Southland Baseball Tournament Starts Wednesday
Southland Conference
Weekly Release (PDF) | Tickets | Tournament Website
FRISCO, Texas – Sam Houston State earned the top seed for the 2013 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament which will be played Wednesday through Saturday at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. The 7,500-seat Constellation Field is home to the Sugar Land Skeeters, a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, and opened in 2012.
The Bearkats swept Central Arkansas in the final conference series of the season to claim their second consecutive regular-season championship and its third overall. No. 27 Sam Houston won the Southland by three games, finishing league play with a 20-7 record to go along with a 36-18 overall record. The Bearkats are making their 12th tournament appearance and are 26-13 all-time in the event, which includes 13-consecutive wins that produced three tournament championships in 2007, 2008 and 2009. A win in this year’s tournament would give the Bearkats a league-record fifth tournament title. Sam Houston will play No. 8 seed McNeese State (23-29, 10-17 Southland) Wednesday at 4 p.m.
The winner in the Sam Houston and McNeese game will play the winner between No. 4 seed Southeastern Louisiana and No. 5 seed Lamar, who will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. Southeastern Louisiana was 16-11 in league play to go with a 33-22 overall record. The Cardinals are 36-18 overall and lead the field with their 14th overall appearance in the conference tournament.
The tournament gets underway with No. 6 seed Stephen F. Austin facing No. 3 seed Oral Roberts Wednesday at 9 a.m. The Golden Eagles are making their debut in the Southland tournament after winning the Summit League tournament each of the last 15 years. ORU is 23-30 overall and was 16-11 in its first Southland season. At 28-27 overall and 15-12 in league games, SFA is making its sixth overall tournament appearance and its fifth consecutive.
The winner of the ORU vs. SFA game will await the winner between No. 7 seed Central Arkansas and No. 2 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Islanders secured their best tournament seeding in school history after going 17-10 in Southland games to go along with a 32-22 overall mark. A&M-Corpus Christi will meet Central Arkansas, which is 24-19 overall and 12-15 in league play.
Tournament History: This marks the 27th 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.
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 31-June 3. 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.
Championship Game on ESPN3: The championship game will be played at either 1 or 5 p.m. and be available exclusively on ESPN3. The game will be called by Chris Mycoskie, the Southland’s director of television, and Greg Swindell, a 17-year MLB veteran. 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 and the league’s free mobile and tablet apps for iPhone and Android.
Ticket Information: An all-tournament pass, which allows entry into all 15 possible games of the tournament, is $50. A single-day pass, which will include four games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with a maximum of three games on Saturday, is $15 each day. Season ticket holders of the Sugar Land Skeeters will be eligible for a buy-one, get-one free ticket offer. Additionally, children 5 and under will be admitted free of charge, while students at Southland Conference institutions will also gain free admission with a valid student ID. Tickets will be available for purchase in person at the Constellation Field box office, by phone at 281-240-4487, ext. 300, and online at sugarlandskeeters.com. Online orders are subject to a $1 service charge per ticket.
Winner Advances to NCAA Tournament: The winner of the 2013 tournament receives an automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament. The selection show airs Monday at 11 a.m., CDT, on ESPNU. The tournament begins with regional play May 31-June 3 at campus sites. Super Regionals will be held June 7-10 and the College World Series will be June 15-26.
Dozier Named Southland Player, Hitter of the Year: Stephen F. Austin shortstop Hunter Dozier has been named the Southland Conference Player of the Year. Dozier leads the league in home runs with 17, which ranks among the top three players in NCAA Division I. The junior from Denton, Texas, hit an astonishing .394 on the year with 80 hits and accumulated 154 total bases. Dozier drove in 50 runs to go with 23 doubles and 12 stolen bases. He also led the league in batting average, doubles, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage (.759), while ranking in the Southland’s top five in four other categories, including hits (second), on-base percentage (second, .483), runs scored (third, 47) and walks (fifth, 34). Dozier, who has helped the Lumberjacks win at least 25 games for the fourth consecutive season, enters the tournament having reached base safely in 45 consecutive games. Dozier is the seventh Southland player in the last eight years to earn both hitter and player of the year accolades and is third Lumberjack to be named player of the year and hitter of the year. He is a candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award, which goes to the nation’s top shortstop, and is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation’s best player.
ORU’s Gonzalez Named League’s Top Pitcher: Oral Roberts junior right-handed pitcher Alex Gonzalez was named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year after leading the league with a 1.76 earned-run average. He is the only Southland pitcher this season to have a sub 2.00 ERA and sports the seventh-lowest single-season ERA in conference history. The junior from Delray Beach, Fla., tossed 107.1 innings while allowing 21 earned runs. The Golden Eagle accumulated 125 strikeouts and averaged 10.48 per nine innings while striking out the fifth-most batters in Southland history for a single season. In 14 starts, Gonzalez picked up eight wins and walked only 23 batters while limiting opponents to a .198 batting average against him. He led Oral Roberts to a third-place finish in its first season in the Southland. Gonzalez averages 7.2 innings of work each time out and did not lose a decision from March 22 to May 3.
SFA’s Higginbotham is Top Relief Pitcher: Stephen F. Austin senior right-handed pitcher Brett Higginbotham was named the conference’s relief pitcher of the year and is the fifth recipient of that award. He is the first Lumberjack to win the honor. The senior from Hutto, Texas, was 4-2 with a 1.88 ERA and allowed only nine earned runs in 43 innings. He tied for fourth in the conference with 25 appearances and struck out 37 batters. Opponents got just three extra-base hits against him and managed to hit just .156. The Lumberjack picked up consecutive wins against Oral Roberts in early April. SFA and Oral Roberts play in the opening round of the conference tournament on Wednesday.
McNeese State’s Kingsley Named Conference Freshman of the Year: McNeese State freshman right-handed pitcher Bryce Kingsley becomes the third Cowboy to be named the league’s freshman of the year, joining Dooley Prince in 2002 and Bryan Cartie in 2005. The freshman from Lake Charles, La., tied for fourth in the Southland with eight wins and tossed the seventh-most innings (94.2). He finished fifth in the league with a 2.57 ERA, while opponents batted .228 against him. Kingsley won four consecutive starts in March and he notched a victory against Southeastern Louisiana last weekend to earn the Cowboys a spot in the conference tournament.
Lamar Shortstop Bumpers is Newcomer of the Year: Lamar junior shortstop Sam Bumpers is the newcomer of the year after finishing sixth in batting average (.341). The transfer from Iowa Western Community College played in 54 games and racked up 34 RBI. He introduced himself to the conference with an eight-RBI opening weekend. Bumpers slugged .491 with a .406 on-base percentage and collected 19 doubles. The junior from Bourbannais, Ill., is the first Cardinal to win the award and led Lamar to its first 30-win season since 2010. Bumpers finished the regular season ranked second in total bases (105) and fourth in both hits (73) and runs scored (46). The Cardinals’ shortstop is a main reason Lamar led all conference teams in turning 52 double plays.
Sam Houston’s Pierce Repeats as Coach of the Year: After guiding the Bearkats to a second consecutive regular-season title, Sam Houston State’s Pierce repeated as the Southland coach of the year. Sam Houston finished 20-7 in conference play and will take a 36-18 overall record as the top seed into conference tournament. Prior to laying his claim to the award last year, a Sam Houston coach had not won coach of the year honors since 1989 when John Skeeters became the first Bearkat coach to be honored after guiding the Huntsville school to its first Southland Conference championship. After dropping back-to-back conference series in mid-April, the Bearkats responded to win 14 of their final 15 games. During conference play, they posted seven series wins and four sweeps. Pierce is the first Southland coach to win consecutive honors since Texas-San Antonio’s Sherman Corbett (2007-08).
Lamar Leads with Eight All-Conference Selections: Lamar leads all league teams with eight student-athletes on the three all-conference teams, including three on the first team and five on the second team. Cardinal senior second baseman V.J. Bunner, senior outfielder Darian Johnson and senior pitcher Eric Harrington earned first-team honors, while junior shortstop Sam Bumpers, senior first baseman Brad Picha, senior third baseman Aaron Olivas, senior designated hitter Seth Dornak and junior pitcher Jonathan Dziedzic were named to the second team. A&M-Corpus Christi was second with six players on the three all-conference teams, followed by Sam Houston State (five) and Central Arkansas (four). McNeese State, Oral Roberts, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin each placed three on the squads, while Nicholls State had one selection.
Nine Repeat on All-Conference Teams: Nine of the 36 all-conference players were repeat selections, including UCA’s Jonathan Davis, a third-team outfielder, who was honored for a third time. Returning two-time selections named to the first team, include Sam Houston State senior third baseman Kevin Miller, Stephen F. Austin junior shortstop Hunter Dozier, Lamar senior outfielder Johnson, Central Arkansas senior outfielder Forrest Allday, Sam Houston State junior catcher Azar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior designated hitter Jonathan Gonzales, Harrington. Sam Houston pitcher Caleb Smith, a second-team honoree, also was a two-time all-conference selection.
Team Tournament Capsules...
No. 1 Sam Houston State: The Bearkats won their second consecutive regular season title after completing conference play with a 20-7 record and 36-18 overall ... Sam Houston comes into the tournament as the hottest team in the conference while winning 14 of its last 15 games ... coach of the year David Pierce led a squad that finished second in team batting average (.295), slugging percentage (.406), runs scored (314), hits (547), triples (14), and home runs (29) ... the Bearkats pitching staff has been solid all year, recording 410 strikeouts, the highest total in the Southland, and limiting opponents to a .226 batting average ... third baseman Kevin Miller and catcher Anthony Azar earned first-team all-conference honors while Jessie Plumlee, Luke Plucheck and Caleb Smith received second-team recognition ... Miller finished fifth in the conference with a .353 batting average to go along with .409 on-base percentage with 13 strikeouts in 201 at bats ... Azar accumulated the second-most doubles (19) and RBI (45) in the conference while Plucheck sits second with four triples ... the Bearkats aim for their fifth Southland tournament title and first since 2009 ... Sam Houston won three consecutive titles from 2007-09 and is tied for the most tournament titles among current teams ... the top-seeded Bearkats begin their trek when they square off against No. 8 McNeese State Wednesday at 4 p.m. ... Sam Houston swept the Cowboys in a three-game series April 5-7 and allowed only two runs per game.
No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: The Islanders earned the No. 2 seed after finishing 17-10 against Southland competition and 32-22 overall ... A&M-Corpus Christi has won seven of its last 10 and three of its last four ... the Islanders represent the third-best offense with a .290 batting average while scoring 304 runs ... the team has cranked out 20 homers and legged out 11 triples ... senior first-team all-conference outfielder Eric Weiss finished seventh in the conference with a .337 batting average while swiping eight bags and collecting 68 hits ... coach Scott Malone boasts two of the best arms in the Southland in the likes of third-team all-conference honorees Trevor Belicek and Trevor Foss ... Belicek (3.00) and Foss (3.13) are ninth and 10th, respectively, in ERA while combining to win 15 games and striking out 151 batters ... the offensive charge will be led by first-team all-conference selections – designated hitter Jonathan Gonzalez and first baseman Brad Porras ... both sit in the top 10 in hits, doubles and total bases while teammate and third-team all-conference representative Cody Stephens (45) is fifth in the Southland in runs scored ... the Islanders have six players that are batting better than .300 and have more than 20 RBI ... A&M-Corpus Christi is seeking its first appearance in the title game the tournament after dropping a 4-3 decision to Sam Houston State on day three of last year’s tournament ... in three tournament appearances, the Islanders have won six games ... A&M-Corpus Christi draws Central Arkansas in its tournament opener and will battle at noon Wednesday ... the Bears took two-of-three in Corpus Christi April 19-21.
No. 3 Oral Roberts: The Golden Eagles did not waste any time making their presence known in the Southland after finishing their inaugural season 16-11 in conference play to grab the No. 3 seed… ORU finished the regular season with a 23-30 record, but ended the season as winners of nine of its last 13 games ... junior Alex Gonzalez was named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year after leading the league with a 1.76 ERA ... he is the only Southland pitcher this season to have a sub 2.00 ERA and sports the seventh-lowest single season ERA in conference history ... the Golden Eagles have totaled 125 strikeouts and averaged 10.48 per nine innings while striking out the fifth-most batters in Southland history in a single season ... in 14 starts, Gonzalez picked up eight wins and walked only 23 batters while opponents hit .198 against him ... Gonzalez averages 7.2 innings of work each time out and didn’t lose a decision from March 22 to May 3 ... coach Ryan Folmar’s pitching staff sports the second-best ERA in the Southland at 3.58 ... catcher Jose Trevino (eight) and designated hitter Tyler Boss (seven) earned third-team all-conference accolades while both sit in the top five for home runs ... the Golden Eagles finished third in home runs with 27 ... ORU is set to battle No. 6 Stephen F. Austin Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the opening round of the tournament ... the Lumberjacks swept the Golden Eagles in a three-game series April 5-7 ... all three games were determined by a total of four runs.
No. 4 Southeastern Louisiana: The Lions won at least 30 games for the seventh consecutive season while going 33-22 and 16-11 in Southland competition ... third baseman Jesse Buratt and shortstop Ben Hernandez joined outfielder Harry Slade on the third-team all-conference squad ... Southeastern’s pitching staff amassed the third-most strikeouts in the Southland with 379, the most saves (19) and runners picked off (16) ... coach Jay Artigues’ team enters the tournament as winners of three of its last four including a series win against McNeese State last weekend ... Jameson Fisher (.323), Slade (.323) and Ben Hernandez (.315) pace the Lion offense having started every game this season ... Slade and Fisher are tied for the team lead in hits (65), at bats (201) and triples (two) ... Southeastern owns the second most efficient defense while sporting a .974 fielding percentage ... small ball is no stranger to the Lions as they have laid down 57 sacrifice bunts and swiped 59 bags ... Southeastern is in search of its first tournament title after falling in the championship game last year to Texas-Arlington ... the Lions have won at least one tournament game four times in the last five seasons ... Southeastern will square off with No. 5 Lamar Wednesday at 7 p.m. ... the Cardinals took two-of-three from the Lions April 5-7.
No. 5 Lamar: The Cardinals claimed the No. 5 seed following a 15-12 performance in Southland action and 36-18 overall ... the team’s 38 wins are the most for the team since the 2009 season (38) ... Lamar’s offense is the most prolific in the Southland while leading the conference in batting average (.299), hits (560) and doubles (115) ... Lamar scored 10 runs or more 10 times including 18 runs twice and a 19-run explosion against Sam Houston State ... the Cardinals led the conference in number of all-conference selections, claiming three first-team positions and five second-team spots ... senior first-team outfielder Darian Johnson paced the league in hits (82) and finished tied for fourth with 44 RBI while batting .369 ... second baseman V.J. Bunner and pitcher Eric Harrington joined Johnson on the first team ... first baseman Brad Picha, third baseman Aaron Olivas, shortstop Sam Bumpers, designated hitter Seth Dornak and pitcher Jonathan Dziedzic claimed spots on the second team ... Bumpers was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year after finishing sixth in batting average (.341) ... the junior played in 54 games and racked up 34 RBI with a .406 on-base percentage while slugging.491 and collecting 19 doubles ... he is the first Cardinal in school history to win the award and finished fourth in hits (73) and runs scored (46) and second in total bases (105) ... infielder Jude Vidrine scored 49 times and walked 40 times, both are second-best in the league ... Harrington has been dominate from the mound and boasts a 7-1 record with a 2.38 ERA and four complete games ... he has fanned 54 batter compared to 14 walks ... the Cardinals are in search of their fourth Southland tournament title and first since 2010 ... Lamar (30) has more postseason wins than any current Southland member ... he Cardinals tangle with Southeastern Louisiana in day one action and look to duplicate their success after winning the series earlier in the year.
No. 6 Stephen F. Austin: The Lumberjacks finished the season with a 15-12 conference mark and 28-27 overall record ... junior shortstop Hunter Dozier was tabbed the Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year after leading the league in home runs with 17, which is tied for third-most in the country ... the junior from Denton, Texas hit an astonishing .394 on the year and accumulated 154 total bases ... Dozier is the third Lumberjack to be named player of the year ... the junior has driven in 50 runs to go with 23 doubles and 12 stolen bases ... he has walked 34 times and slugged .759 on the year while ranking in the top 5 in batting average, hits, runs scored, doubles, RBI, total bases walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage ... Dozier led the Lumberjacks to their fourth consecutive season of at least 25 wins ... closer Brett Higginbotham was tabbed as the Southland Conference Relief Pitcher of the Year ... he finished tied for fourth in the conference in appearances with 25 and tied for second in saves with nine ... the senior proved to be dominate after only allowing nine earned runs in 43 innings ... Higginbotham led the squad in appearances while amassing a 4-2 record ... opponents hit a measly .156 against him while he surrendered three extra base hits to go with 37 strikeouts ... senior pitcher Chase Greening has enjoyed a solid 2013 campaign while representing the sixth-lowest ERA in the Southland (2.60) and third-most strikeouts with 74 ... junior outfielder Ricardo Sanchez claimed a spot on the second-team all-conference squad ... coach Johnny Cardenas’ team paces the Southland in slugging percentage (.407), home runs (37) and total bases (769) ... SFA is aiming for its first Southland tournament title after falling in the championship game in 2011 ... the Lumberjacks face Oral Roberts in first day action Wednesday.
No. 7 Central Arkansas: The Bears claimed the No. 7 seed after going 12-15 in league play and 34-19 overall ... UCA started the season on fire, winning 17 of its first 20 games including a series win against then-No. 3 Mississippi State ... Central Arkansas pummeled Grambling State 30-0 April 9 and got plenty of offense from Michael Marietta, who went 7-for-7 with three dingers and 11 RBI ... coach Allen Gum’s squad placed three players on all-conference teams ... senior outfielder Forrest Allday and senior pitcher Caleb McClanahan earned spots on the first team while junior outfielder Jonathan Davis received third-team recognition ... Allday led the league in runs scored (51) and walks (42) and finished second in the Southland in batting average (.383), third in hits (74) and tied for fifth in stolen bases (15) ... UCA is well-accomplished on the pitching side, sporting the only sub-3.00 ERA in the Southland (2.87) ... the Bear pitching staff has allowed 59 fewer walks than its closest competitor after issuing only 103 free passes all season ... pitchers paced the conference in complete games (12) ... McClanahan leads the team in wins (nine), innings pitched (103.1), and complete games (five) ... offensively, UCA has scored 10 or more runs on 14 occurrences including 16 twice, 19 twice and 30 once ... the Bears seek their first postseason victory in school history after losing two games in their first tournament appearance last year.
No. 8 McNeese State: The Cowboys held on through a wild final weekend to claim the No. 8 and final seed following a 10-17 Southland effort and 23-29 overall performance ... McNeese has split its last six games following a five-game losing skid ... pitcher Bryce Kingsley earned freshman of the year recognition for his efforts and becomes the third Cowboy to garner the award, joining Dooley Prince (2002) and Bryan Cartie (2005) ... the freshman from Lake Charles, La., finished the 2013 campaign tied for fourth in the Southland with eight wins while he tossed the seventh-most innings (94.2) ... opponents mustered a .228 batting average against him while he finished fifth in the league with a 2.57 ERA ... Kingsley won four consecutive starts from March 8 to March 28 and notched a victory against Southeastern Louisiana last weekend to push the Cowboys into the postseason ... third-team all-conference member Blake Ware has tossed the third-most innings in the league (99.2) to go with two shutouts ... junior outfielder Jackson Gooch earned a spot on the second-team while fellow Cowboy Chayse Marion claimed third-team honors ... Gooch paced the Cowboy offense by leading the squad in batting average (.308), at bats (208), runs (39), hits (64), doubles (15), home runs (five) and RBI (34) ... coach Terry Burrows squad hopes to repeat history in 2013 after McNeese won its only two tournament titles in 1993 and 2003 ... the Cowboys take on top-seeded Sam Houston State Wednesday.
Southland Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary in 2013: Celebrating a half-century of academic achievement and competitive success, the Southland Conference embarks on a special commemoration of its 50th anniversary in 2013. The celebration coincides with the Southland’s 17 championship sports during the 2013 calendar year, starting with the league’s 50th season of men’s basketball and continuing through the 50th football season next fall. Founded on March 15, 1963, five institutions of higher learning – known then as Abilene Christian College, Arkansas State College, Arlington State College, Lamar State College of Technology, and Trinity University – formed the new consortium that campus officials at the time stated “will be guided by officials who aim to operate the conference on high academic levels and sound ethics.” Further, officials touted “The Conference hopes to give two states – Arkansas and Texas – a bright new era of added athletic excellence. In addition, the conference will fill the needs of five modern, growing colleges with athletic competition calculated to build an increasing host of fans.” While the original intent of the Southland founders was to soon add other “like-strength” colleges after the conference’s formation, the original five members remained intact until the 1971-72 additions of Louisiana Tech and Southwestern Louisiana, and the 1972-73 addition of McNeese State brought the conference into Louisiana, and began a number of membership changes that have included 22 major universities in the South and Southwest since then.
Southland Conference Will Grow to 14 Teams for 2013-14: Oral Roberts University is the new kid on the block in the Southland Conference this season, but it will become an instant veteran of the league in 2013-14 when the conference welcomes four more schools into the fold, increasing the membership to 14 institutions. The league announced November 2011 that Houston Baptist University would join the Southland, but in August 2012, Southland commissioner Tom Burnett announced the addition of three more schools. The University of New Orleans, Abilene Christian University and the University of the Incarnate Word will be welcomed into the conference July 1, giving the Southland members in key population centers Houston, San Antonio and New Orleans, all home to significant student-recruitment and alumni bases. Additionally, original Southland Conference member Abilene Christian, one of the most decorated athletic programs in the NCAA, will return to the league after a 40-year absence. ACU and UIW will be transitioning from NCAA Division II and will not be eligible to win the conference championship during their transition periods, which should be complete in time for the 2017-18 season.
Are You Southland Strong? The Southland Conference has launched a new marketing campaign known as “Southland Strong.” The motto encompasses a positive mindset and confident outlook for everything that happens in the Southland. It is about competitiveness and success in the conference, in the NCAA, in professional sports and many other great achievements by member institutions and student-athletes. But it is more than just excelling in competition; it is also about being successful in the classroom and in the workforce. Southland Strong is also about great works by the league’s athletic departments reaching out and giving back to the local communities and student-athletes providing leadership through their endless efforts with local charity and youth groups. The conference encourages its member institutions and student-athletes to help promote the campaign by joining the social media conversation by using the #SouthlandStrong hashtag to tell why someone or something is Southland Strong.