The 2019 Conference USA Baseball Championship, presented by The First, continued Thursday with two elimination and two winners bracket games. Florida Atlantic and Southern Miss, the top two seeds, each advanced to Saturday's semifinals with victories. All games through Saturday are on ESPN+ and live stats through Stat Broadcast are available on the C-USA Baseball Championship Central page.
Championship Central
RICE 4, LOUISIANA TECH 3
BILOXI, Miss. _ Cade Edwards’ two-run double in the first inning got Rice off to a good start, and three Owls limited Louisiana Tech to five hits as the Owls eliminated the Bulldogs 4-3 Thursday morning at The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve.
Edwards, who also turned in back-to-back defensive gems at second base in the eighth inning, helped spark seventh-seeded Rice (25-30) to a 4-1 lead after six innings.
Third-seeded Tech (34-24) scored twice in the top of the seventh to give the Owls pause, Dalton Wood came out of the bullpen to cover the final 2 1/3 innings without allowing a baserunner and striking out six.
“This was a show of resilience because we have lost our last four games on walk-off fashion, so to be able to come back and hold on to that one (Thursday) is a great relief and our guys did a great job of fighting,” Rice coach Matt Bragga said. “Dalton Wood came in, in the end, and did a good job. Great poise for a freshman.”
As tough as taking a two-and-out, Louisiana Tech Lane Burroughs said the hardest road lies ahead, with the university still recovering from a tornado that wreaked devastation across the Ruston, La., campus, including excessive damage to the baseball program’s stadium, locker room and other facilities.
“I don’t like losing, no matter what it is,” Burroughs said. “Credit Rice. We just didn’t play good baseball down the stretch and it’s on me. We have to get better.
“Now we have to look at some stuff we haven’t had to deal with. We don’t have a stadium, we don’t have a locker room. Stuff we’ve been able to avoid because we had a distraction and that distraction has been to play baseball. We have to deal with it now. It’s going to be tough. We have to put this behind us and we have to get better.”
Tech’s starting pitcher, David Leal (4-2), went the distance, allowing four runs on eight hits over eight innings. He walked one, struck out eight.
Rice left-hander Evan Kravetz (6-2) allowed a run on one hit over five innings, walking four and striking out five.
Tech got to Owls reliever Jackson Parthasarthy for two runs on four hits before Wood’s scoreless stretch earned him his first save and doomed the Bulldogs.
Tech first baseman Mason Mallard had a pair of singles, while designated hitter Steele Netterville and second baseman Hunter Wells each doubled.
Edwards led Rice with a double and single, driving in two runs and scoring a run. First baseman Bradley Gneiting had two singles.
UTSA 4, OLD DOMINION 3
BILOXI, Miss. - Measured against his own standards, UTSA second baseman Bryan Arias had been caught up in a bit of a slump.
Arias returned to fine form Thursday afternoon in the Roadrunners’ 3-2 victory over Old Dominion in The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve at MGM Park.
“That’s been the story of our year,” UTSA coach Jason Marshall said. “We’ve played a bunch of close games, one- and two-run games. So, it’s not out of the ordinary for us to be in that type of a game.”
The senior went 3-for-4, scored all three of the Roadrunners’ runs and picked up an RBI to boot with his 10th home run of the season.
Which proved just enough backing for UTSA starter Slater Foust (8-2), who allowed a run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings. He walked two, struck out five.
“Just very thankful for Slater Foust to go out there and pitch an incredible ballgame, get us into the eighth inning,” Marshall said. “Just really bulldogged that performance.”
ODU scored twice in the bottom of the inning, but Jake Harrison picked up his second save of the season, setting the Monarchs (35-21) down in order.
“It was tough, without a doubt, having to come back after a late night,” Chris Finwood said. “Their kid pitched a good ballgame, not taking anything away from him. Foust. Thought he did a fantastic job, but we hung in there.”
The Roadrunners (27-29) advanced to a 6:30 p.m. Friday elimination game against the loser of Thursday night’s Florida Atlantic-Western Kentucky game.
ODU’s Ryne Moore (6-4) took the loss, despite allowing just one earned run on five hits over seven innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Ryan Stacy had a pair hits for the Roadrunners, who got five of their six hits out of the top two spots in the batting order. ODU got two hits from left fielder Andy Garriola.
SOUTHERN MISS 10, MARSHALL 5
BILOXI, Miss. - Southern Miss came into MGM Park this week figuring to reach a fourth consecutive NCAA Regional it would likely have to win The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve.
After two days, the Golden Eagles have done all they could have to accomplish just that.
Matt Guidry hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Gabe Montenegro laced a three-shot rope in the ninth to bookend a 10-5 victory Thursday evening over Marshall.
“That’s what neat about right now,” USM coach Scott Berry said. “We’re all playing for one thing. This is a new season.
“No matter what we did in the regular season, finishing second in our conference, the frustration of not being able to come out on top, that’s over. This is where we’re living right now, in the present, and it’s an all-new season.”
And, at the moment, USM is living large.
The victory left the second-seeded Golden Eagles (36-19) the lone undefeated on their side of the bracket.
USM will have Friday off and then need to win once Saturday to reach Sunday’s 1 p.m. championship game.
“It’s exciting,” said reliever Hunter Stanley, who allowed just one hit in two scoreless innings. “That’s what we’ve set out to do.”
The Golden Eagles rallied for a 6-4 victory in 10 innings over Rice in Wednesday’s opening round, with Matt Wallner’s walk-off, two-run home run vaulting USM past the Owls.
Thursday, the Golden Eagles opened with four consecutive hits off Marshall starter Wade Martin, including Montenegro’s single followed by Guidry’s sixth homer of the season.
“Talked about trying to put up where we left off (Wednesday) night,” Berry said. “We had a lot of momentum leaving this field and we wanted to keep that feeling going.
“We wanted to jump out here and with Guidry with two-run home run and just the hits that sent a message that we wanted to keep it going.”
USM did, going up 4-0 in the third inning on RBI-singles by Cole Donaldson and Danny Lynch.
Marshall came back in the bottom of the inning, picking up three unearned runs as USM’s outfield struggled with the sun, turning fly balls into errors or never-seen hits.
But USM added single runs in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings on a wild pitch run-scoring singles Hunter Slater and Bryant Bowen.
Marshall (29-27) got back within 7-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning on Shane Hanon’s two-run single, Stanley got out of the inning without further damage, pumping a fist on his way off the mound.
In the ninth, Guidry and pinch-hitter Erick Hoard walked before Montenegro unloaded his fifth home run of the season over the right-field wall.
“Both teams played hard,” Marshall Jeff Waggoner said. “They got big hits with runners in scoring position; we didn’t. They out pitched us, but my team will bounce back. They’ve been resilient all year. Hopefully, we can get back and play Southern Miss on Saturday.”
Before that can happen, the sixth-seeded Thundering Herd will have to get past seventh-seeded Rice in an elimination game at 3 p.m. Friday.
USM reliever Brant Blaylock (1-1) picked up the win allowing two runs on a hit in two innings. He walked two and struck out three. Stanley picked up his third save of the season, allowing a walk while striking out three.
USM banged out 16 hits, drew nine walks and were plunked twice by the nine pitchers the Herd used in the game. In two games, Marshall pitching has allowed 19 walks and hit four batters.
Wallner went 4-for-5 with a walk, while Slater had three hits. Montenegro and Gudry combined for three hits, four runs scored and five RBIs, while Bowen had a pair of hits.
Martin (0-4) took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Geordon Blanton had two hits for Marshall.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC 6, WKU 1
BILOXI, Miss. - Mike Ruff turned in one of the best performances of his career, allowing just a run on three hits as the top-seeded Owls earned a day of rest as the lone unbeaten on their side of bracket at The First 2019 C-USA Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve at MGM Park.
Ruff (6-4), a junior who was making his 40th career appearance, walked three and tied a season-high with 11 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings.
Florida Atlantic (39-18), the regular-season C-USA champions, will need to win just once on Saturday to reach Sunday’s 1 p.m. championship game.
Fourth-seeded WKU (26-28-1) slid into the elimination bracket, and will meet fifth-seeded UTSA (27-29) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in a rematch of Wednesday’s opening round.
FAU scored twice in the first inning off WKU starter Joe Filosa (1-2). The first run crossed on Joe Montes’ RBI grounder and the second came when Wilfredo Alvarez hit his first home run of the season.
Mitchell Hartigan’s RBI double made it 3-0 in the third inning before the Hilltoppers scored their lone run in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Ray Zuberer III.
The Owls scored an unearned run in the fifth inning, then tacked on the final run in the seventh inning on a hit batsman followed by three walks.
Hartigan led FAU with two doubles and a single and Pedro Pages had a double and two singles. Bobby Morgenson finished with a double and single and Alvarez added a single to go with his home run.
FAU finished with 13 hits and coaxed 10 walks from the Hilltoppers, but stranded 18 runners.
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 Rice 4, Louisiana Tech 3
Game 6 UTSA 3, Old Dominion 2
Game 7 Southern Miss 10, Marshall 5
Game 8 Florida Atlantic 6, WKU 1
Friday, May 24 (available on ESPN+)
Game 9 Rice vs. Marshall
Game 10 UTSA vs. WKU
Saturday, May 25 (available on ESPN+)
Game 11 Southern Miss vs. Winner game 9 9:00a
Game 12 Florida Atlantic 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