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LSU wins SEC opener, advances to play No. 1 Florida

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The LSU Tigers have played inconsistent baseball this season, but they stayed tough when it counted Tuesday night in an 8-5 victory over Mississippi State at the Southeastern Conference tournament.

With the win, the eighth-seeded Tigers eliminated the No. 9 Bulldogs and advanced to the double-elimination round, where they will meet the nation’s No. 1-ranked Florida Gators (41-15) Wednesday night.

Florida won the NCAA title last year when it knocked out six-time champion LSU in the championship round at the College World Series. The SEC tournament is being played in Hoover, Alabama.

Records

LSU 34-23
Mississippi State 31-25

Texas A&M ousts Vandy

Texas A&M upended sixth-seeded Vanderbilt 3-1 in a rain-interrupted SEC tournament opener Tuesday morning.

With the victory, the 11th-seeded Aggies eliminated the Commodores and solidified themselves as an NCAA tournament team.

The Aggies will move to enter the double-elimination phase of the tournament
against the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (37-17) on Wednesday morning.

Records

Texas A&M 37-19
Vanderbilt 31-25

SEC tournament

At Hoover, Alabama

Tuesday’s scores
Texas A&M 3, Vanderbilt 1
Auburn 4, Kentucky 3 (11 innings)
LSU 8, Mississippi State 5
South Carolina 4, Missouri 2

Wednesday’s games
(With tournament seeds)
(11) Texas A&M vs. (3) Georgia, 9:30 a.m.
(7) Auburn vs. (2) Ole Miss, TBD
(8) LSU vs. (1) Florida, 4:30 p.m.
South Carolina vs. (4) Arkansas, TBD

American Athletic Conference

At Clearwater, Florida

Tuesday’s scores

Game 1: East Carolina 8, UCF 4
Game 2: Tulane 11, Houston 6

TLU to open with Wooster, Ohio, in Division III World Series

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The Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs will play the College of Wooster, Ohio, on Friday on opening day of the NCAA Division III World Series.

The eight-team baseball tournament, played in a two-bracket, double-elimination format, will take place at Appleton, Wisconsin.

It is TLU’s first trip to the World Series.

On Saturday, Seguin-based TLU will play either either Concordia-Chicago or Swarthmore, Pa., in the double elimination format.

The Bulldogs advanced to the World Series by sweeping four games at the Spokane, Washington, Regional.

On Sunday, TLU beat Willamette, Ore., 6-5 in 10 innings.

NCAA Divsion III World Series

At Appleton, Wisconsin
Friday (May 25) through Wednesday (May 30)

Friday’s schedule

Oswego State, N.Y. (30-12) vs. UT Tyler (35-17), 10 a.m.
Randolph-Macon, Va. (35-7-1) vs. Misericordia, Pa. (36-13), 1:15 p.m.
Concordia-Chicago, Ill. (38-13) vs. Swarthmore, Pa. (37-9), 4:30 p.m.
Wooster, Ohio (40-8) vs. Texas Lutheran (38-9), 7:45 p.m.

Mississippi State on a roll heading into SEC tournament

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The Mississippi State Bulldogs surged into the Baseball America Top 25 with a sweep of top-ranked Florida last weekend, according to the poll released Monday.

The Bulldogs, playing at home, downed the Gators 6-3, 12-4 and 13-6 in the biggest surprise of the week in the Southeastern Conference.

Despite the three losses, Florida remained No. 1 in the national rankings leading into the SEC tournament that starts Tuesday at Hoover, Ala.

The Bulldogs open play in the tournament ranked 25th.

Baseball America
Top 25 – May 21

1. Florida 41-15 SEC
2. Oregon State 42-9-1 Pac-12
3. Stanford 43-8 Pac-12
4. Ole Miss 42-14 SEC
5. North Carolina 37-17 ACC
6. Clemson 43-13 ACC
7. Texas Tech 38-15 Big 12
8. Georgia 37-17 SEC
9. Arkansas 37-17 SEC
10. N.C. State 40-14 ACC
11. Minnesota 37-13 Big Ten
12. Duke 39-14 ACC
13. Florida State 39-17 ACC
14. Texas 37-18 Big 12
15. Coastal Carolina 38-17 Sun Belt
16. UCLA 35-17 Pac-12
17. Southern Miss 39-15 Conference USA
18. Houston 33-21 American
19. East Carolina 39-15 American
20. Stetson 41-11 Atlantic Sun
21. Tennessee Tech 46-7 Ohio Valley
22. South Carolina 32-22 SEC
23. Auburn 37-19 SEC
24. Missouri State 35-15 Missouri Valley
25. Mississippi State 31-24 SEC

Conference tournaments

SEC — at Hoover, Ala., Tuesday – Sunday
Big 12 — at Oklahoma City, Wednesday – Sunday
Big Ten — at Omaha, Neb., Wednesday – Sunday
ACC — at Durham, N.C., Tuesday – Sunday
Pac-12 — No tournament
American — at Clearwater, Fla., Tuesday – Sunday
Big East — at Mason, Ohio, Thursday – Sunday
Conference USA — at Biloxi, Miss., Wednesday – Sunday
Sun Belt — at Lafayette, La., Tuesday – Sunday
Southland — at Sugar Land, Wednesday – Saturday

NCAA projections

D1 Baseball, in its weekly projections of the 64-team NCAA tournament, listed four teams from both the SEC and from the Atlantic Coast Conference as No. 1 seeds hosting first-roud regionals.

The website projected that Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and Ole Miss from the SEC and North Carolina, North Carolina State, Florida State and Clemson from the ACC all would host.

Two teams from the Big 12 — both Texas Tech and Texas — are also projected as No. 1s hosting on the first weekend.

Texas won the Big 12 regular-season title last weekend after sweeping a three-game series against TCU.

Other teams from the state projected to make it into the NCAA field include Houston (a No. 2 seed), Texas A&M, Baylor, Dallas Baptist and Sam Houston State (all No. 3s) and Texas Southern (as a No. 4).

Sam Houston State claimed the Southland Conference title in San Antonio last week with a sweep of Incarnate Word.

Incarnate Word head baseball coach Patrick Hallmark (right) talks things over with Sam Houston State coach Matt Deggs during Thursday night's game. - photo by Joe Alexander

Incarnate Word head baseball coach Patrick Hallmark (right) talks things over with Sam Houston State coach Matt Deggs during Thursday night’s game. – photo by Joe Alexander

TLU rallies to win, 6-5, earns trip to the Division III World Series

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Texas Lutheran University is on its way to the NCAA Division III World Series.

Senior Keaton Boysen hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday night to lift the Bulldogs to a 6-5 victory over Willamette (Ore.) for the Spokane Regional championship.

With runners at first and second base and one out, the Bearcats brought in freshman Liam Keefe to pitch to Boysen.

Boysen flared a ball into the outfield, and Ben Marvin came around to score, beating the throw easily with a head-first slide.

Trailing by four runs after six innings, the Bulldogs rallied with one run in the seventh and four in the eighth to take a 5-4 lead.

Tyler Cauley delivered the big blow in the eighth with a two-run homer.

In response, Willamette tied the score in the top of the ninth on a solo homer by Perry Van Eckhardt down the right field line.

Moving into the 10th, Willamette loaded the bases on three walks by reliever Dylan Drgac.

But Drew Waller replaced Drgac on the mound and immediately got TLU out of trouble.

First, Cameron Igarashi popped up to short right field. Next, Van Eckardt, who had three hits on the day, fouled out to end the threat.

In the bottom of the 10th, Marvin led off with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.

Cauley followed with another walk, which prompted Willamette to take out Joseph Faudskar and replace him with Keefe.

Boysen, an Arizona native and a transfer from Gateway College, greeted Keefe with a single to center for the winner.

As a result, Seguin-based TLU is headed to the World Series for the first time.

The series will open Friday at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin.

TLU will enter the showcase event having won 10 games in a row.

“It’s a credit to all these guys,” TLU coach Greg Burnett said in the post-game news conference. “They’ve been awesome.”

Records

Texas Lutheran 38-9
Willamette (Ore.) 31-19

Playing for a friend

TLU dedicated its season to the late Keaton Bohrmann, a former four-year Bulldogs player who died in a car wreck last fall. He was 23. Bohrmann was killed in the one-vehicle accident last October.

In tribute to their friend, many of the players would write ‘KB4’ in their hats and gloves this season, a spokesman said in an email.

On Sunday, with a berth in the championship series on the line, the players scrawled “KB4” in the dirt adjacent to the on-deck-circle and behind home plate.

Bohrmann, who played through 2016 and earned three all-conference designations, wore jersey No. 4 for the Bulldogs.

Outfielder Matthew Lemon, who ripped an RBI double to give TLU a 5-4 lead on Willamette in the eighth, addressed in the post-game news conference the team’s feelings about the tragedy and its aftermath.

“We took the news hard when we heard what happened,” Lemon said. “But we kind of took a step back, as a team, the seniors together and all the other guys, (and) you know, we had a feeling that we could do something special with him looking down on us.

“It’s a surreal feeling, to be sitting here right now. We’ve come a long way. We’re super proud, and we’re not done yet. We’re ready to get going (to the World Series). It feels good right now.”

Notebook

TLU entered the six-team regional in Spokane, Washington, as the No. 4 seed, and the Bulldogs rose to the challenge by winning four straight games to win the title.

Led by 11th-year coach Greg Burnett, the Bulldogs defeated Concordia (Texas) 9-8 in the opener last Thursday.

They followed Saturday with a pair of victories, winning 2-1 against UT Dallas and knocking off Willamette, 6-1.

Sixth-seeded Willamette knocked off top-seeded Chapman 10-5 last Thursday. The Bearcats eliminated Concordia, from Austin, by a 13-4 score on Friday.

After losing to TLU on Saturday, the Bearcats responded with a 10-3 win Sunday morning to reach the championship round.

Willamette, with one loss, would have needed two wins against TLU in the title round to advance.

The second game in the title round would have been played on Monday morning.

Instead, TLU will be returning home to prepare for its trip to the CWS.

Sam Houston State wins 7-3; UIW’s season comes to an end

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The Incarnate Word baseball team walks solemnly to the outfield after its season ended Saturday with a 7-3 loss to Sam Houston State. UIW finished 29-26 for its first winning record in six years.

Jack Rogers slammed two of Sam Houston State’s four home runs Saturday afternoon en route to a 7-3 victory over the University of the Incarnate Word at Sullivan Field.

It was the regular-season finale for both teams.

The Bearkats swept all three games of the series in San Antonio to deny the Cardinals what would have been their first trip to the Southland Conference baseball tournament.

What began as a promising season for UIW ended on a seven-game losing streak.

Andrew Fregia homered in the first inning for the Bearkats, who will be the top seed in the SLC tournament next week at Sugar Land.

Rogers added a homer in the third, followed by Hearn’s shot in the fourth. Rogers hit another one in the seventh.

Records

Sam Houston 38-18, 24-6
Incarnate Word 29-26 13-17

Notebook

Despite the late-season swoon, first-year coach Patrick Hallmark led UIW to its first winning record as an NCAA Division I program.

The 13 conference wins were also the most in the team’s five years in the SLC.

UIW had posted losing overall records each of the past four seasons during its transition to Division I.

This was the first season in the wake of the transition that UIW would have been allowed to play in the tournament.

The Cardinals’ last non-losing record came in 2013, in their final year in Division II, when they posted a 26-26 record.

Their last winning record came in 2012 when they finished 24-20.

UTSA preparing for C-USA tournament after beating Charlotte, 5-1

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UTSA backed a strong performance from starting pitcher Karan Patel with 13 hits Saturday to defeat the Charlotte 49ers 5-1 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Roadrunners coach Jason Marshall said UTSA will face Charlotte next Wednesday in Biloxi, Mississippi, on opening day in the Conference USA postseason tournament.

UTSA will travel to Mississippi seeking its first NCAA tournament berth since 2013.

The Roadrunners, who took two of three from the 49ers on the last weekend, will need to win the eight-team C-USA event to earn a spot in one of the NCAA regionals.

Patel carried UTSA in the regular-season finale by hurling six scoreless innings while allowing only three hits.

In the field, Patel was supported with standout defensive plays from outfielders Ryan Stacy and Trent Bowles and shortstop Joshua Lamb.

Marshall said he was pleased with the team’s play against Charlotte in the final three games, particularly the pitching, which allowed only six runs in three days.

The 49ers beat the Roadrunners 2-0 on Thursday. But the Roadrunners bounced back to take the second game, 4-3.

Records

UTSA 31-22, 16-13
Charlotte 31-22, 17-13

Notebook

Starters for opening day in the tournament are two lefties in Charlotte’s Josh Maciejewski (9-2, 2.46) against UTSA’s Steven Dressler (5-3, 2.81).

UIW coach tells his players to ‘keep your heads up, stay ready’

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Incarnate Word baseball coach Patrick Hallmark talks to the umpire before Thursday's game against Sam Houston State. - photo by Joe Alexander

Incarnate Word baseball coach Patrick Hallmark talks to the umpire before Thursday’s game against Sam Houston State. – photo by Joe Alexander

Three weeks ago, the University of the Incarnate Word baseball team seemed well on its way to qualifying for the Southland Conference postseason tournament.

UIW, playing inspired ball under first-year coach Patrick Hallmark, was 27-19 overall and 12-9 in the SLC after winning two of three on the road at the University of New Orleans.

The Cardinals’ performance in the Big Easy gave them four SLC series victories in five tries, an impressive stretch for a program making its debut as a full-fledged member of the conference and NCAA Division I.

Since then, the Cardinals have hit the skids.

They have lost seven of nine games overall and seven of eight in conference, falling to the brink of elimination from tournament consideration heading into the last day of the regular season.

After Sam Houston State throttled UIW 16-1 Friday afternoon, the Cardinals (29-25, 13-16) are faced with what is most likely a must-win situation in its regular-season finale Saturday afternoon at Sullivan Field.

Incarnate Word players gather before Friday's game against Sam Houston State. - photo by Joe Alexander

Incarnate Word players gather before Friday’s game against Sam Houston State. – photo by Joe Alexander

A loss to Sam Houston doesn’t necessarily eliminate them as one of the tournament’s eight qualifiers. But a victory sure would help them get there.

Can they do it?

Well, UIW hasn’t inspired much optimism in the past eight days, losing all three last week at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and then dropping the first two in a three-game series against Sam Houston.

In an interview Friday afternoon, Hallmark expressed confidence that his players would bounce back from their most lopsided loss of the year.

“I think they’ll respond in a positive way,” the former long-time Rice University assistant said. “The guys we’re running out there regularly, are all made of the right stuff — which means, mental toughness.

“We talk about not feeling sorry for yourself, not letting things that you can’t control bother you or affect you, or intimidate you, or, whatever.

“You can put in any phrase you want. The guys we’re running out there, our main core group of guys, that’s what they’re made of. We like ‘em a lot.”

After four straight losing seasons under a previous staff, UIW elected to change coaches last summer.

The school brought in Hallmark, an assistant in 2017 at Missouri who had worked for 11 previous seasons under Wayne Graham at Rice.

Incarnate Word's Ryan Gonzalez slides safely into third against Sam Houston State on Friday. - photo by Joe Alexander

Incarnate Word’s Ryan Gonzalez slides safely into third against Sam Houston State on Friday. – photo by Joe Alexander

UIW started fast, knocking off 30th-ranked Notre Dame at the Irish Baseball Classic and playing tough at No. 8 Texas A&M.

But in the past few weeks, it’s been a struggle, especically in identifying quality depth in the pitching staff.

In Thursday’s opener against Sam Houston, UIW blew a two-run lead in the ninth and lost 5-4 in 10 innings.

On Friday, Sam Houston’s leadoff hitter blasted a long home run on the first pitch of the game en route to 16 hits for the visiting team.

After a game that lasted three hours and 28 minutes under a hot afternoon sun, Hallmark summoned his players to the outfield grass for a talk.

The coach said he challenged them to get mentally and physically ready to play in the finale against the Bearkats, who have dominated the SLC over the past few seasons.

“I just talked about tomorrow’s game and keeping our heads up,” Hallmark said. “One of the good things about baseball is, you get to play a lot. So, you can get this one out of your system and come out here tomorrow ready to play.

“That’s what I told ‘em, (to) get a good meal, take care of their bodies … Hydrate, and walk out here with your heads up. Because, we’ve played more good baseball (this year) than we have bad baseball. Today we played bad baseball.”

Hallmark said he doesn’t want to get into long discussions with fans who like to tell him that the season will be a success, regardless of whether the team makes it to the tournament.

“Honestly, I don’t let my mind go there,” he said.

Hallmark said he’s much too preoccupied with how to beat the Bearkats than to get into a discussion about whether UIW has had a good enough year to suit him.

Incarnate Word head baseball coach Patrick Hallmark. - photo by Joe Alexander

Incarnate Word head baseball coach Patrick Hallmark. – photo by Joe Alexander

“I truly am embracing tomorrow’s game,” the coach said. “That’s what we preach to our players. We got to embrace, literally, the first pitch. Because, it’s one pitch at a time.

“So, I don’t know, really, how to answer your question. I think there are things (about the season) we’ll be proud of. I haven’t been here (as coach) before (this year).

“So, I guess what people are saying, is, maybe we’re a little better than we have been. But I see a lot of room for improvement.”

As far as the coach is concerned, there’d be no better time to show it than Saturday against Sam Houston State.

Sam Houston claims SLC title with 5-4, 10-inning win at UIW

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Sam Houston State's Jordan Cannon (25) and Mac Odom (1) are congratulated by teammates after scoring in the top of the ninth inning to tie it 4-4 against Incarnate Word on Thursday night. - photo by Joe Alexander

Sam Houston State’s Jordan Cannon (25) and Mac Odom (1) are congratulated by teammates after scoring in the top of the ninth inning to tie it 4-4 against Incarnate Word on Thursday night. – photo by Joe Alexander

Trailing by two runs with two outs in the ninth inning, Sam Houston State refused to fold.

The Bearkats rallied to beat the Incarnate Word Cardinals 5-4 in 10 innings to claim the Southland Conference’s regular-season title outright.

One out away from losing the opener of a three-game series at UIW’s Sullivan Field, the Bearkats came to life when Jack Rogers singled for two RBI and a tie score at 4-4 in the top of the ninth.

Hunter Hearn added the game winner with a solo shot to lead off the 10th.

Reliever Dakota Mills closed in the bottom of the inning for his ninth save of the season, which sent UIW tumbling to its fifth loss in a row.

Ridge Rogers, Kyle Bergeron, Ryan Flores and Eddy Gonzalez all had two hits for the Cardinals, who remain in the race for a spot in next week’s SLC tournament.

UIW starting pitcher Bernie Martinez allowed four runs on seven hits in 8 and 2/3 innings.

He walked four and struck out seven.

Records

Sam Houston State 36-18, 22-6
Incarnate Word 29-24, 13-15

Incarnate Word starting pitcher Bernie Martinez struck out seven batters and pitch 8 2/3 innings against Sam Houston State. - photo by Joe Alexander

Incarnate Word starting pitcher Bernie Martinez struck out seven batters and pitched 8 2/3 innings against Sam Houston State. – photo by Joe Alexander

Coming up

Sam Houston at UIW, 2 p.m. Friday
Sam Houston at UIW, 1 p.m. Saturday

Incarnate Word outfielder Ridge Rivers is congratulated by teammates after making a catch against the wall against Sam Houston State. - photo by Joe Alexander

Incarnate Word outfielder Ridge Rogers is congratulated by teammates after making a catch against the wall against Sam Houston State. – photo by Joe Alexander