Battery mates Russ Anderson and Tod Meisner of the Conference USA Media Relations staff plan to provide insight and information from Greenville on the league's official website.
May 27, 2007
Goodbye Greenville
Posted at 6:40 p.m. ET
With the hum of the lawnmowers blaring in the background, we are putting the finishing touches on the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship in Greenville. The last two scribes, MK Bower of the Houston Chronicle and A.J. Carr of the Raleigh News-Observer, are trying to type up and make sense of all of the bizarre action that unfolded here today. The East Carolina staff is ready to head home after a long week.
And speaking of the East Carolina staff, we would like to send out a very big thank you to some of the people that were so instrumental in making this week a success. We can not list everyone involved but here are a few of the key individuals that we worked closely with: Terry Holland, Lee Workman, J.J. McLamb, Gary Overton, Joey Perry, Tom McClellan, Malcolm Gray, Jody Jones, Amy Howard, Charles Welch, Scott Wetherbee, Robin Taylor, etc.
For Tod Meisner, this is Russ Anderson, saying so long everybody, we'll blog at you next year!
- RDA
It's All Over
Posted at 4:50 p.m. ET
An angel cried, a trumpet sounded and a voice from up on high said "IT IS DONE!" The Owls are the 2007 C-USA Baseball regular season and tournament champions after defeating second-seeded East Carolina, 16-8. The game eneded up lasting 3 hours and 33 minutes and saw a combined 24 runs, 28 hits and five errors. The awards presentation is taking place on the field right now, with Rice getting its team celebration photo taken right now. Following is the 2007 All-Tournament Team...
2007 All-Conference USA Baseball Championship All-Tournament Team
C - Danny Lehmann, Rice
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IF - Adam Amar, Memphis
IF - Stephen Batts, East Carolina
IF - Bill Moss, Memphis
IF - Joe Savery, Rice
OF - Harrison Eldridge, East Carolina
OF - Josh Irvin, Memphis
OF - Anthony Scelfo, Tulane
DH - Aaron Luna, Rice
P - Barry Bowden, Southern Miss
P - Jaager Good, UCF
P - Matt Langwell, Rice
P - Shane Mathews, East Carolina
We will back with a quick wrap on things after we finish all of our past game duties....stay tuned...
-TM
Yo Quiero Taco Bell!
Posted at 4:35 p.m. ET
Rice has now doubled up the Pirates. The score is 16-8 in favor of the Owls after a Jared Gayhart three-run home run with two outs in the eighth. The best part of this home run was that Gayhart's homer hit the Taco Bell sign hanging over the rightfield fence, meaning everyone with a ticket stub from today's game gets a free taco at Taco Bell. With the Pirates trailing by eight entering the top of the ninth, it looks like about half of the fans are running for the border.
-TM
Owls Lead 13-8
Posted at 4:15 p.m. ET
The end might be in sight as the Owls are now up 13-8 in the top of the eighth inning. Rice has C-USA Freshman of the Year Ryan Berry on the mound right now to try and finally close the door on this marathon affair. We in the pressbox have affectionaly dubbed Berry "The Professor" becuase he pitches with glasses on. The name also fits because his is a very smart pitcher with very good command and good numbers. He will make a Pirate comback a tall order.
I want to also give props to Pirate Nation for packing the house for this televised game. Today's official attendance of 3,810 is a new C-USA Championship attendance record for an event held at an on-campus facility.
-TM
Owls In Front 10-8
Posted at 3:45 p.m. ET
The Owls have extended their lead to two and are now in front 10-8 after six innings. With two on and two outs, C-USA Player of the Year Joe Savery fought off a curve ball and looped it to right field for base hit and an RBI. The pace isn't quite as slow as before, but we still have three innings to play and it is anyone's game to win or lose. ECU brought in Bailey Daniels to pitch the last of the half inning, making him the eighth pitcher of the game. He gave up a walk to the first batter he faced to load the bases, but induced a ground out to third to end the threat.
-TM
One-Run Game
Posted at 2:50 p.m. ET
Mike Ojala entered the game for the Owls and balked home a run before he even tossed a pitch to the plate to make the score 9-7. The next batter hit a grounder to second that brought home the eighth Pirate run. We head to the bottom of the fourth with the score 9-8. Oh and we are not very far from my prediction that we may not be done with four innings before we hit the two hour mark.
-TM
Runnin' On Empty
Posted at 2:45 p.m. ET
We are into the fourth and it is still 6-3, but the Owls just made a pitching change and the Pirates have runners on second and third and nobody out. Jackson Brown's "Runnin' On Empty" is playing over the loud speakers during the change and the tune seems highly appropriate right now. Both bullpens seem to be about tapped out and I know I speak for everyone who has been in the pressbox all week that we are all running on empty as well.
-TM
9-6 Owls
Posted at 2:30 p.m. ET
Well after another half inning, we've added another pitching change, two wild pitches and two more Pirate runs. ECU left the bases loaded again to end the inning and trails by only three runs now. The scoreboard is already ugly and we are not even through three innings....
-TM
Not Going Any Where For a While?
Posted at 2:10 p.m. ET
I feel like I am stuck in a Snickers commercial. We have passed the one hour mark of this game and the second inning just finished. Rice now leads 9-4 after scoring eight runs in teh bottom of the second. So far in this game we've had 13 runs, 12 hits, five errors, three pitching changes, three visits to the mound, two big momentum shifts, a wild pitch, a hit batsmen, a passball and partridge in a pear tree. We are on pace for a 4 1/2 hour ball game. We will keep you all updated, at this rate it will be quite often.
The record for shortest championship game time is 2 hours and 11 minutes. We may be in the fourth inning by then.
-TM
ECU Leads 4-1
Posted at 1:55 p.m. ET
Harrison Eldridge continues to silidify his case for Tournament MVP. He led off the the second inning with a double and came around to score on a Ryan Wood base hit to the gap in right.
Viewers who wtach the game on CSTV may notice that each East Carolina player is wearing a Virginia Tech logo sticker on the back of their batting helmets in remembrance of the April 16 tragedy in Blacksburg, Va. East Carolina has committed to raise $100,000 for Virginia Tech to use in its relief efforts to recover from the tragedy and ECU Athletics Director Terry Holland will present that money when the Pirates and Hokies meet in the football season opener on Sept. 1 in Blacksburg.
-RDA
Pirates on Top 3-0
Posted at 1:30 p.m. ET
East Carolina has the early lead, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. The damage could have been a lot worse, but Harrison Eldridge was thrown out at second trying to advance a base after reaching first on lead-off the error to begin the game. After a few hits, Owl starter Bryan Price had trouble locating his pitches and issued several walks. Already with three runs and looking to add more, the Pirates had the bases loaded with two outs when catcher Corey Kemp struck out looking to end the inning.
-TM
Grounds Crew Salute
Posted at 12:30 p.m. ET
We want to give a big shout out to the East Carolina grounds crew. Batting practice is over and they have just taken to the field one final time to get it ready for play. This is the 14th game that they have had to prepare for since Wednesday morning. Much kudos go out to Joey Perry, Ernie Lane and the 13 student members of the grounds crew that have kept this field in excellent playing shape all week. Thanks, guys, for a job very well done.
- RDA
Championship Game Just Around the Corner
Posted at 12:30 p.m. ET
The stands are beginning to fill up, "The Jungle" is already filled and the teams are taking infield. Yes....the championship game is just a little over 30 minutes away from first pitch. After a long week of baseball and some excited games, Rice and East Carolina have survived to battle for the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship. Rice will be the home team and ECU will be the visitors in today's contest. Josh Ruhlman will be on the bump for the Pirates, while Bryan Price will get the nod for the Owls. Here are both team's lineups for today.
ECU
1 - cf Harrison Eldridge
2 - ss Ryan Woos
3 - dh Kyle Roller
4 - 1b Stephen Batts
5 - rf Ryan Tousley
6 - lf Jamie Ray
7 - 3b Jake Dean
8 - 2b Drew Schieber
9 - Corey Kemp
Rice
1 - ss Brian Friday
2 - rf Chad Lembeck
3 - 2b Jess Buenger
4 - dh Aaron Luna
5 - 1b Joe Savery
6 - lf Jordan Dodson
7 - c Danny Lehman
8 - cf Tyler Henley
9 - 3b J.P. Padrom
-TM
May 26, 2007
Rice Rolls Up Runs
Posted at 8:10 p.m. ET
The highest scoring game in C-USA Tournament history is over. Rice has earned a spot in the championship game for the second straight year with a 20-9 victory over Memphis. The win sets up a showdown between the first and second place teams in the regular season standings. Here's a couple of notes regarding tomorrow's matchup:
C-USA TOURNAMENT QUICK NOTES
East Carolina advances to C-USA Championship Game for the first time since winning the title in 2002, its first year as a member of Conference USA. The Pirates hosted the tournament that year about 20 miles down the road in Kinston, N.C. at Grainger Stadium, home of the Cleveland Indians Class A Affiliate, the Kinston Indians.
This is the second straight year that No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will meet in the C-USA Championship game. Before last year's Houston-Rice matchup, No. 1 and No. 2 seeds had only met twice in title games (1999 and 1996).
Rice will be attempting to become the seventh team in C-USA history to win the league's regular season and tournament titles in the same season. The Owls accomplished the feat last season.
Four times in C-USA Tournament history the host school has won the tournament: 2006- Rice, 2002- East Carolina, 2001- Tulane, 1998- Tulane.
East Carolina is one of just four Conference USA teams that have defeated Rice since the Owls joined the league last season. The Pirates ruined the Owls debut game in the league with a 4-3 win on March 24, 2006. Houston (twice), Memphis and Southern Miss are the only other teams to notch a win against Rice, which is 51-4 against C-USA foes in regular season and tournament play the past two seasons.
Rice's 20-9 victory over Memphis on Saturday tied the C-USA Tournament record for combined runs in a game. Houston defeated Charlotte 22-7 in the 1997 Championship Game.
It should be a great atmosphere on Sunday afternoon. The weather should be warm and the stands should be full. We're looking forward to it.
-RDA
Ugly Scoreboard
Posted at 7:15 p.m. ET
I just said to Russ that we have officially had an ugly scoreboard game. Here are just the line scores...20 runs, 20 hits and 1 error for Rice. 9 runs, 17 hits, 1 error for Memphis. After Memphis cut the score to 13-9 in the bottom of the eighth, Rice responded with seven runs in the top of the ninth to claim a 20-9 win over Memphis. The Owls advance to tomorrow's championship game against No. 2 East Carolina.
-TM
Extra Effort
Posted at 6:10 p.m. ET
Well Rice scored six in the sixth to go ahead of the Tigers 13-3. Joe Savery just got lifted however, as Memphis has scored three runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to make the score 13-6. Just when most of the crowd thought this rematch would turn into a run-rule game, Memphis has other ideas.
Rice centerfielder Chad Lembeck just showed some superb effort trying to rob a home run from Bill Moss. Lembeck had a beat on the ball and tracked it all the way to the wall. He lept once her got there and couldn't make the play, but flipped head over heels over the left centerfield fence. For a moment, nobody up in the pressbox could tell if he made the play or not. Let me tell you, it looked pretty scary. But he returned over the fence with no ball and Moss finished rounding the bases for his league-leading 14th home run. Lembeck did get a nice ovation, just for the effort.
-TM
Rice Looking Strong
Posted at 5:45 p.m. ET
Rice scored three in the top of the first and has scored in every inning but the fifth so far, to take a commanding 8-3 lead over Memphis. After the three-run first, the No. 1 seed got one in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth and one in the sixth. We are still in the sixth and they have the bases loaded and no outs.
Russ and I are now chatting with the producer for tomorrow's championship game, Rick Angelo of CSTV. He has been here all day gathering info on all of the teams remaining and scouting out the facility to shape his story for tomorrow. Rick has produced our games before, so he is familiar with our league. It is still good to provide him with all we can though, to ensure that our league and our teams are represented well during the broadcast.
-TM
Pirates to Play for Championship
Posted at 4:20 p.m. ET
East Carolina is in the title game on Sunday. The Pirates defeated Tulane, 9-4, to reach their first C-USA Championship Game since they won it in Kinston, N.C. during their first year in the league in 2002. Drew Schieber homered and Stephen Batts was 2-for-5 with three RBI.
Speaking of Batts, his hair is offically out of control. Shaggy and raggy, with a feathered look around the ears. Plus, his muttonchop sideburns are growing wildly down both sides of his face. "It's like one of those velvet Elvis heads," said one ECU staffer. You see, Batts stopped cutting his hair and shaving his sideburns when his hitting streak began. Well, that was 25 games ago on April 13. But, you know how baseball superstitions are - you can't mess with them.
Batts and the Pirates hope to create some hairy situations for either Rice or Memphis in tomorrow's championship game.
-RDA
Scoreboard Watching
Posted at 2:30 p.m. ET
Tulane just got one more in the seventh and are just down one, 5-4. My colleague Russ is dilligently surfing the internet keeping track of all the confrence championships. With selection just a few days away, it is vital to keep tabs on the rest of the leagues to see who may postion temselves to grab a late bid. With Memphis now in better shape after its win over Rice, it is important to keep our finger on the pulse. The Tigers would still probably need to beat Rice again today to really make a case for themselves, but again, you never know.
-TM
Back and Forth Battle
Posted at 2:15 p.m. ET
After battling back to tie the game, the Wave now find themselves trailing again. Tulane scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth to tie the game at 3-all. Then in the top of the fifth, the Pirates jumped back on top with a solo home run and an RBI double. It's the bottom of the seventh, Tulane has two on and nobody out after a pitching change. The Wave are not ready to give up just yet....
-TM
Error Filled First
Posted at 12:40 p.m. ET
East Carolina is out to a 3-0 lead in the second game today. The Pirates were helped by three Wave errors that led to all three runs. The last two were particularly damaging. Aja Barto and Anthony Scelfo mis-communicated on a fly ball to to left center and they bumped into each other, dropping the ball and allowing two runs to score. On the very next play, second baseman Seth Henry let a grounder scoot underneath his glove on a backhand attempt and the third run scored. Tulane is going to have to re-focus if they want to force a re-match.
-TM
U of M Prevails
Posted at 11:35 a.m. ET
The Tigers will not go down without a fight. U of M just forced an elimination game by holding on to defeat the Owls, 2-1. Rice made things interesting in the 8th by loading the bases, but they could not squeeze home a run. Memphis intentionally walked Player of the Year Joe Savery to load the bases, but J.P Padron grounded to the pitcher who threw home for the second out. Jess Buenger was up next and groudned out to short to end the threat.
In the 9th, Tyler Henley led off with a single and was sacrificed to second. He would advance no further as Matt Yokley shut the door on the Owls by getting Jordan Dodson to line out to left and then struck out Brian Friday looking to end the game.
The loss wat the first for the Owls in C-USA Championship play after winning last year's event without dropping a game. Yokley's save was his ninth of the season, a new Memphis single-season record. He is also the school's all-time saves leader.
Tulane and East Carolina are on tap next at 12:30 p.m. The Green Wave will also look to force an elimination game later tonight. The Owls and Tigers will square off again at the conclusion of the 12:30 p.m. game.
-TM
Tigers Lead
Posted at 10:25 a.m. ET
Memphis broke open a scoreless game in the top of the fourth with back-to-back home runs by Bill Moss and Adam Amar. Moss' drive almost went over the light poll in left field. Rice responded with one run of its own in the bottom of the fifth, but still trails 2-1. With four innings left to play, it is still anybody's ball game.
-TM
Bring 'Em Out
Posted at 9:10 a.m. ET
Well we are back at the yard for another day of baseball. Memphis' bus driver played the role of cheerleader once again as his team went up to bat in the bottom of the first inning. With TI's "Bring 'Em Out" blaring over the loud speakers, he was up dancing and getting his team pumped to take on the top-seeded Owls. No word on what his inspirational speech was today on the bus.
East Carolina SID Malcolm Gray was kind enough to hand out some tournament stats to us all and I thought I would pass along some of the leaders. To nobody's suprise, Rice leads all teams in hitting with a .413 batting average. They are also leaders in slugging percentage at .638 and on-base percentage at .478. Memphis has a tournament-best five home runs and 10 doubles.
The host Pirates lead all teams by far with a 1.42 ERA. The next closest is Tulane at 3.46. The biggest surpise of the championship is the drop off in home runs. After seeing 10 in the first two games, there have been only 10 since. As we told you earlier, the record is 56 and it would appear to be safe for another year.
-TM
May 25, 2007
Final Four is Set
Posted at 9:40 p.m. ET
Brandon Gomes was impressive and Tulane hit three home runs to eliminate Southern Miss, 6-2 and advance to the semifinals of the C-USA Championship for the 10th time in the 12 years of the tournament. Gomes struck out 10 and allowed just one run on six hits to earn his seventh win of the season. Anthony Scelfo, Jared Dyer and Aja Barto all went deep for Tulane.
Saturday's schedule is now set. In the 9 a.m. game, Memphis will face Rice for the fifth time in nine days. The Tigers need to beat the Owls twice on Saturday to get to Sunday's championship game. At 12:30 p.m., East Carolina will battle Tulane, with the Green Wave needing a pair of wins to earn a trip to the title game.
Today flew by with only two games on the docket. Will tomorrow bring us two, three or four games? In four of the last five years we have only needed two Saturday games in order to determine a championship game matchup. Check in tomorrow and see how it unfolds.
-RDA
Hullaballo Crew Sitting Pretty
Posted at 8:30 p.m. ET
Tulane has taken a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Wave were up 2-0 after five, before Southern Miss cut the lead 2-1 on a Michael Ewing solo blast to deep right field. The bomb cleared not only the outfield wall, but the fence seperating the baseball facility from the football practice fields. USM is now in the middle of a pitching change as Tulane has two on and one out and will look to extend their cushion.
-TM
Tigers Tame Knights
Posted at 6:20 p.m. ET
Memphis has advanced to the semifinals with a 12-6 win over UCF. It marks the first time ever that the Tigers have advanced to the C-USA tourney semifinals in back-to-back seasons. Once again, though, Memphis will meet top-seeded Rice in the semifinal round. The Tigers did receive their second complete game of the tournament, as Ben Grisham, nephew of author John Grisham went the distance.
Speaking of famous relatives, Ben Grisham is not the only one related to a famous person playing in today's games at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Tulane's Tim Guidry, cousin of former New York Yankee and 1978 Cy Young Award winner Ron Guidry is starting at first base for Tulane. Green Wave relief pitcher Peter Connick is the cousin of singer/actor/songwriter Harry Connick, Jr.
-RDA
It's a Scorcher
Posted at 4:50 p.m. ET
The temperature is rising here at Lewis Field. Today is definatley the hottest day of the championship. Weather.com says it is 85 degrees, but I beg to differ. There is absolutely no breeze to keep things cool and one can work up a lather in a matter of minutes. On a related note, Memphis still is going "rat-a-tat-tat-tat with its baseball bat" and swinging hot bats. The Tigers now lead 11-4 and have banged out 11 hits.
-TM
Four More
Posted at 4:00 p.m. ET
Unlike yesterday, Memphis was able to add to its five-run first inning lead and tacked on four more in the bottom of the second. They were helped by three Knight errors. The Tigers are coming up again in the bottom of the third and hold a commanding 9-0 lead. Four of the nine runs are unearned.
-TM
High Five
Posted at 3:30 p.m. ET
Memphis got off to a blazing start, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead over UCF. Joey Lieberman had the big blast, hitting his league-leading 13th home run of the season, a towering three-run shot that bounced onto Charles Street behind left field and finally settled in the apartments on the other side of the street.
-RDA
C-USA Players Reach Out to Greenville Community
Posted at 2:35 p.m. ET
Without any morning games on today's schedule, a number of players participated in a visit to the Children's Center at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville. Making the visit were T.J. Hose of East Carolina, Mark Jobe, Chris Novikoff and Chase Sain of Memphis, Ryan Berry and Ryne Tacker of Rice, Patrick Ezell and Ben Wade of Southern Miss, Rustin Rebowe and Ty Wallace of Tulane and Matt Goodyear and Mitch Herold of UCF.
The players spent time visiting the rooms of the young children and playing games in the main activity room. They also handed out T-shirts and signed autographs for the youngsters, brightening their day.
A photo gallery of the players visit can be seen on the baseball championship page: Photo Gallery
-RDA
May 24, 2007
What An End to Today
Posted at 11:40 p.m. ET
What a final game of the day! Harrison Eldridge stole home in the bottom of the tenth inning to give East Carolina a 2-1 victory over Southern Miss. After he crossed the plate, the Pirates dugout spilled out onto the field, racing behind home plate to exchange high fives and jump around to celebrate a win that pushes the Pirates into Saturday's semifinals.
That puts the wrap on another fun day at the yard. Just two games on the docket for Friday, beginning with UCF against Memphis at 3 p.m. Following that, it's Conference USA's version of the Yankees and Red Sox when longtime rivals Southern Miss and Tulane meet at 6:30 p.m.
One other event to mention on Friday's schedule. At 10:00 am, two players from each school remaining in the tournament will make a visit to the children's ward at Pitt County Memorial Hospital. We'll have an entry discussing the visit when we get back online tomorrow afternoon. Until then, good night from Greenville.
-RDA
Bonus Baseball
Posted at 10:45 p.m. ET
Well for one thing, ECU has proven that it has a flair for the dramatic. The Pirates rallied in the ninth to tie the game at 1-1 and we are heading to extra innings. I just knew that we couldn't have two 1-0 games in the same day after not having a single game in championship history decided by that score until today. And I also knew I would jinx us with that out of here before midnight comment.
ECU had a chance to end it in the ninth after it tied the score as it kept the bases loaded. Drew Schieber had a great at-bat, fouling off several pitches, before striking out looking to end the frame.
-TM
Game Four Update
Posted at 9:45 p.m. ET
ECU starter Dustin Sasser was just lifed after going six and a third innings and giving up the game's only run, a Jody Blunt solo shot to right center field. Southern Miss still leads 1-0. Bailey Daniles is on the bump now for ECU and working with a runner on second base and one out. I think I speak for everyone up here in the pressbox when I say day two seems to be flying by compared to yesterday. We may just get out of here before midnight! Or I just jinxed us.....
TM
Snack Time
Posted at 9:20 p.m. ET
Quality control. Its the term that ECU Athletic Media Relations Director Tom McClellan likes to use when referring to the press box hospitality. One thing is very clear in this tournament. No one in the press box is going hungry. Tom has put together a wide array of foods that have earned East Carolina the honor of having the best snack food in C-USA Tournament history. There are the baseball staples of cracker jack, peanuts and bubble gum. Sweet tooths are fulfilled with cookies, M&M's and Rice Krispie bars. There are several varieties of chips, Slim Jims and even animal crackers. Not only is no one going to go hungry, no one is going to lose weight, either. Oh, and if you're thirsty there is soda, bottled water and fresh coffee made throughout the day. And, Tom might even serve you a piping hot cup of Joe. He did for Southern Miss Associate Athletic Director Mike Montoro. Something about owing Mike for the loss that the Pirate football team handed Mike's Golden Eagles back in October. Speaking of matchups between East Carolina and Southern Miss, they appear to be involved in our second pitchers duel of the day. ECU's Dustin Sasser and Barry Bowden are matched up in a scoreless battle in the bottom of the fifth inning.
-RDA
Owls Prevail
Posted at 7:55 p.m. ET
After the five-run first for Memphis, they were held scoreless the rest of the way and fell to Rice, 7-5. The Owls tallied 10 hits, but four Tiger errors also helped Rice grab the win.
Some of us went to the hospitality tent to grab dinner after the seventh inning. The food again was excellent again. Tonight's meal was catered by Pirates Pub and I would receommend it highly. I then stayed back and watched the last couple of innings from down by the field. I had to handle some post game, on-field responsibilites and caught the last inning and a half from just beyond the third base dugout.
The most intresting part of the post game was witnessing something from the grounds crew that I had never seen before. As I was heading back to the pressbox, Rice's beat writer, MK Bower and I noticed that some of the grounds crew members were placing pieces of what looked like clay in the batters box. It appeared they were holding chunks of clay in their hands and then placing little pieces in the foot holes in the right hand batter box to make it more even. They then tamped the clay into the box and it looked as good as new.
Now I don't claim to be an expert on grounds work, but I can't recall seeing a crew go to lengths quite like that. Needeless to say, MK and I were impressed and I wanted to give Joey Perry and the guys some love on here. They are doing a great job with the field and are earning their money this week.
-TM
2007 Conference USA All-Name Team
Posted at 5:50 p.m. ET
Ladies and Gentlemen....it is time to present to the world the 2007 Conference USA All-Name Team as chosen by myself, Russ, Houston SID Jeff Conrad, Tulane SID and resident wisecracker Richie Weaver and Memphis SID Jason Redd. Thirteen uniquely named individuals made the inaugural squad. Well inaugural to this league, I used to come up with teams like this all the time when I worked for the Missouri Valley Conference. The reason we settled on 13 players was to try and match the number of members on the first and second All-Conference teams. Tulane led the team with four members, while East Carolina and UCF both had two members. Ok...without further adieu...
Harrison Eldridge - ECU
Brett Butts - ECU
Felix Fanaselle - HOU
Capris Longmire - MEM
Diego Seastrunk - Rice
Trey Cuevas - USM
Cat Everett - TLN
Grayden Griener - TLN
Shooter Hunt - TLN
Aja Barto - TLN
Jimbo Crew - UAB
Kiko Vazquez - UCF
Jaager Good - UCF
-TM
Tigers Attack
Posted at 5:15 p.m. ET
Memphis baseball bus driver turned super fan Andrew Moore likes to give the Tigers inspirational messages before games. Today was no different. As the team arrived at Clark-LeClair Stadium for their matchup with top-seeded Rice, Moore addressed the squad with the following words: "We're gonna rat-a-tat-tat-tat with the baseball bat." And apparently they have (if rat-a-tat-tat means hit well). The Memphis bats sent Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Ryne Tacker to the showers in the first inning by putting up a five spot in the bottom of inning number one. The Tigers lead 5-4 in the top of the third....
-RDA
Hullabaloo
Posted at 4:25 p.m. ET
It was a busy afternoon for Rhonda Emaus, Kathy Garrett and Susan Latham. Seated above Tulane dugout down the first base line, the mothers of Green Wave players Brad Emaus, Jonathan Garrett and Daniel Latham were carrying on a Tulane athletics tradition for several hours. After each Wave run scored they broke out into "The Hullabaloo," a long-standing Tulane fight song. Here are the words:
(A one, a two, a hellava HULLABALOO)
HULLABALOO, 'Ray, 'Ray
HULLABALOO, 'Ray, 'Ray
Hooray-Hooray
Varsity, Varsity, T.A.
T.A. T.A.
Varsity, Varsity, T.A.
Tulane.
Rhonda, Kathy and Susan got to cheer the Hullabaloo 13 times!!! Tulane has seen more than its share of struggles at the plate the past six weeks. But today the Green Wave put all that behind them, piling up 13 runs in a 13-5 victory over UAB, rolling up 21 hits. It was enough to make all Tulane fans break out into song.
-RDA
Uni Watch
Posted at 3:15 p.m. ET
We're back again, it has been a while since we last checked in. After seeing each team play at least once, I am now ready to give you some uniform related minutia. For those of you that are into that sort of thing like me (and I know you are out there since the Uni Watch website gets 1,000s of hits a day), I figured I would pass a long a few tidbits from our championship. First and foremost, I must hand out gold stars to Wes Musick of Houston and Brandon Flaherty of UAB. Both of these young gentlemen come ready to play dressed to the nines. They both sport their pants hiked up to reveal stirrups. I am not talking about just showing some colored socks, I am talking about stirrup socks over white sanitary socks. In the words of Borat: Very Nice!
I would say that all of our teams have solid uniform combinations, so I will not attempt to rank then 1-8. I will, however, give you some team highlights. Houston and UAB again sport solid unis that are similar to some MLB duds. Houston's all white home unis look strikingly similar to Atlanta's and UAB's home whites are similar to Oakland's. The Blazers wear the white shoes to boot! Rice has very cool old english script on their jersey fronts and their caps feature an old english R. Only two of our teams, Tulane and Houston, have so far had last names on the back of their uniforms.
Well, I don't want to bore some of you any more so I will cut my report off at that. Stay tuned at some point today for the unveiling of Russ and I's 2007 All-Conference USA Name Team.
-TM
Heading Back to Houston
Posted at 11:55 a.m. ET
The first team has been eliminated from the Conference USA Tournament. In the first 1-0 game in C-USA Tournament history, the Houston Cougars were on the wrong end of a pitchers duel, falling to the UCF Knights in a speedy 2:17 game. For UCF, it is their first-ever C-USA Tournament win. Junior Jaeger Good had his best outing of the season, tossing seven shutout innings and allowing only four hits while striking out nine. Freshman Wes Musick certainly kept UH in the ball game, throwing a complete game and allowing just six hits, while striking out five. But, the Cougars could not come up with the big hit. Houston had the bases loaded in the fifth, men on first and third in the seventh and a lead-off double in the ninth, but failed to push any of them across the plate. And thus ends a tough year for the Cougars. Injuries played a huge role in the outcome of the season as Houston finishes up 28-28. UCF advances to Friday's 3:00 game against the loser of this afternoon's Memphis-Rice game.
-RDA
All is Quiet
Posted at 10:10 a.m. ET
It's as quiet as has been at Clark-LeClair Stadium all week. Everyone in the press box is pretty subdued. Even Tulane SID Richie Weaver , who always plays the role of class clown, is more mellow than usual. Perhaps it has something to do with the scoreless game on the field. We're in the top of the fifth and each team has three hits, but no one has reached home plate. We need to turn that offensive switch back on...
-RDA
Trying to Stay Alive
Posted at 9:15 a.m. ET
We're back at it on a beautiful morning in Greenville. The first elimination game is underway with UCF taking on Houston. The Knights are looking for their first-ever victory in the C-USA Tournament, while the Cougars are hoping to avoid their first two-and-out showing since 2001. Jaeger Good is pitching for UCF, while first team All-Conference selection Wes Musick is toeing the rubber for Houston.
-RDA
May 23, 2007
Day One is in the Books
Posted at 11:35 p.m. ET
The opening day of the C-USA Baseball Championship has come to an end. The second session proved to be much different than the first, as the scoring slowed down and the solid pitching picked up. In the nightcap, host East Carolina advanced to a Thursday matchup with Southern Miss by knocking off Tulane, 4-2. Though Shooter Hunt was outstanding for most of the game, he made one mistake and Harrison Eldridge made him pay with what proved to be the game-winning home run. Any thoughts of a late Green Wave comeback were killed with a dominant outing by Pirates closer Shane Mathews. The junior righty struck out two of the three batters he faced to earn his 13th save of the season.
The media are in the press box putting together their stories of tonight's final game and the grounds crew is busy working on the field for tomorrow's games, so, though a long day of action is over, this park is not ready for bed yet. It will be a short night for many, as just seven hours from now, UCF will be at the stadium for batting practice prior to its game with Houston. Time to grab a little sleep...talk to you on Thursday from Clark-LeClair Stadium.
-RDA
Eldridge Delivers
Posted at 10:40 p.m. ET
ECU centerfielder Harrison Eldridge finally got to Shooter Hunt and gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead after hitting a three-run blast over the right field fence with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The shot was his sixth home run of the season and came at a very important time in the ball game for ECU.
-TM
Shooter Guns 'Em Down
Posted at 10:30 p.m. ET
Tulane starter Shooter Hunt is pitching a gem in the final game. Hunt has now struck out six consecutive batters and has a 2-0 lead over the host Pirates. He is not yet at the 100 pitch mark through six and a third and has eight punchouts for the game. ECU hitters can not touch him right now.
-TM
Where have all the homers gone?
Posted at 9:25 p.m. ET
Well, look what's happened in Greenville. Pitching is back. We're in the top of the fourth inning and Tulane and East Carolina are scoreless. In fact, each team put their first (and only) hits on the board in the third inning. The Green Wave's Shooter Hunt and the Pirates' T.J. Hose, a pair of second team All-Conference selections, are dueling it out on the mound. Hunt has a pair of strikeouts, while Hose has sat down three.
They just revealed the attendance in the press box. A total of 2,608 fans are here for the second session. And they're making their presence felt with some noise.
-RDA
Pirate Nation
Posted at 8:20 p.m. ET
Long time no blog.....Russ and I got busy with postgame stuff from game three. Southern Miss rallied for a 9-5 win over UAB in the afternoon contest. The Golden Eagles trailed through six innings, but scored six in the seventh to put the game away. The nightcap between host and No. 2 seed East Carolina and No. 7 Tulane just got underway. I must again say that I am impressed with Pirate Nation. The stands are packed with yellow and purple and "The Jungle" is filled out in left field. The crowd is vocal and this should make for a great atmosphere and a great game.
-TM
Homer Time
Posted at 5:50 p.m. ET
The continuing developing story of this tournament is the barrage of home runs that are being hit. Certainly the cozy dimensions of Clark-LeClair Stadium have something to do with it. Its 320 feet down each of the lines, 390 to straight-away center and about 370 to the power alleys. The winds are not a huge factor, they're blowing left to right at about 10 miles per hour. Whatever the reason, a league whose strength this season was pitching has been dominated by the longball on the first day of this tourney. When Southern Miss junior first baseman Trey Sutton launched a 360-foot shot to right field it marked the 11th home run on opening day. The single day tournament record is certainly in jeopardy. That was 17, hit on May 15, 1996 at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg. That same tournament saw an unbelievable 56 home runs hit, a figure that has never been approached since...perhaps until this one. There are few people involved in this year's C-USA Baseball Championship that were around during the league's inaugural event in 1996. I am one of them. As the baseball contact for Conference USA during the league's entire existence, I have been at every single C-USA Tournament game. That's a lot of baseball. I can come up with two other people that have been a part of every tournament. Tulane's Rick Jones is the only head coach that was around the entire time and he is joined by Green Wave play-by-play voice Todd Graffagnini and Southern Miss radio analyst Lance Pittman in attending all 12 tournaments.
RDA
Saver the Moment
Posted at 5:10 p.m. ET
Joe Savery left little doubt on why he was voted the Conference USA Player of the Year during the Owls 16-6 win over UCF. The junior All-American candidate tied a C-USA Tournament record with a career-high five hits, driving in a pair of runs and scoring twice as the Owls spoiled the C-USA Tourney debut of UCF with a run-rule victory. Rice scored at least once in each inning that Savery reached base as he raised his team-best batting average 13 more points to .369.
-RDA
Rice Has 11
Posted at 2:45 p.m. ET
The Owls have blown it wide open now, following their five-run fourth with a four-run fifth. It is now 11-4 and Rice appears to be well on its way to playing in the 4 o'clock game tomorrow. We are also up to nine home runs on the day as Ryan Richardson just went deep for UCF's fourth run. The home run for Richardson was his first in 2007.
-TM
Another Update
Posted at 2:20 p.m. ET
Rice has taken the lead once again. The Owls scored four more runs, all with two outs, and are up 7-3. In fact, all five runs in the inning came with two down. UCF starter Mitch Herold has now been lifted and Brett Bordwine is on the hill trying to close out the inning. I am not off to catch some more of the game from the stands. Be back with more in a while...
-TM
Rice Pulls Even
Posted at 2:05 p.m. ET
Rice has evened the score in the bottom of the fourth, stringing together a few hits to knot the score at 3-all. The Owls currently have a runner on first with two outs.
-TM
Game Two In Progress
Posted at 2:00 p.m. ET
Rice broke open a scoreless game with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to take the early 2-0 lead in game two. UCF answered right back with three runs of its own in the top of the fourth and currently leads 3-2. There is a very nice crowd in the stands, considering it is the middle of the day on a Wednesday. In the area that the ECU folks call "The Jungle," which is the area beyond the left field fence, there are lots of tailgaters in purple and white tents. Pirate Nation is also flying its colors proudly with many Pirate flags. It is also interesting to note that the home crowd is pulling for UCF in the game.
-TM
Game One in the Books
Posted at 12:00 p.m. ET
The Tigers took game one by a final score of 12-4. We almost saw our seventh home run, but K.K. Chalmers of Memphis made a highlight-reel catch in center field to rob a long ball in the 8th. U of M's Brennon Martin tossed his first career complete game and improved to 4-1 in 2007. Memphis' four home runs in the contest were a new single-seaon high and Michael Murray extended his hitting streak to 16 games. Game two between No. 1 Rice and No. 8 UCF is set to begin at approximately 12:35 ET. I'll have the game story and box score posted for game one shortly. Quotes will also be up soon as well.
-TM
More Long Balls
Posted at 11:05 a.m. ET
Memphis added to its home run tally in the top of the 6th as Michael Murray and Adam Amar both went deep. There have now been six home runs hit in the game and Memphis is confortably in front of the Cougars by a score of 10-2. To put the homer disply in perspective, there were only seven total home runs hit throughout the 2006 Championship. We may see that many in game one alone!
-TM
Home Run Happy
Posted at 10:15 a.m. ET
Houston is working its way back into it in game one. The Cougars hit back-to-back home runs to open the bottom of the third inning. The first came from DH Chris Joseph, his first of the season. Two pitches later, 2B Ryan Lormand went deep, to nearly the same spot in left field. The all-time record for home runs hit in a C-USA Tournament is 56, back in 1996 in Hattiesburg, Miss. ECU Senior Associate AD Nick Floyd (who worked at Southern Miss at the time) and I were just reminiscing about the unbelievable power show we saw that May at Pete Taylor Park. Well, we're on pace for 117 home runs in this tournament, which would certainly shatter that record. I somehow doubt that pace will keep up.
-RDA
Game One Update
Posted at 9:55 a.m. ET
Josh Irvin just added to the Tiger lead with a three-run home run with one out in the top of the third inning. The blast was Irvin's fourth home run of the season and he now has 39 RBI on the year. The Tigers lead 5-0. Irvin's bomb also chased UH starter Aaron Brown and Barry Laird is now pitching for the Cougars. Laird and UH got out of the inning without allowing any more runs and the Coogs are now coming to bat in the bottom of the third inning.
-TM
Baseball and Breakfast
Posted at 9:00 a.m. ET
Good morning from Greenville. Russ and I are back and plan to give updates all throughout the day. It's another beautiful morning here in North Carolina and it is just about time for the first pitch of the 2007 C-USA Baseball Championship. No. 4 Houston takes on No. 5 Memphis to begin action today. The Tigers and Cougars are meeting meeting in the tournament for the first time since 1998. Aaron Brown will be on the bump for UH, while Brennon Martin will take to the mound for U of M. The Cougars have just taken the field and we are about to get underway. Stay tuned for more...
-TM
May 22, 2007
The Ring of the Ping
Posted at 2:50 p.m. ET
The ping of the bat continues at Clark-LeClair Stadium as we're into the final three practices of the day. Red-hot Southern Miss, winners of 10 straight, is taking its cuts at batting practice right now. Next up, is host East Carolina, followed by top-seeded Rice. Then sun has finally broken through the clouds this afternoon but most everyone is remarking about the perfect temperatures of the low-70's, certainly a far cry from what these teams have been used to in recent C-USA tournaments in Houston, Hattiesburg, Miss. and New Orleans. Let's just hope this will keep up the remainder of the week. The forecast does not show any rain, a very welcome site to tournament administrators.
Following the practices there will be a meeting for the coaches and administrators at the City Hotel and Bistro, the Greenville hotel that will be the home for four teams this week. Tournament logistics will be discussed at the meeting, credentials distributed and tournament questions answered. From there people will grab dinner and enjoy some social time before the competition begins at 9 a.m. EDT. Yes, some people (not necessarily the players) are not thrilled with the early first pitch. Baseball and Breakfast - sounds good to me.
-RDA
2007 All-Conference Teams Announced
Posted at 1:30 p.m. ET
The 2007 C-USA Baseball All-Conference and Specialty awards were just announced by Russ. Check the main page of the website for full details. Here is a quick rundown of the specialty awards:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joe Savery, Rice
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Ryne Tacker, Rice
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Ryan Berry, Rice
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Jimmy Cesario, OF, Houston
KEITH LeCLAIR COACH OF THE YEAR
Wayne Graham, Rice
The Houston Cougars are taking BP right now. Russ, Emily and I went down to the field for a bit, but now we are back up in the pressbox. There is still some setup going on around the ballpark and just a few of us here in the pressbox.
-TM
Practice Day Underway
Posted at 10:45 a.m. ET
Practice day is underway at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Behind the scenes, the ECU staff is putting the finishing touches on getting the stadium ready for tomorrow's action. The beautiful brick and steel facade is being draped in Conference USA banners and signage. The press box is getting filled with materials and equipment for those covering the event this week. The operations staff has the field in great shape for a week of action.
UCF was the first team to take the field for practice. The Knights were happy to be a part of this year's tourney, although it came to the final weekend to earn their spot. Legendary UCF coach Jay Bergman was in good spirits as the team took batting practice, remarking on the challenge of playing in Conference USA week in and week out. This year the Knights showed a lot of signs of being a solid ballclub, beating the likes of Florida, LSU and TCU in non-conference play. With a roster made up largely of freshmen and sophomores, the future is bright for Bergman and UCF.
After the Knights finished their one hour practice time, it was time for Tulane to take the field. It's unusual to see the Green Wave this early on practice day. With the lowest seeds going first, Tulane is usually one of the last teams to have its practice session. But, this season has been anything but normal for the Greenies. A second straight year of not having a home stadium to play or practice in appeared to take its toll on Tulane. Though they finished the year in a tough way, the Green Wave have a lot of talent and could still be dangerous here this week.
Next up, the UAB Blazers...
-RDA
Greetings From Greenville
Posted at 10:00 a.m. ET
Russ Anderson, Emily Agler, Alfred White and myself (Tod Meisner) all made it to G-Ville safe and sound last night and are here at the stadium today for team practices. Check back today and throughout the tournament for insight and updates from Russ and I. Russ will be back soon with his first entry.
-TM