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Baseball America@BaseballAmerica 2h 2 hours ago
Conference tournaments begin today so we look at the six highest-rated conferences in the RPI that hold tournaments
2017 Conference Tournament Previews
American Athletic Conference
When: Tuesday-Sunday
Where: Spectrum Field • Clearwater, Florida
Participants: Eight teams (listed by seed)—Central Florida, Houston, Connecticut, South Florida, Tulane, Cincinnati, Memphis, East Carolina.
Format: Double-elimination.
Top Seed: Central Florida. A year after finishing last in the AAC, UCF rebounded under first-year coach Greg Lovelady, who was hired away from Wright State. UCF went 38-18 and 15-9 in conference play, to tie Houston for first place (UCF’s series win against Houston gave it the tiebreaker for the top seed). It was the Knights’ first regular season conference title since 2004, when they were still a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. UCF led the conference with a 3.80 staff ERA, 101 stolen bases, 1.81 stolen bases per game and in runs scored. Freshman lefthander Joe Sheridan won 10 games, most in the AAC. Senior center fielder Luke Hamblin had a league-best 40 walks (.422 OBP), while freshman Rylan Thomas hit 13 homers and had 51 RBIs, just short of conference leader Jake Scheiner of Houston, who had 15 homers and 52 RBIs.
Something To Gain: Houston, South Florida, Connecticut. The Cougars and Bulls entered the final regular season weekend in a three-way tie atop the AAC, but USF lost two of three to UCF; Houston took two of three from Cincinnati to tie UCF. All three have likely assured themselves of regional bids, and all three remain in the mix to host a regional. Winning the AAC Tournament would be a big boost to their resumes. UConn’s RPI is 40 and it should be the fourth school to get a bid from the conference, but an early exit could be damaging.
Desperation Time: East Carolina. The preseason conference favorite hit on hard times this season after an 18-8 start. The Pirates missed senior ace Evan Kruczynski for six weeks because of an ankle injury and junior closer Joe Ingle was kicked off the team in April. ECU was just 7-17 in conference, but stayed above .500 and eligible for a regional berth—if it wins the AAC tournament. Kruczynski is rested and will start the opener against UCF.
All or Nothing: Tulane, Cincinnati, Memphis. The Green Wave was just 27-29 but had an RPI of 74 thanks to a 14-15 mark against top 50 RPI teams. Cincinnati is 28-28 with an RPI of 85, and while Memphis had a winning record (29-27), it was just 8-16 in conference with an RPI of 111. All three will need to win the conference’s automatic bid to extend their season.
Conference tournaments begin today so we look at the six highest-rated conferences in the RPI that hold tournaments
2017 Conference Tournament Previews
American Athletic Conference
When: Tuesday-Sunday
Where: Spectrum Field • Clearwater, Florida
Participants: Eight teams (listed by seed)—Central Florida, Houston, Connecticut, South Florida, Tulane, Cincinnati, Memphis, East Carolina.
Format: Double-elimination.
Top Seed: Central Florida. A year after finishing last in the AAC, UCF rebounded under first-year coach Greg Lovelady, who was hired away from Wright State. UCF went 38-18 and 15-9 in conference play, to tie Houston for first place (UCF’s series win against Houston gave it the tiebreaker for the top seed). It was the Knights’ first regular season conference title since 2004, when they were still a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. UCF led the conference with a 3.80 staff ERA, 101 stolen bases, 1.81 stolen bases per game and in runs scored. Freshman lefthander Joe Sheridan won 10 games, most in the AAC. Senior center fielder Luke Hamblin had a league-best 40 walks (.422 OBP), while freshman Rylan Thomas hit 13 homers and had 51 RBIs, just short of conference leader Jake Scheiner of Houston, who had 15 homers and 52 RBIs.
Something To Gain: Houston, South Florida, Connecticut. The Cougars and Bulls entered the final regular season weekend in a three-way tie atop the AAC, but USF lost two of three to UCF; Houston took two of three from Cincinnati to tie UCF. All three have likely assured themselves of regional bids, and all three remain in the mix to host a regional. Winning the AAC Tournament would be a big boost to their resumes. UConn’s RPI is 40 and it should be the fourth school to get a bid from the conference, but an early exit could be damaging.
Desperation Time: East Carolina. The preseason conference favorite hit on hard times this season after an 18-8 start. The Pirates missed senior ace Evan Kruczynski for six weeks because of an ankle injury and junior closer Joe Ingle was kicked off the team in April. ECU was just 7-17 in conference, but stayed above .500 and eligible for a regional berth—if it wins the AAC tournament. Kruczynski is rested and will start the opener against UCF.
All or Nothing: Tulane, Cincinnati, Memphis. The Green Wave was just 27-29 but had an RPI of 74 thanks to a 14-15 mark against top 50 RPI teams. Cincinnati is 28-28 with an RPI of 85, and while Memphis had a winning record (29-27), it was just 8-16 in conference with an RPI of 111. All three will need to win the conference’s automatic bid to extend their season.
