HATTIESBURG, Mississippi – The 2022 Conference USA Baseball Championship, presented by The First, began Wednesday with four games on the schedule from Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, but due to inclement weather, were only able to play just three. The fourth game, between No. 4 Florida Atlantic and No. 5 UTSA has been moved to Thursday morning at 9 a.m. CT. All games aside from Sunday's championship are on ESPN+ and live stats through StatBroadcast are available on the C-USA Baseball Championship Central page.

Championship Central

The league's eight teams are playing for C-USA's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in a five-day, double-elimination tournament that will culminate Sunday with the championship game at 1 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network. 

Game 3: (1) Southern Miss 4, (8) UAB 3 | Box Score
Recently named Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Tanner Hall lived up to his billing with 10 strikeouts in a 6.1-inning effort and designated hitter Slade Wilks broke a 3-3 tie with a solo home run with two out in the bottom of the fifth as 14th-ranked and top-seeded Southern Miss defeated No. 8 seed UAB, 4-3, to cap the opening day of the 2022 C-USA Baseball Championship on Wednesday night. 
 
UAB put the potential tying run on base in both the seventh and eighth innings, but Golden Eagles reliever Dalton Rogers pitched his way around a leadoff walk in the eighth and closer Landon Harper slammed the door with 1.2 shutout innings down the stretch to pick up his 11th save of the year. Hall allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk to improve to 8-2. 
 
Southern Miss tallied 11 hits on the day, including three by third baseman Danny Lynch, with Wilks and centerfielder Gabe Montenegro posting two hits apiece. With the win, the Golden Eagles improve to 42-14. The championship host will enjoy a day off on Thursday and will return to action at 9 a.m. on Friday when they take on the winner of Thursday morning’s FAU/UTSA contest. UAB, meanwhile fell to 31-24 overall and will face the loser of tomorrow’s FAU/UTSA showdown on Thursday at 7 p.m. 
 
UAB plated the game’s first run when centerfielder Caleb Floyd singled and scored all the way from first on a Southern Miss error. The Golden Eagles took advantage of a Blazers’ miscue in the home half of the inning as first baseman Christopher Sargent led off the frame with a double and scored one at-bat later when Wilks reached on a single that UAB shortstop Mathew Golda was able to corral only to have his toss to first find its way into the dugout to allow both runners to advance a base. 
 
After a scoreless third, UAB reclaimed the advantage courtesy of a leadoff homer by designated hitter Christian Hall. As they had done two innings before, Southern Miss answered and then some as catcher Blake Johnson plated Lynch with a sacrifice fly to center and right fielder Carson Paetow touched the paystation on a balk by Blazers’ starting pitcher Jackson Reynolds.  
 
UAB tied the contest an inning later when first baseman Josh Sears belted a solo homer to left and set up the stage for Wilks – whose towering shot cleared the lights in the bottom of the fifth. 
 
Centerfielder Peyton Puckett led the Blazers six-hit effort with two, including a double in the seventh. Jonah Smith tossed 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, but Reynolds was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk while fanning five in a 4.2-inning start. 

Game 2: (2) Louisiana Tech 4, (7) Charlotte 0 | Box Score

Louisiana Tech plated four unearned runs in the first inning and three pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts as the second-seeded Bulldogs shutout No. 7 seed Charlotte, 4-0, in day one of the 2022 Conference USA Baseball Championship on Wednesday at Pete Taylor Park. 
 
The contest featured a five-hour, 20-minute weather delay which halted the game for a spell after three complete innings, but starter Cade Gibson (6-4) returned to the hill after the break to finish his day with seven strikeouts, while allowing just three hits in 5.0 shutout innings to claim the victory. Jonathan Fincher tossed three scoreless frames, while Kyle Crigger closed things out with a scoreless ninth. Fincher and Crigger each had a pair of strikeouts.
 
With the win, Louisiana Tech improves to 39-18 and will take on (3) Old Dominion on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT in the winner's bracket of pod one. Charlotte, meanwhile, fell to 35-21 and will face (6) Middle Tennessee tomorrow with first pitch slated for 12:30 p.m. CT. Those game times have been adjusted due to the extended inclement weather.  
 
Only two Charlotte players got as far as second base, and the 49ers had multiple baserunners in just one inning. That came in the ninth when right fielder Cam Fisher singled and centerfielder Jake Cunningham walked to make things interesting late. Crigger, however, responded with a strikeout and a routine ground ball to second to close things out. 
 
A pair of Charlotte first-inning errors helped lead to Louisiana Tech’s early advantage as first baseman Philip Matulia plated shortstop Taylor Young with an RBI-double and left fielder Adarius Myers capped the four-run frame with a three-run homer to left-center. That would be all the Bulldogs pitchers would need as Gibson retired seven straight at one point and faced just four more than the minimum during his time toeing the rubber. 
 
Myers had half of Louisiana Tech’s six hits while second baseman Nate Furman and designated hitter David McCabe had two hits each to pace Charlotte’s six-hit effort. 
 
Evan Michelson took the loss for the 49ers despite not allowing an earned run as he struck out a pair and allowed just the two-first-inning hits before the rain hit. Spencer Giesling pitched admirably out of the pen, fanning 11 and allowing just four hits and a walk over the final five stanzas. 

Game 1: (3) Old Dominion 18, (6) Middle Tennessee 7 (7 innings) | Box Score

Old Dominion crushed five home runs, including two off the bat of second baseman Chris Dengler, as the Monarchs powered past Middle Tennessee, 18-7, in a 10-run-rule shortened, seven-inning contest to open the 2022 Conference USA Baseball Championship on Wednesday morning at Pete Taylor Park. 
 
The two teams combined for seven round trippers, which ties a C-USA Championship record established by Rice and Memphis in 2007. ODU took an early 4-0 advantage in the first inning and added seven runs in both the fourth and sixth innings. Adding home runs for the Monarchs were first baseman Matt Coutney, catcher Brock Gagliardi and third baseman Kenny Levari. Third baseman Brice Coker and catcher Mason Speirs accounted for the Blue Raiders’ two round trippers. 
 
With the win, the Monarchs improve to 39-15 and advance to play Louisiana Tech on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT. Middle Tennessee (29-25) will face Charlotte tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. CT. 
 
Blake Morgan picked up the win after allowing six runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk, to remain perfect on the year at 8-0. He got plenty of help from his offense as Old Dominion tallied 14 hits. 
 
The Monarchs opened the scoring with an RBI single by Coutney and Levari capped the four-run first with a three-run shot to left. Middle Tennessee answered with a three-run homer of its own as Speirs launched his dinger to left-center in the top of the second, but Old Dominion created some separation in the fourth as Dengler led off the inning with a solo shot, reserve shortstop Kyle Edwards drove in left fielder Josh Trujillo with an RBI double, Gagliardi launched a grand slam and Trujillo plated Levari with a base hit to left 
 
The Blue Raiders cut the deficit to five in the top of the sixth on a three-run homer by Coker, but Old Dominion quieted any talks of a comeback in the home half of the stanza with their second seven-run frame of the day, which included a solo shot by Coutney and a three-run blast by Dengler. Middle Tennessee shortstop Fausto Lopez tallied the final run of the contest, touching the paystation on an RBI single by designated hitter Wyatt Morgan.