Sunday's NCAA Baseball Championship Roundup

Ryan Norwood

For the fifth consecutive year, Conference USA has advanced a team to the NCAA Super Regionals. Tulane swept through the Oxford Regional, defeating Washington on Sunday, 12-3, to earn its first Super Regional appearance since reaching the College World Series in 2001. East Carolina can join the Green Wave in the Super Regional round with a win on Monday afternoon against UNC Wilmington. An ECU victory would give C-USA two teams in the Super Regionals for the first time.

TULANE 12, WASHINGTON 3
Sophomore right fielder Brian Bogusevic went 2-for-3 with three RBI and senior right-hander Cory Hahn gave the Green Wave a gutsy seven-inning start as the Tulane University baseball team defeated second-seeded University of Washington 12-3 to win the 2004 NCAA Oxford Regional Sunday afternoon at Swayze Field.

Tulane trailed 3-0 after a half an inning as Husky catcher Aaron Hathaway hammered a three-run homer down the left field line, but that would be the only runs the boys in Olive and Blue would allow as the bats provided 12 unanswered runs to give the Green Wave its second NCAA Regional title. The 2001 squad won the NCAA New Orleans Regional at Turchin Stadium before taking two of three from arch-rival LSU in the Super Regional at Zephyr Field to advance to the College World Series for the first time in school history.

With the win, the Green Wave improve to 41-19 and advance to the Super Regionals where they will take on Cal State Fullerton. Washington, meanwhile, concludes the 2004 season 39-20-1.

Bogusevic was named Regional Most Outstanding Player after going 4-for-11 (.364) with a home run, three walks and six RBI at the plate and picking up a win on the mound in Friday's 3-2 win over UW when he struck out three while giving up just two earned runs in an 8.2-inning start. He also tallied four putouts and three assists defensively, including a diving catch with two outs in the second inning to get the Green Wave out of a bases-loaded jam.

Joining Bogusevic on the All-Regional Team from the Tulane squad where sophomore pitcher J.R. Crowel, junior second baseman Joe Holland, senior third baseman Brian Bormaster, junior shortstop Tommy Manzella and sophomore centerfielder Nathan Southard. Rounding out the All-Regional Team were Hathaway, first baseman Kyle Larson, outfielder Brent Lillibridge and designated hitter Tyler Mach of Washington, and pitcher Grady Hinchman from Western Kentucky.

Following Hathaway's three-run blast in the first, In the home half of the inning, Tulane got on the board as Bogusevic drew a leadoff walk, advanced the bases on a single by junior catcher Greg Dini and a flyout off the bat of freshman designated hitter Mark Hamilton before junior first baseman Wes Swackhamer ripped an RBI-single through the right side of the infield to cut the lead to 3-1.

The Huskies had something cooking in the second right fielder Taylor Johnson doubled, Lillibridge was hit by a pitch and second baseman Greg Isaacson walked to load the bases with only one away. Hahn battled back to strike out left fielder Zach Clem for the second out of the stanza, but Larsen ripped a line drive to right in the ensuing at-bat that would have scored all three runs. Bogusevic, however, had other ideas as the clean-up hitter made a diving catch to rob the UW first baseman of extra bases and thwart the rally.

One inning later, the Green Wave tied the score as Holland and Southard hit back-to-back singles to open the stanza, the pair advanced a base on sacrifice bunt by Manzella, and came around to score on RBI singles by junior left fielder Matt Barket and Bogusevic. With runners on the corners, Bogusevic broke for second on a botched hit-and-run, but the big lefty had his head in the game and worked the ball his direction which allowed Barket to steal home to give Tulane a 4-3 lead they would not relinquish.

Hahn pitched himself into a jam in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases on a pair of singles by designated hitter Matt Lane and shortstop Nick Batkoski and a walk to Johnson, but the big righty got Lillibrige to pop up harmlessly to right to get out of the inning unscathed.

Following a scoreless fourth, the Green Wave blew the game open in the fifth with four runs on three hits, including a two-RBI single by Bogusevic, a run-scoring double by Dini and an RBI-knock by reserve designated hitter Scott Madden to make it an 8-3 ballgame.

Tulane plated another run in the sixth on an RBI-single by Manzella to score Bormaster from third, and following a scoreless seventh, the Green Wave blew the game open in the eighth with a run-scoring single by Southard to plate Bormaster from second and a two-RBI rip off the bat of Manzella to score Holland and Southard to account for the final score.

From there, the Green Wave handed the ball to freshman reliever Daniel Latham, and the rookie from Covington, La., retired all six batters he faced to seal the victory.

For his performance, Hahn earned the win to improve to 9-2 in 2004. In his first extended performance in nearly three weeks, Hahn scattered 11 hits while walking four, but got some help from his friends as the Green Wave turned a pair of double plays and played flawless defense behind him.

Washington starter Keaton Everitt did not fare as well as the sophomore right-hander was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs on six hits and a walk in 3.0-innings of work to fall to 5-3 on the year.


EAST CAROLINA 11, UNC WILMINGTON 4
Drew Costanzo, Ryan Norwood and Ryan Jones combined to go 9-for-12 and junior lefty Brody Taylor held UNC Wilmington to three runs through 6 2/3 innings as No. 1 seed East Carolina advanced to the NCAA Kinston Regional championship game, 11-4, Sunday evening at Grainger Stadium. The Pirates (50-11) will play UNC Wilmington at 12 p.m. Monday afternoon.
The game will be televised locally on WITN-TV.

Standing room only tickets for the regional championship game will go on sale at Grainger Stadium on Monday morning at 10 a.m. Tickets are $8 each.

East Carolina became only the second team in Conference USA history to win 50 games in a season. The 2001 Tulane squad won 56 games. Costanzo led ECU going a career-high 4-for-4 with two runs scored. Norwood finished 3-for-4 with two doubles. He now has 32 doubles on the season pulling him within two doubles of the Conference USA record. Jones went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Taylor (8-0) stayed perfect on the season allowing the three earned runs on 10 hits. Scott Andrews pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings before Ricky Brooks finished out the game. Ronald Hill (12-4) took the loss for the Seahawks giving up four earned runs on seven hits through five innings.

Matt Poulk finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored for UNC Wilmington.

East Carolina put the first run on the board in the top of the second when Trevor Lawhorn's sacrifice fly scored Ryan Norwood putting the Pirates ahead, 1-0. UNC Wilmington tied the game in the bottom of the second. Aaron Smith singled and advanced to second on a balk. John Raynor's bloop single scored Smith for the Seahawks tying it, 1-1.

Mark Minicozzi doubled in Drew Costanzo giving ECU a 2-1 advantage in the top of the fourth.

Ryan Jones' 19th home run of the season, a two-run shot, pushed East Carolina ahead, 4-1, in the top of the fifth.

Chip Grawey hit a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the fifth pulling the Seahawks within, 4-2.

Minicozzi hit his 10th home run of the season in the top of the sixth to put the Pirates ahead, 5-2.

The Pirates scored six runs on six hits in the top of the seventh. Jones singled and scored on a fielding error by the right fielder. Costanzo tripled in Norwood who reached base on a single. Mike Grace singled in Costanzo giving the Pirates an 8-2 lead. Lawhorn doubled in ECU's fourth run of the inning before Jamie Paige's two-run single made it 11-2 in favor of the Pirates.

UNCW's Matt Poulk led off the bottom of the seventh and later scored on Chris Hatcher's ground to make it, 11-3. Pat Murphy's RBI single made for the final score, 11-4.

ECU will send the 2004 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year Greg Bunn to the mound in the first game. Game two will follow 45 minutes after if necessary. If ECU wins, the Pirates advance to the Super Regional round against South Carolina this weekend.

NCAA SUPER REGIONAL SCHEDULE
The following four best-of-three super regionals will be played Friday, June 11, Saturday, June 12, and Sunday, June 13 (if necessary). The four winners will open College World Series (CWS) play Friday, June 18.

Vanderbilt (45-17) at No. 1 Texas (53-13)

Florida St. (45-21) at No. 8 Arkansas (43-22)

Arizona (33-24-1) at Long Beach St. (39-19)

Georgia (41-21) at No. 4 Georgia Tech (44-19)

The following four best-of-three super regionals will be played Saturday, June 12, Sunday, June 13, and Monday, June 14 (if necessary). The four winners will play their first Omaha games Saturday, June 19.

East Carolina OR UNC Wilmington at No. 2 South Carolina (48-15)

Tulane (41-19) at Cal St. Fullerton (40-21)

Texas A&M (42-20) at LSU (44-17)

Florida (43-20) at No. 3 Miami (Fla.) (47-11)