NCAA Regional Baseball Notebook
May 28, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format Conference USA will be sending five teams to the 2008 NCAA Baseball Championship, which begins Friday. Rice will host the Houston Regional as the No. 6 national seed, while Southern Miss will be the No. 2 seed in Baton Rouge, La., East Carolina will be the No. 2 seed in Conway, S.C., Houston will travel up the road to College Station, Texas, where it will compete as the No. 3 seed and Tulane will play in Tallahassee, Fla. as the No. 3 seed. The five bids tie for the most in C-USA history, matching the five selections during the 2002 season. Only the SEC (9), ACC (6) and Big 12 (6) had more bids than Conference USA.
C-USA YEAR-BY-YEAR NCAA SELECTIONS 2008 East Carolina, Houston, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane 2007 East Carolina, Memphis, Rice, Southern Miss 2006 Houston, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane 2005 East Carolina, Southern Miss, TCU, Tulane 2004 East Carolina, Southern Miss, TCU, Tulane 2003 East Carolina, Houston, Southern Miss, Tulane 2002 East Carolina, Houston, Louisville, USF, Tulane 2001 Houston, USF, Tulane 2000 Houston, Tulane 1999 Houston, Southern Miss, Tulane 1998 Charlotte, Tulane 1997 Houston, USF 1996 Tulane, USF C-USA SUPER REGIONAL TEAMS 2007 Rice 2006 Rice 2005 Tulane 2004 East Carolina, Tulane 2003 Houston 2002 Houston 2001 Tulane 2000 Houston C-USA COLLEGE WORLD SERIES TEAMS 2007 Rice 2006 Rice 2005 Tulane 2001 Tulane C-USA NOTEBOOK The Pirates will play in the NCAA Championship for the ninth time in 10 years when it faces Alabama in the opening round of the Conway (S.C.) Regional. Righthander Seth Maness was named C-USA Freshman of the Year after tying for the league lead in wins. He is 9-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 77 strikeouts with just 18 walks in 91 innings pitched. Maness is just the second freshmen in East Carolina history to win nine games. Junior RHP Justin Bristow earned C-USA Newcomer of the Year honors. He has posted an 8-2 record with a 3.22 ERA and 78 strikeouts with 25 walks. Senior C Corey Kemp was named Conference USA Player of the Year. He is batting .349 with 11 doubles, 16 homers and 67 RBI. Senior OF Harrison Eldridge has moved into third place on the school's all-time stolen base list with 63. He tops the Pirates with a .355 batting average and has hit 14 doubles. Shortstop Dustin Harrington earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. Although he had his 15-game hitting streak snapped in the Pirates last game, he is batting .317 with four home runs, 38 RBI, seven doubles, 10 sacrifices and four stolen bases. HOUSTON The Cougars won their first Conference USA Tournament since 2000 by defeating Marshall, 3-2 on Sunday afternoon. Houston will now make it seventh NCAA appearance in 10 years when it faces Dallas Baptist on Friday afternoon at the College Station Regional. Senior 3B Bryan Pounds was named Tournament MVP after batting .524 (11-for-21) with a double, a home run, six RBI and five walks. On the season, he tops the Cougars in batting (.380) and RBI (64), while hitting 18 doubles and nine home runs. Senior OF Jake Stewart tops the team in doubles (24) and home runs (14), while batting .342 with 48 RBI. Freshman RHP Chase Dempsay picked up another save in the C-USA Tournament to boost his team-leading and UH-freshman-record total to 11. He became only the fourth player in UH history to record 10+ saves in a single season, joining Ryan Wagner (16 in 2003), Justin Vaclavik (12 in 2005) and Jesse Crain (10 in 2002). Dempsay also picked up his sixth win of the season in the tournament, second-most on the team. Houston posted an 11-1 home record in Conference USA play this season and a 24-6 overall mark at Cougar Field, tying the 1999 team for the most home wins. Marshall's amazing run at the C-USA Championship fell just short, as the Thundering Herd lost to Houston in the title game, 3-2. Marshall finished the season 30-30-1, setting a new school-record for the most wins as a Division I member. Junior OF Nate Lape followed up his first team All-Conference selection by being named to the All-Tournament team. He was 9-for-22 (.409) with a double, three home runs and 11 RBI. On the season, Lape topped the team in nearly every category, including batting (.388), runs (62), hits (83), doubles (17), home runs (17) and RBI (63). His .706 slugging percentage leads Conference USA. In addition to being named to the All-Freshman team, DH Victor Gomez earned second team All-Conference honors. He batted .358 with nine doubles, 11 homers and 47 RBI. Junior RHP Steve Blevins was 9-3 with a 4.41 ERA and 78 strikeouts with just 31 walks. Blevins is the first Marshall pitcher to win nine games in a single season since JR Watts won nine games in 1998. Five of his wins came in C-USA play, tying him for the lead in that category. Junior IF Adam Yeager shattered the C-USA Tournament record with nine stolen bases, including five on one game. He established a new Marshall single-season record for stolen bases with 47, the fifth-highest total in C-USA history. Freshman RHP Arik Sikula has set the school's single-season save record with eight. The Tigers closed out the regular season with a 7-5 win over No. 30 East Carolina. Despite the win, Memphis missed the Conference USA Championship for the first time since 2005. Sophomore 1B Trey Wiedman led the team in batting (.302), hits (60), home runs (8) and RBI (39). Junior OF Brett Bowen smacked a team-high 15 doubles and ranked second in homers (5) and RBI (30). Among the seniors that played their final home game this weekend was CF K.K. Chalmers, who will leave as school's all-time leader in triples (15) and stolen bases (112). His stolen base figure is second in C-USA history. Senior LHP Neil Schenk earned a win in his final appearance in a Tiger uniform on Saturday, closing the season at 2-2 with a 3.40 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 39.2 innings pitched. The May 17 game marked the final contest at Nat Buring Stadium before major off-season renovations that will include new grandstand seating, a new press box and the addition of suites. RICE The Owls earned a national seed for the third year in a row and will host the Houston Regional as the No. 6 seed. Rice will be hosting a regional for the seventh time in eight years as it makes its 14th consecutive NCAA appearance. The Owls won their third straight C-USA regular season title and also clinched its 14th-straight season with at least 40 wins. Since joining Conference USA in 2006, Rice's all-time record in regular season league games is 65-7 (.903). This season, the Blue & Gray is now 11-4 in games against nationally-ranked opponents. Sophomore 3B Diego Seastrunk, a first team All-C-USA selection, leads the team in batting (.374) and doubles (19), while hitting five homers and driving in 54 runs. Junior C Adam Zornes, a second team all-league choice, has caught more than 90 percent of the Owls' total innings this season and calls the pitches. He is batting .309 with nine doubles, 11 homers and 50 RBI. With nine homers on the year, junior OF Aaron Luna now has 38 in his career and he needs just one more to move into a tie for fifth place on Rice's all-time list. Sophomore RHP Ryan Berry leads the Owls pitching staff with a 3.10 ERA. He is 7-4 and has struck out 80 batters, while walking only 25 in 90 innings pitched. Senior LHP Cole St.Clair has a team-high eight wins (8-2) and has saved five games in 30 appearances. In 50 innings pitched, he has 56 strikeouts, while walking only 14 batters. SOUTHERN MISS The Golden Eagles will be playing in the NCAA Championship for the sixth consecutive season, opening regional play against New Orleans in Baton Rouge, La. Southern Miss finished in second place in the regular season standings, the fourth time in the last six years that the Eagles have at least tied for second place. Senior LHP Tyler Conn earned a pair of saves at the Conference USA Championship and set a new single-season league record for saves with 18. Conn, who leads the nation in saves, is 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA and 42 strikeouts with just 12 walks in 35.1 innings pitched. Despite missing a month with a shouler injury, senior RHP Barry Bowden leads the team in victories, going 8-3 with a 1.62 ERA and 75 strikeouts with only 20 walks. Conn and Bowden both earned first team All-Conference USA recognition. Southern Miss has posted a 12-2 record this season in games that freshman RHP Todd McInnis has started. McInnis is 6-2 and has struck out a team-high 71 batters in 67 innings. Junior SS Brian Dozier is second on the squad in batting at .343 while producing a team-high 17 doubles and 45 RBI. Thanks to a torrid stretch in late April and early May, junior IF James Ewing paces the club in batting at .369. He has 12 doubles, five homers and 43 RBI and was named first team All-C-USA. TULANE After a one-year absence, Tulane (37-20-1) is back in the NCAA field for the 10th time in 11 years. The Green Wave will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to face Florida (34-22), an at-large SEC selection. Junior RHP Shooter Hunt became the first Tulane hurler since Josh Bobbitt in 1998 to be named Conference USA Pitcher of the Year. He ranks third in the nation in strikeouts with 119 Ks in 2008. Hunt is 9-3 on the year with a 2.45 ERA, while holding opposing batters to a .156 average. Since joining the Green Wave prior to the 2007 season, Hunt is a combined 15-9 with a 2.57 ERA and a .203 opponent batting average. He was the only player to earn C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors three times this season. Freshman 3B/P Rob Segedin is emerging as the latest in a long line of two-way stars at Tulane. The All-Freshman team selection leads the team in batting (.333) and doubles (18) while hitting six homers and driving in 56 runs. On the mound, Segedin has a win and four saves in 13 appearances, striking out 21 and walking only four in 18.1 innings pitched. Junior OF Anthony Scelfo has turned in a very productive year at the plate for the Wave, hitting .324 with eight doubles, six triples, 12 home runs and 51 RBI. Junior IF Seth Henry split time between second base and shortstop this season, ranking second on the team in batting at .332, while hitting 17 doubles and driving in 53 runs. Scelfo was a first team all-league choice, while Henry was named to the second team. UAB The Blazers reached the semifinals of the C-USA Baseball Championship for the first time since 2004, knocking off top-seeded Rice and then defeating Houston in dramatic fashion on a walk-off home run by senior 1B Ryan Keedy. The win over No. 5 Rice marked the first time in program history that UAB has defeated a top 10 team. Senior 1B Ryan Keedy became the 11th player in C-USA history to bat over .400, finishing the season at .423, the third-highest average in school annals. Keedy established a new school record four doubles in a season with 29. With 37 doubles in two seasons, he tied for sixth on UAB's career chart. His 69 RBI on the season is the fifth-highest total in school history and the most by a UAB player since Jay Jones hit 70 in 1996. Sophomore 3B Luke Stewart hit 13 home runs this season, the most by a Blazer player since Daniel Hill hit 14 in 2004. The 13 homers move him into a tie for 10th place in the UAB single-season record book. Freshman 2B Nick Crawford has set new school and conference records with 21 sacrifice bunts on the season. Junior RHP Kyle Roberson earned back-to-back wins over ranked teams with wins over Southern Miss and Rice. He finished the season 6-6 with a 4.64 ERA and 53 strikeouts and 34 walks. UAB had a total of 17 games in which it scored 10 or more runs this season. UCF The Knights advanced to the C-USA Championship for the second straight season, but lost to Southern Miss and Tulane. The team's 31 overall wins are the most for the program since 2005, its final year in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Sophomore IF Shane Brown led the team with nine home runs. Last year as a freshman, Brown did not have a four-bagger in 38 games played. Brown topped the club in batting at .367 and has 14 doubles along with a team-high 49 RBI. Junior OF Colin Arnold earned second team All-C-USA honors, batting .325 with 17 doubles, 37 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Junior 1B Kiko Vazquez missed much of the season due to injury, but hit safely in 16 of the 18 games that he played in, batting .278 with five doubles, three homers and 11 RBI. Junior C Robert Lara picked off a league-high five runners this season. Lara finished as UCF's leading starting position player in Conference USA games, batting .358 with a team-high 18 RBI. For the 2008 campaign, UCF shattered its single-season attendance record as 40,012 fans made their way to the ballpark this year.
THE POLLS Baseball America (May 26) Collegiate Baseball (May 26)
Sports Weekly (May 26) NCBWA (May 26)
PSEUDO-RPI REPORT Five members of Conference USA are ranked in the Top 50 of the latest Pseudo-RPI's, as published by Boyd Nation (www.boydsworld.com). Here's a look at where each C-USA school ranks (as of May 26): 5. Rice 16. East Carolina 36. Southern Miss 43. Houston 49. Tulane 63. UCF 72. Marshall 148. UAB 176. Memphis CONSECUTIVE NCAA APPEARANCES Rice will be making its 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship this season, the fourth-longest active streak in Division I. Southern Miss will be making its sixth consecutive NCAA appearance. Here is a look at the longest active streaks: 36 Miami (Fla.) 31 Florida State 17 Cal State Fullerton 14 RICE 10 Texas 9 Arizona State 9 South Carolina 8 Long Beach State 7 Arkansas 7 North Carolina 7 Wichita State 6 SOUTHERN MISS 6 North Carolina State 6 Pepperdine TITLE HOLDERS Rice became the first Conference USA team to win three straight regular season titles when it captured this year's crown. Houston won its first C-USA Tournament title since 2000, its third postseason crown. Here's a look at C-USA's regular season and tournament champions: Year Regular Season Tournament 2008 Rice Houston 2007 Rice Rice 2006 Rice Rice 2005 Tulane TCU/Tulane* 2004 East Carolina TCU 2003 Southern Miss Southern Miss 2002 Houston East Carolina 2001 Tulane Tulane 2000 Houston Houston 1999 Houston Tulane 1998 Tulane Tulane 1997 Tulane Houston 1996 USF Tulane *declared co-champions after championship game was cancelled due to weather
C-USA BASEBALL AWARDS East Carolina headlined the league's top individual awards, winning three of the five major awards as announced on Tuesday in New Orleans, the site of the 2008 Conference USA Baseball Championship. Senior C Corey Kemp was named Player of the Year, right-handed pitcher Seth Maness grabbed Freshman of the Year honors and junior righthander Justin Bristow earned Newcomer of the Year recognition. Tulane right-hander Shooter Hunt was named Pitcher of the Year and Rice skipper Wayne Graham took home his third consecutive Keith LeClair Conference USA Coach of the Year award. Voting was done by a panel consisting of each head coach, each team's sports information director and a media representative from each city. Regular season champion Rice had the most total All-Conference selections with seven and East Carolina had five, while Southern Miss and Tulane each produced four. Seven of the league's nine teams had at least one representative on the first team, with ECU and Southern Miss each placing three players on the first team. Four different schools tied with two selections to the All-Freshman team. PLAYER OF THE YEAR Corey Kemp, East Carolina PITCHER OF THE YEAR Shooter Hunt, Tulane FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Seth Maness, East Carolina NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Justin Bristow, East Carolina KEITH LeCLAIR COACH OF THE YEAR Wayne Graham, Rice FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE IF James Ewing, Jr., Southern Miss IF Ryan Keedy, Sr., UAB IF Bryan Pounds, Sr., Houston IF Diego Seastrunk, So., Rice OF Harrison Eldridge, Sr., East Carolina OF Nate Lape, Jr., Marshall OF Jake Stewart, Sr., Houston C Corey Kemp, Sr., East Carolina DH/UT Anthony Scelfo, Jr., Tulane P Ryan Berry, So., Rice P Barry Bowden, Sr., Southern Miss P Shooter Hunt, Jr., Tulane P Seth Maness, Fr., East Carolina RP Tyler Conn, Sr., Southern Miss SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE IF Stephen Batts, Jr., East Carolina IF Brian Dozier, Jr., Southern Miss IF Seth Henry, Jr., Tulane IF Rob Segedin, Fr., Tulane OF Colin Arnold, Jr., UCF OF Phil Bell, Sr., UAB OF Jared Gayheart, Jr., Rice OF Aaron Luna, Jr., Rice C Adam Zornes, Jr., Rice DH/UT Victor Gomez, Fr., Marshall P Steve Blevins, Jr., Marshall P Justin Bristow, Jr., East Carolina P Chris Kelley, Sr., Rice P Wes Musick, So., Houston RP Cole St.Clair, Sr., Rice
Nick Crawford, 2B, UAB Chase Dempsay, RHP, Houston Matt Evers, LHP, Rice Victor Gomez, DH, Marshall Rick Hague, SS, Rice Dustin Harrington, SS, East Carolina Blake Kelso, SS, Houston Seth Maness, RHP, East Carolina Todd McInnis, RHP, Southern Miss Nick Pepitone, RHP, Tulane Rob Segedin, 3B/RHP, Tulane C-USA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM Five seniors, five juniors and four sophomores make up the 2008 Conference USA All-Academic Baseball Team, as selected by the sports information directors. Rice and Southern Miss placed three student-athletes apiece on the all-academic squad. Houston, Memphis and UCF all had two selections to the baseball all-academic team, which consists of student-athletes with a 3.2 cumulative grade point average or better and are a starter or key reserve for their team. 2007 C-USA BASEBALL ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM Name School Class GPA Major Jimmy Cesario Houston Jr. 3.46 Pre-Psychology Corey Kemp East Carolina Sr. 3.32 Communications *Jimmy Cesario Houston Jr. 3.55 Psychology Zak Presley Houston So. 3.35 Economics Neil Schenk Memphis Sr. 3.88 Spanish Trey Wiedman Memphis So. 3.32 Exercise Sport & Science Jimmy Comerota Rice So. 3.25 Economics/Kinesiology Chris Kelley Rice Sr. 3.28 Kinesiology Cole St.Clair Rice Sr. 3.22 Economics James Ewing Southern Miss Jr. 3.71 Philosophy Todd McInnis Southern Miss So. 3.71 Business Administration *Trey Sutton Southern Miss Sr. 3.70 Business Administration James Oliver UAB Jr. 3.80 Biology Colin Arnold Mitch Houck Communication *ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selections
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