Tulane and TCU have been declared co-champions of the 2005 Conference USA Tournament presented by POWERade. Tulane will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship based on being the highest remaining seed in the tournament. Severe thunderstorms, hail and lightning all moved through the Hattiesburg area on Sunday afternoon, causing the field to be deemed unplayable following a review by tournament officials, umpires and coaches.

This marks the first time in Conference USA history that a championship game in any sport was unable to be completed due to weather-related issues.

For Tulane, this will be the Green Wave’s fifth C-USA tournament title, as the Green Wave also won tourney championships in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001. It marks TCU’s second consecutive Conference USA baseball tournament championship.

Tulane’s Nathan Southard was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Southard became just the second player in Conference USA Tournament history to his three home runs in a game during Saturday’s 10-1 win over Houston. He batted .538 (7-for-13) in the tournament with six RBI and six runs scored.

Tulane and TCU each placed four members on the All-Tournament team, while Southern Miss had two selections and East Carolina, Houston and USF placed one player on the squad.

All-Tournament Team
C Brian Baisley, USF
IF Brad Emaus, Tulane
IF Chad Huffman, TCU
IF Dustin Kingsbury, Houston
IF Trey Sutton, Southern Miss
OF Keith Conlon, TCU
OF Jason Lowery, Southern Miss
OF Nathan Southard, Tulane
DH Mike Grace, East Carolina
P Brian Bogusevic, Tulane
P Lance Broadway, TCU
P Sam Demel, TCU
P Micah Owings, Tulane

Tournament MVP: Nathan Southard, Tulane


2005 Conference USA Baseball Tournament
Presented by POWERade
(Hattiesburg, Miss.)

Wed., May 25
Game One
(4) East Carolina 6, (5) Houston 5
Game Two
(1) Tulane 8, (8) UAB 6
Game Three
(2) TCU 4, (7) Louisville 2
Game Four
(3) Southern Miss 5, (6) USF 3

Thu., May 26
Game Five
Houston 7, UAB 5
Game Six
USF 11, Louisville 1
Game Seven
Tulane 16, East Carolina 3
Game Eight
TCU 8, Southern Miss 0

Fri., May 27
Houston 6, East Carolina 4
Southern Miss 9, USF 3

Sat., May 28
Game Eleven
Tulane 10, Houston 1
Game Twelve
TCU 13, Southern Miss 7

Sun., May 29
Championship Game
TCU vs. Tulane (cancelled due to weather)