2014 Conference USA baseball tournament explained

Year:2014
Conference:Conference USA
Teams:8
Format:Double elimination
Ballpark:Pete Taylor Park
City:Hattiesburg, MS
Titlecount:6th
Coach:Wayne Graham
Coachcount:6th
Mvp:Michael Aquino
Mvpteam:Rice
Television:CUSADN (first round–semifinals)
CBSSN (championship game)

The 2014 Conference USA baseball tournament will be held from May 21 through 25 at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The annual tournament determines the conference champion of the Division I Conference USA for college baseball. The tournament champion will receive the league's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[1] [2] [3] This is the last of 19 athletic championship events held by the conference in the 2013–14 academic year.[4]

The tournament was established in 1996, Conference USA's first season of play. Tulane and Rice have won the most championships, with five. Among current, returning teams, only Marshall has never won a title. The conference adds eight new teams for 2014.

Seeding and format

The top eight finishers from the regular season were seeded one through eight. The tournament returned to a double-elimination format, previously used from 1996 through 2010.[5]

Team W L Pct GB Seed
23 7 1
20 10 3 2
19 11 4 3
17 13 6 4
17 13 6 5
16 14 7 6
16 14 7 7
16 14 7 8
14 16 9
10 18 12
10 19 12.5
10 19 12.5
5 25 18

Bracket and results

Schedule

G# Game[6] Date Kickoff (CT)TV
First round
1Old Dominion vs Middle Tennessee May 21, 2014 9:00 am CUSADN
2FIU vs Rice May 21, 2014 12:30 pm CUSADN
3UTSA vs UAB May 21, 2014 4:00 pm CUSADN
4East Carolina vs Southern Miss May 21, 2014 7:30 pm CUSADN
5Old Dominion vs FIU May 22, 2014 9:00 am CUSADN
6Southern Miss vs UAB May 22, 2014 12:30 pm CUSADN
Second round
7Middle Tennessee vs Rice May 22, 2014 4:00 pm CUSADN
8UTSA vs East Carolina May 22, 2014 7:30 pm CUSADN
9Middle Tennessee vs Old Dominion May 23, 2014 3:00 pm CUSADN
10Southern Miss vs East Carolina May 23, 2014 6:30 pm CUSADN
Semifinals
11Rice vs Old Dominion May 24, 2014 9:00 am CUSADN
12UTSA vs Southern Miss May 24, 2014 12:30 pm CUSADN
Finals
13Rice vs UTSA May 25, 2014 1:00 pm CBSSN

Game 11 will have a necessary if winner of Game 9 also wins Game 11. If so the game will be played on May 24 at 4:00 pm.

Game 12 will have a necessary if winner of Game 10 also wins Game 11. If so the game will be played on May 24 at 7:30 pm.

All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team. Rice outfielder Michael Aquino, one of five Owls selected, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Pos. Name Team
C UTSA
IF Nick Dawson Southern Miss
IF Skyler Ewing Rice
IF Ford Stainback Rice
IF Tyler Urps Old Dominion
OF Michael Aquino Rice
OF Nick Walker Old Dominion
OF John Welborn UTSA
DH Chase McDowell Rice
P UTSA
P Blake Fox Rice
P Cameron Giannini Southern Miss
P Brock Hartson UTSA

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Conference USA Baseball Format for 2014. Conference USA. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20130907073335/http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/m-basebl-format.html. September 7, 2013. dead. mdy-all.
  2. Web site: C-USA announces site of 2014 baseball tournament. Chron. October 10, 2013. Joseph Duarte. January 10, 2014.
  3. News: Baseball: Southern Miss to host 2014 Conference USA tournament in Hattiesburg. The Mississippi Press. Creg Stephenson. October 10, 2013. January 10, 2014.
  4. Web site: 2013-14 Conference USA Championship Schedule. Conference USA. January 10, 2014. March 27, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140327013919/http://www.conferenceusa.com/championships/1314-c-usa-championships.html. dead.
  5. Web site: Southern Miss to host 2014 C-USA Baseball Championship. Conference USA. October 10, 2014. January 10, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110200822/http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/101013aaa.html. January 10, 2014. dead. mdy-all.
  6. Web site: C-USA Baseball Championship Pairings Set. May 19, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140520003842/http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/051714aae.html. May 20, 2014. dead. mdy-all.