overall, everyone stepped up and did their job.”
The sixth-seeded Herd (29-26) stays in the winner’s bracket, moving on to face the Southern Miss-Rice winner at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The third-seeded Bulldogs (34-23), which lost a conference baseball opener for a fourth consecutive season, fell into the elimination bracket and will take on the Southern Miss-Rice loser at 9 a.m. Thursday.
“Thought our bullpen was good,” Tech coach Lane Burroughs said. “(It) kept us in the game.”
Indeed.
Marshall got to Tech starter Matt Miller for a 3-0 lead after two innings. The Herd scored an unearned run in the first inning on three walks and an error, then went up by three runs on Geordon Blanton’s double and a sacrifice fly by Hanon in the second.
Tech got within 3-1 on Hunter Wells’ run-scoring single in the third inning before Marshall pushed the lead back to three runs on Elvis Peralta’s double.
But Mason Robinson’s double highlighted a two-run eighth inning by the Bulldogs and Tech tied the score on a hit batsman and three walks.
Peralta likely saved the game for Marshall in the bottom of the 11th inning when he stepped forward to snare a hot, one-hopper at shortstop with a Bulldog on second.
In the top of the 12th, Marshall had men on first and second with two outs when Hanon shot a grounder through the mound past Louisiana Tech closer Braxton Smith (1-4) and into center field, scoring Blanton and Erik Rodriguez.
Phillip Hoffman picked up his first save of the season by getting the Bulldogs 1-2-3 in the 12th. Robert Kwiatkowski (2-3) got the win with a scoreless 11th inning.
The teams combined to use 11 pitchers, who wound up combining on 15 walks and two hit batsmen. The teams also combined to strand 25 baserunners, 16 by Marshall.
Hanon drove in three runs and scored twice while Peralta picked up four hits, including a double. Blanton had two singles.
Robinson and Hunter Wells had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs.
SOUTHERN MISS 6, RICE 4 (10 inn.)
BILOXI, Miss. _ The situation looked fairly grim for Southern Miss going into the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday afternoon in the opening round of The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve.
Rice had just tacked on another run in the top of the seventh inning, taking a 4-0 lead, a tall order to overcome for a flock of Golden Eagles who had managed just one hit up to that point.
Even after Southern Miss scored a run on three hits in the bottom of the seventh inning and knocked out Rice starter Matt Canterino, the Golden Eagles entered t heir final at-bats down three runs.
No problem.
Highlighted by Storme Cooper’s two run double, Southern Miss scored three runs with two outs to tie the game before Matt Wallner lined a two-run home run over the right-field fence, completing an improbable five-run rally over the final two innings Wednesday night as Southern Miss walked off a 6-4 victory.
“I was looking for a pitch up and I was fortunate enough to get that fast ball up, actually the second one, I got a barrel to it and was able to get it out,” Wallner said of Southern Miss’ fifth walkoff hit of the season. “We fought back and we needed some clutch hits.”
Cooper, who had compiled only five hits this season, sent a sharp grounder inside the first base bag to spark the game-tying rally.
“The game of baseball is a game of opportunity,” Southern Miss coach Scott Berry said. “Stormy has been sitting over there, and seeing a lot more than playing.
“For him, to come up with an opportunity right there and deliver like he did, you can’t say enough about that senior.”
Matthew Guidry walked to lead off the 10th inning, and one out later, Wallner lashed his 20th home run of the season onto the grassy hill behind the right-field fence.
Wallner became the first Golden Eagle in four consecutive games since B.A Vollmuth turned the trick in 2010.
Cody Carroll (3-2) picked up the pitching win, allowing just one hit in three scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out two.
Cateniro, the C-USA Pitcher of the Year, went 6 1/3, allowing one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out nine. Reliever Kel Bordwine gave up two runs in a third of an inning.
Rice had built its lead on Andrew Dunlap’s sacrifice fly in the first inning, a two-run home run by Trie Cruz in the third inning and Bradley Gneiting’s double in the seventh inning.
Leadoff man Barden Comeaux finished with three hits and three runs scored.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 6, UTSA 5
BILOXI, Miss. _ Zach Schneider rolled a double-play grounder with the bases loaded the top of the ninth inning to preserve a 6-5 victory for top-seeded Florida Atlantic over eighth-seeded UTSA Wednesday night in the opening round at The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve.
Schneider, who picked up his conference-leading 15th save, entered with the Owls holding an one-run lead in the eighth inning, a man on second and one out and got two strikeouts.
In the ninth inning, he created his own trouble. UTSA’s Hunter Grimes doubled down the right-field line and Bryan Arias reached when his smash to third base was mishandled, and both he and Grimes moved up a base when the ball was misplayed in left field.
Schneider struck out Ryan Stacy, then intentionally walked Bryan Sturges to load the bases and set up a force at any base.
UTSA’s Dylan Rock grounded to second baseman Francisco Urbaez, who stepped on second base for one out before throwing to first base to end the game.
The hard-earned victory sent C-USA’s regular-season champion into a winner’s bracket game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, facing the winner of Wednesday’s last game of the opening round between Old Dominion and Western Kentucky.
The Roadrunners (26-29) will face the ODU-WKU loser at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Hunter Grimes led UTSA with a double and two singles, Stacy finished with a pair of doubles, Sturges hit a two-run home run.
For FAU, Urbaez, Mitchell Hartigan, Eric Rivera and Andru Summerall each had a pair of singles and Bobby Morgensen doubled. Rivera scored twice.
WKU 7, OLD DOMINION 4
BILOXI, Miss. _ In its first-ever Conference USA postseason baseball appearance Wednesday night, Western Kentucky had managed just one hit through the first three innings.
Then came the fourth inning, and the Hilltoppers not only erased a 1-0 Old Dominion lead, but seized control of the final game of the opening round of The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve.
ODU’s Vinnie Pasquantino cracked his 16th home run of the season in the first inning to give the Monarchs an 1-0 lead.
But fourth-seeded WKU (26-27-1) got run-scoring doubles from Matt Phipps and Sam McElreath, a two-run single by Jack Wilson for a 4-1 lead. Ray Zuberer III followed with his sixth home run of the season to cap the six-run rally.
Richard Constantine hit his seventh home run of the season for a 7-1 lead.
Pasquantino doubled to drive in one run and eventually scored on a wild pitch to get ODU (35-20) within 7-3.
Michael Marrale’s double in the seventh inning pulled the Monarchs within 7-4, but that’s as close as ODU would get.
The Hilltoppers will take on top-seeded Florida Atlantic (38-18) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a winner’s bracket game, while fifth-seeded ODU will meet UTSA (26-29) at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
Reece Calvert (3-3) picked up the win for WKU, allowing three runs on six hit over five-plus innings. He walked one and struck out three.
Dalton Shoemake picked up his first save of the season, allowing one run on two hits over the final three innings.
ODU starter Nick Pantos (5-3) took the loss, allowing three runs on three hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Zuberer and McElreath had two hits each for WKU. Tommy Bell had three hits for ODU and Pasquantino two.
Game Schedule
Wednesday, May 22 (available on ESPN+)
Game 1 (6) Marshall 6, (3) Louisiana Tech 4 (12 inn.)
Game 2 (2) Southern Miss 6, (7) Rice 4 (10 inn.)
Game 3 (1) Florida Atlantic 6, (8) UTSA 5
Game 4 (4) WKU 7, (5) Old Dominion 4
Thursday, May 23 (available on ESPN+)
Game 5 Louisiana Tech vs. Rice
Game 6 UTSA vs. Old Dominion 12:30p
Game 7 Marshall vs. Southern Miss 4:00p
Game 8 Florida Atlantic vs. WKU 7:30p
Friday, May 24 (available on ESPN+)
Game 9 Winner Game 5 vs. Loser game 7 3:00p
Game 10 Winner Game 6 vs. Loser game 8 6:30p
Saturday, May 25 (available on ESPN+)
Game 11 Winner Game 7 vs. Winner game 9 9:00a
Game 12 Winner Game 8 vs. Winner game 10 12:30p
Game 13 Same teams as Game 11 4:00p (if necessary)
Game 14 Same teams as Game 12 7:30p (if necessary)
Sunday, May 26 (televised by CBS Sports Network)
Championship Game 1:00p
All Times Central