28th Southland Baseball Tournament Begins Wednesday in Conway
Southland Conference
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Sam Houston State earned the top seed for the 2014 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament that gets underway Wednesday at Bear Stadium on the campus of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark. The Bearkats claimed their third consecutive regular-season championship and enter the tournament with a 40-15 overall record to go with a 22-8 mark in league play. It was their first 40-win regular season since 1987.
Top-seeded Sam Houston State will open the tournament against No. 8 seed Lamar, which finished 31-23 overall and 16-14 in the Southland. The two will face off Wednesday at noon. The winner of that game will face off against the winner of the tournament’s first game, which pits No. 4 seed Northwestern State vs. No. 5 seed Southeastern Louisiana. The Demons, who were 31-24 in overall and 19-11 in conference, finished in a third-place tie with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but lost the regular-season series against the Islanders. Southeastern enters the tournament with a 33-23 overall record and was 18-12 in league play. The winners of the first two games advance to play Thursday at 4 p.m., while the losers will move into the losers’ bracket and meet Thursday at 9 a.m.
The third game of the day features No. 2 Nicholls against No. 7 McNeese State Wednesday at 4 p.m.. The Colonels are 32-24 overall and were 21-9 in league action. The Cowboys were 28-26 overall and 17-13 in league play. Wednesday’s final game, matching No. 3 seed A&M-Corpus Christi with host-institution No. 6 seed Central Arkansas, is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Islanders are 31-24 overall and were 19-11 in Southland contests, while the Bears posted an overall record of 29-21 and 17-13 in league games. UCA is the defending tournament champion, after winning last year’s title as the No. 7 seed. The winners of Wednesday’s two late games advance to play Thursday at 7 p.m. while the losers play Thursday at noon.
All eight teams in this year’s field finished the regular season with a winning overall and conference records. It is the first time since 2007 that all eight teams are above .500.
Tournament Format
The tournament is set up in similar fashion to the NCAA College World Series in that there are two brackets with the winners meeting for the championship. Unlike in Omaha, the bracket winners of the Southland tournament meet in a single game to decide the championship. The winner of the Southland tournament is the league’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament, which begins with regional play, May 30-June 2.
Tournament History
This marks the 28th year of the Southland Conference baseball tournament. It began in 1964 though no tournament was played between 1969 and 1992. Since it resumed in 1993, Sam Houston State and Texas State lead all conference teams with four tournament championships. The Bearkats won their first tournament title in 1996 and won three in a row from 2007 through 2009. The regular-season champion has won the tournament eight times though just three times since the tournament resumed in 1993. The last team to do that was Texas State, which won both the regular-season and tournament titles in 2011.
Ticket Information
An all-tournament pass, which allows entry into all 15 possible games of the tournament, is $35 for adults and $25 for children ages 3-12. An adult single-day pass, which will include four games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with a possibility of three games on Saturday, is $14 each day, while a single-day pass for children is $10. If Saturday features only one game, then tickets for the championship will be $9 for adults and $7 for children. Students at Southland Conference institutions will also gain free admission with a valid student ID. Tickets are available for purchase in person at the Central Arkansas ticket office, by phone at 501-852-2234, and online at the university’s athletics website at
www.ucasports.com/tickets.
Tournament Coverage
The schedule of the double-elimination event has four games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Two “if-necessary” games are scheduled for Saturday before the championship game, which will be played at 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. and be available exclusively on ESPN3. The championship broadcast will be called by Chris Mycoskie, the Southland’s assistant commissioner of television, and Tommy Krysan, a former Southeastern Louisiana pitcher. Every game of the tournament, which the exception of the title game, will be streamed live on the Southland Conference Digital Network, which includes
Southland.org/watch and the league’s
free mobile and tablet apps.
Winner Advances to NCAA Tournament
The winner of the Southland Conference tournament earns the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The field of 64 will be announced Monday at 11 a.m., CDT, on ESPNU. The tournament begins with regional play May 30-June 2 at campus sites. Super Regionals will be held June 6-9 and the College World Series will be June 14-25.
Sam Houston’s Azar Named Southland Player of the Year
Azar ranked among the Southland’s top-five players in seven different categories, including leading the league in slugging percentage (.558). The senior from The Woodlands, Texas (The Woodlands H.S.), also ranked second in RBI (44) and total bases (111), third in batting average (.369) and home runs (nine) and fourth in hits (76) and on-base percentage (.450). Azar was one of the toughest hitters to strike out in the nation, going down only 11 times in 206 at bats and drawing 22 walks. Azar, who has helped the Bearkats to their first 40-win regular season since 1987, has thrown out 19 attempted base-stealers on the year, which is tied for the conference lead. Azar managed the second best pitching staff in the conference with a 2.81 team ERA, which ranks in the top 25 nationally. He also is Sam Houston’s first semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, which goes to the nation’s top catcher. Sam Houston earned the top seed in this week’s tournament after winning its third consecutive regular-season title.
Lamar’s Bumpers Tabbed League’s Top Hitter
Bumpers ranked in the top 10 in almost every offensive category, including ranking first in the league in total bases (116). The senior from Bourbornnais, Ill. (Bradley-Bourbornnais H.S.), was second behind Azar in slugging percentage (.527), tied for third in triples (three) and tied for fourth in hits (76). Last season’s newcomer of the year also tied for sixth in doubles (14), tied for eighth in home runs (six) and tied for seventh in runs scored (43). Bumpers’ .345 batting average was eighth-best in the league and led the Cardinals’ offense along with his .413 on-base percentage, which was 10th-best in the Southland. Bumpers batted a league-best .427 in conference games, and earned national player of the week recognition earlier in the season after going 7-for-7 with three home runs against McNeese State. Bumpers and the Cardinals’ closed the regular season with two wins against Oral Roberts to clinch the eighth and final spot in the league’s tournament.
Colonels’ Byrd Selected as Pitcher of the Year
Byrd was named the Southland’s top pitcher after ranking second the league with a 1.92 earned-run average. His 80 strikeouts this season also ranks second in the league and his eight wins are third best. Twenty-four of his 80 strikeouts caught batters looking, which is the sixth highest in the conference. The senior from Petal, Miss. (Petal H.S.), tossed 89.0 innings while allowing 19 earned runs. In 14 starts, Byrd walked only 27 batters while limiting opponents to a .246 batting average against him. He led Nicholls to its best conference season in history, finishing second with a 21-9 mark. Byrd struck out a season-high 11 hitters against Nicholls’ 3-0 shutout win against Louisiana-Monroe, Feb. 21.
ORU’s Romano is Top Relief Pitcher
Romano is the sixth recipient of the conference’s relief pitcher of the year award and the first ORU player to receive the honor. The senior from Markham, Ontario (Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy), led the league with 12 saves this year. His 12 saves were four more than the next highest conference reliever and are tied for 13th most in the nation. He tied for third in the conference with 29 appearances and struck out 49 batters. Opponents got just six extra-base hits against him and managed to hit just .221. The Golden Eagle did not give up a home run on the season.
Adam Oller Earns Top Freshman Honors
Oller becomes the first Demon to be named the league’s freshman of the year. The freshman from Conroe, Texas (Concordia Lutheran H.S.), was the league’s top freshman with a 2.18 ERA, which ranked third overall. He tied for 11th in the Southland with six wins and tossed the 15th-most innings (86.2). He led the team with three complete games. Oller was an integral part in Northwestern State’s historic season. After finishing a season ago with a 5-22 conference record, the Demons tied for third this year with a 19-11 conference mark. The 14-game improvement is the best in conference history.
Godbold is Newcomer of the Year
Godbold is the second Southeastern Louisiana player to earn newcomer of the year award, joining Anthony Garibaldi (2003). The junior from Oak Park, Ill. (Oak Park and River Forest H.S.), led the Lions with eight home runs and was second with a .353 batting average, which were fourth-and fifth-best in the Southland, respectively. The third-team all-conference selection led the league with 50 RBI, ranked third with 108 total bases and a .454 on-base percentage, fourth with a .522 slugging percentage and seventh with his 73 hits. Godbold and the Lions finished fifth in the league with an 18-12 mark and take 33-23 overall record into the conference tournament.
Curtis Jones Earns Utility Player of the Year
Houston Baptist’s Jones is the first recipient of the league’s utility player of the year award. The junior from Cypress, Texas (Cypress Ranch H.S.), led the Huskies with a .361 batting average and was also first on the team in runs scored (33) and hits (82). He recorded five doubles on the year and was the toughest Husky to strike out, having only fanned 16 times in 227 at bats. On the mound as HBU’s No. 2 starter, pitched a team-high 89.0 innings and posted a 3.64 ERA, which was second among the Huskies’ starting pitchers. Jones went 4-5 in 13 starts and recorded 42 strikeouts while issuing only 21 walks. Jones led the Huskies with two complete games on the year.
Nicholls’ Thibodeaux is Coach of the Year
After guiding the Colonels to a second-place regular-season finish, Thibodeaux was tabbed the Southland coach of the year. Nicholls finished 21-9 in conference play and will take a 32-24 overall record as the No. 2 seed into conference tournament later this week. Thibodeaux is the first Colonel coach to earn this distinction after having a 12-win turnaround in conference play from a season ago. The Colonels finished ninth in the standings last year with a 9-18 league mark and a 26-29 overall record. Nicholls is the first team in conference history to win more than 20 league games the season after posting single-digit conference wins.
Sam Houston, A&M-Corpus Christi and ORU Lead All-Conference Teams
Three teams placed five student-athletes on the three all-conference teams, including Sam Houston, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Oral Roberts. Leading the way for the Bearkats are first-team selection Azar, second-team members junior first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, junior outfielder Colt Atwood and junior pitcher Tyler Eppler and third-team pick junior outfielder Hayden Simerly. For the Islanders, senior third baseman Brandon Tierney received first-team accolades, junior pitcher Matt Danton earned a second-team nod while senior second baseman Cody Stephens, junior outfielder Tyler Ware and senior catcher Russell Vaughn were tabbed third-team all-conference. Oral Roberts placed two on the first team with senior outfielder Tyler Boss and senior pitcher Pepe Gomez, two on the second team with junior second baseman Matt Brandy and junior shortstop Jose Trevino and one on the third team with Romano. Lamar and McNeese each placed four players on the three all-conference teams, followed by Northwestern State and Nicholls with three selections each. Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana placed two on the squads, while Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian and New Orleans each had one selection.
Five Repeat on All-Conference Teams
Five of the 36 all-conference players were repeat selections, including Azar, who is making his third appearance. McNeese’s Marion and Gooch are making their second appearance along with shortstops Bumpers and Trevino from Oral Roberts.
Azar Named Johnny Bench Award Semifinalist
Sam Houston State senior catcher Anthony Azar has been named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the nation's top catcher. The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced the list of 15 semifinalists. The finalists will be announced June 3, 2014. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All finalists will be brought to Wichita and the winner will be announced at the 17th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 26, 2014.
Team Tournament Capsules…
No. 1 Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State won its third consecutive and fourth overall regular-season conference championship and enters the tournament with a 40-15 overall record to go with a 22-8 mark in league play ... it is the first time since 1987 that the Bearkats had won 40 games in the regular season … the Bearkats are making their 13th tournament appearance and their fourth in a row ... Sam Houston leads all current members with four tournament titles ... the Bearkats won their first in 1996 and won three in a row between 2007 and 2009 ... the Bearkats are 27-15 with five appearances in the title game ... senior catcher Anthony Azar was tabbed the league’s player of the year … Azar is also a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, an honor given to the best catcher in college baseball ... Sam Houston placed a conference-best five players on the all-conference team, including Azar on the first team, junior first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, junior outfielder Colt Atwood and junior pitcher Tyler Eppler on the second team and junior outfielder Hayden Simerly on the third team … Sam Houston won its last 12 conference games to claim the top seed.
No. 2 Nicholls
The Colonels are 32-24 overall and were 21-9 in Southland contests ... Nicholls is making its fifth appearance and its and first since 2011 and is looking for its first trip to the championship game ... the Colonels are 7-5 in the tournament ... Nicholls senior pitcher Taylor Byrd was named the league’s pitcher of the year while coach Seth Thibodeaux was named the Clay Gould Coach of the Year … Nicholls is the first team in league history to win 20-plus conference games the year after only posting single-digit league wins ... Byrd is the first Colonel to be named pitcher of the year while Thibodeaux is the first Nicholls’ coach to receive top honors … the Colonels placed three players on the all-conference teams, including Byrd on the first team, senior outfielder Keith Cormier on the second team and sophomore pitcher Grant Borne on the third team.
No. 3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
The Islanders bring a 30-25 overall and 19-11 league record into the tournament ... A&M-Corpus Christi is making its fifth all-time appearance in the tournament and is seeking its first trip to the championship ... The Islanders have made the tournament field the last four seasons and are 7-8 all-time in the postseason ... A&M-Corpus Christi was one of three teams to place five players on the all-conference teams, including senior third baseman Brandon Tierney on the first team, junior pitcher Matt Danton on the second and senior second baseman Cody Stephens, junior outfielder Tyler Ware and senior catcher Russell Vaughn on the third team.
No. 4 Northwestern State
The Demons finished in a third-place tie with A&M-Corpus Christi ... Northwestern enters the tournament with a 31-24 overall record and was 19-11 in league play ... it is the league-leading 18th tournament appearance for the Demons, who are back in the tournament for the first time since 2010 ... Northwestern, which is 19-34 in the tournament, is looking to win its first conference title … the Demons are 0-5 all-time in championship game appearances, last making the finals in 2006 ... Northwestern placed three on the all-conference teams with junior third baseman Chase Daughdrill and freshman pitcher Adam Oller earning second-team honors and junior first baseman earning a spot on the third team ... Oller was also tabbed the league’s freshman of the year … Oller, who ranked third in the conference with a 2.18 ERA, is the first Demon to earn the distinction.
No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana
Southeastern Louisiana, which brings a 33-23 overall record into the tournament, finished 18-12 in Southland games to draw the No. 5 seed … the Lions are making their ninth overall appearance and seventh in a row … Southeastern are 0-2 in title games, having fallen the last two seasons in the championship … the Lions are 14-16 overall in the postseason … junior outfielder Andrew Godbold was named the league’s newcomer of the year … Godbold led the Lions with eight home runs and was second with a .353 batting average, which were fourth-and fifth-best in the Southland, respectively … Godbold was one of two Lions to earn a spot on the all-conference teams … junior pitcher Andro Cutura was named to the first team was Godbold was slotted on the third team.
No. 6 Central Arkansas
Defending champion and tournament host, Central Arkansas brings a 29-21 overall and 17-13 league record to this year’s tournament … the Bears swept their season finale against New Orleans to clinch a spot in the field and earn the No. 6 seed … UCA is making its third overall appearance and is 5-3 all-time … the Bears are led by senior outfielder Doug Votolato, who earned first-team all-conference honors … Votolato led the Bears with a .377 batting average and posted a team-high 22 steals … UCA ace Bryce Biggerstaff also earned all-conference honors for the Bears, claiming a spot on the third team … the senior right-hander tossed four complete games on the season and had a team-high 54 strikeouts in 93.1 innings.
No. 7 McNeese State
McNeese State tied for sixth with UCA after posting a 28-26 overall record and a 17-13 conference mark … the Cowboys are making their third consecutive and 13th overall tournament trip … McNeese is 13-19 all-time in the postseason and 2-1 in championship games … the Cowboys claimed titles in 1993 and 2003 … McNeese placed a league-high three players on the first-team all-conference with senior first baseman Chayse Marion, junior second baseman Andrew Guillote and senior outfielder Jackson Gooch … second-team honoree sophomore designated hitter Billy Sommers also made the all-conference team for McNeese … the Cowboys are looking to become the second No. 7 seed in as many years to claim the tournament title.
No. 8 Lamar
Lamar finished 31-23 overall and 16-14 in the Southland … the Cardinals won its final two conference games on the road against Oral Roberts to finish one-game ahead of the Golden Eagles for the eighth and final spot … Lamar is returning to the tournament for the second straight year and for the 15th time overall … the Cardinals have three tournament titles and are 33-22 all-time in the Southland postseason … Lamar is 3-4 in championship games with its wins coming in 2002, 2004 and 2010 … senior Sam Bumpers, a first-team all-conference selection, leads the Cardinals offensively as he was tabbed the league’s top hitter … Bumpers batted a league-best .427 in conference games, and earned national player of the week recognition earlier in the season after going 7-for-7 with three home runs against McNeese … senior outfielder Jude Vidrine earned a spot on the second time while junior third baseman Reed Seely and junior designated hitter Kyle Markum were tabbed third team for the Cardinals.