Baseball Tournament Begins Wednesday
5/22/2012 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
THE 2012 TOURNAMENT
After winning its first regular-season conference championship since 1989, Sam Houston State has earned the top seed in the 2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas. The Bearkats claimed their second regular-season championship and enter the tournament with a 36-18 overall record to go with a 24-9 mark in league play. It was their first title since 1989.
Top-seeded Sam Houston State will open the tournament against No. 8 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which finished 23-31 overall and 13-19 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 UT Arlington vs. No. 5 seed McNeese State. The Mavericks finished in a third-place tie with Texas State, but lost the regular-season series against the Bobcats. UTA enters the tournament with a 32-23 overall record and was 19-14 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 is a rematch of last year's championship game. Tournament host Texas State will open its title defense Wednesday at 4 p.m. against No. 6 Stephen F. Austin. The No. 3 seeded Bobcats are 31-22 overall and were 19-14 in league action. The Lumberjacks were 24-28 overall and 17-16 in league play. Wednesday's final game, matching No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana with No. 7 seed Central Arkansas, is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Lions are 36-19 overall and were 20-13 in Southland contests, while qualified for its first Southland Conference tournament after posting an overall record of 25-28 and 16-17 in league games. The winners of Wednesday's two late games advance to play Thursday at 7 p.m. while the losers play Thursday at noon.
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, June 1-4.
Tournament History
This marks the 26th 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. Texas State won its fourth tournament championship last year to go with titles in 1997, 1999 and 2000. The regular-season champion has won the tournament eight times though that has happened just three times since the tournament resumed in 1993, including last year by Texas State.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the event are available by calling either the Texas State athletics ticket office at 512-245-2272 or online at www.txstatebobcats.com/tickets. An all-tournament reserved pass is available for $50 for adults. Youth and general admission all-tournament passes are $45. Individual day tickets are available for $15 for adults and $12 for youth. Students at Southland institutions may get in free by showing a valid student ID card.
Tournament Coverage
All Sam Houston State games in the tournament will be featured with free live audio streaming on www.gobearkats.com
The schedule of the double-elimination event has four games on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Two "if-necessary" games would be played Saturday before the championship game, which will be played at either 1 or 5 p.m. and be available exclusively on ESPN3. The championship broadcast will be called by Chris Mycoskie, the Southland's director of television and electronic media, and Greg Swindell, a 17-year MLB veteran. Every game of the tournament, which the exception of the title game, will be streamed live and for free on SLC NOW, which is available on the conference's website, Southland.org. Live stats will also be available at the same web address.
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 June 1-4 at campus sites. Super Regionals will be held June 8-11 and the College World Series will be June 15-26.
Sam Houston's Pierce is Coach of the Year
First-year Sam Houston State coach David Pierce was named the Clay Gould Coach of the Year. Pierce became the first coach of the year from Sam Houston State since 1989, when John Skeeters led the Bearkats to their only other regular-season title. Under Pierce, the Bearkats are 36-18 and finished 24-9 in league play to lock up the top seed in the conference tournament. The conference win total tied the conference record for most league victories. Sam Houston won 10 of its 11 weekend series rode a 13-game win streak that included a win over Rice, where Pierce had spent the previous nine years as an assistant coach.
Sam Houston State, Texas State Lead All-Conference Teams
Sam Houston State and Texas State each placed a league-best five student-athletes on the three all-conference teams, including two on the first team, one on the second team and two more on the third team. Sam Houston junior third baseman Kevin Miller and sophomore designated hitter Anthony Azar earned first-team honors. Sophomore Caleb Smith earned second-team kudos, while senior outfielder Jake Arrington and senior right-handed pitcher Michael Oros earned third-team mention. Texas State placed two players on the first team with senior outfielder Jeff McVaney joining Ballew on the top all-conference squad. Junior catcher Andrew Stumph and junior left-hander Colton Turner earned second-team honors and senior first baseman Casey Kalenkosky garnered a spot on the third team. Central Arkansas, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin each had four all-conference selections with the Lions nabbing a league-high three spots on the first team, including Hebert, Lopez and senior first baseman Jonathan Pace. Northwestern State and UT Arlington each had three all-conference honorees, while Nicholls State, UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each had two. With one all-conference selection each for Lamar and McNeese State, all 12 league teams were represented.
