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2021 Conference USA baseball tournament

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2021 Conference USA
baseball tournament
Teams8
FormatSee below
Finals site
ChampionsOld Dominion (1st title)
Winning coachChris Finwood (1st title)
MVPTommy Bell (Old Dominion)
TelevisionESPN+ (first round–semifinals)
CBSSN (Championship game)
2021 Conference USA baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
East
Charlotte x‍‍‍y 24 8 0   .750 40 21 0   .656
No. 16 Old Dominion ‍‍y 22 10 0   .688 44 16 0   .733
Florida Atlantic ‍‍‍ 18 14 0   .563 32 25 0   .561
Western Kentucky ‍‍‍ 15 17 0   .469 27 29 0   .482
FIU ‍‍‍ 11 19 0   .367 20 31 0   .392
Marshall ‍‍‍ 6 26 0   .188 10 35 0   .222
West
No. 22 Louisiana Tech x‍‍‍y 22 8 0   .733 42 20 0   .677
No. 23 Southern Miss ‍‍‍y 22 9 0   .710 40 21 0   .656
UTSA ‍‍‍ 14 17 0   .452 22 26 0   .458
Middle Tennessee ‍‍‍ 12 19 1   .391 24 29 1   .454
Rice ‍‍‍ 11 20 1   .359 23 29 1   .443
UAB ‍‍‍ 11 21 0   .344 18 36 0   .333
x – Division champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 7, 2021[1]
Rankings from D1Baseball


The 2021 Conference USA baseball tournament was held from May 26 through 30 at J. C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park in Ruston, Louisiana.[2] The annual tournament determines the tournament champion of Division I Conference USA in college baseball. The tournament champion will then earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

The tournament has been held every year since 1996, except for 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rice Owls has claimed seven championships, the most of any school, with the Owls latest win in 2017. This was the tournaments first appearance at J. C. Love Field.

Format and seeding

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The tournament will consist the top eight teams in regular season play. The top three teams in each division will receive automatic bid, plus two teams with the best winning percentage regardless of division will receive at-large bids. The format will consist of two double-elimination brackets, with a single-elimination championship game.

Team W–L Pct Seed
East Division
xy – Charlotte 24–8 0.750 1
x – Old Dominion 22–10 0.688 4
x – Florida Atlantic 18–14 0.563 5
x – Western Kentucky 15–17 0.469 6
FIU 11–19 0.367 X
Marshall 6–26 0.188 X
Team W–L Pct Seed
West Division
xy – Louisiana Tech 22–8 0.733 2
x – Southern Miss 22–9 0.710 3
x – UTSA 14–17 0.452 7
x – Middle Tennessee 12–19–1 0.391 8
Rice 11–20–1 0.359
UAB 11–21 0.344

As of May 16, 2021
x – Clinched C-USA tournament berth
y – Clinched division title

  • For the first time since joining Conference USA in 2005, Rice did not qualify for this season's conference tournament. The Owls break their 14-year streak. Southern Miss currently holds the most appearances at 25. The Golden Eagles have appeared in every tournament since the creation of the tournament in 1996.

Bracket and results

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First round Second round Semifinals Championship
             
4 Old Dominion 11
5 Florida Atlantic 2
4 Old Dominion 10
8 Middle Tennessee 6
1 Charlotte 2
8 Middle Tennessee 7
4 Old Dominion 13 -
5 Florida Atlantic 5 -
5 Florida Atlantic 9
1 Charlotte 8
8 Middle Tennessee 8
5 Florida Atlantic 14
4 Old Dominion 710
2 Louisiana Tech 5
2 Louisiana Tech 712
7 UTSA 6
2 Louisiana Tech 1
3 Southern Miss 4
3 Southern Miss 118
6 Western Kentucky 1
3 Southern Miss 10 5
2 Louisiana Tech 1110 6
7 UTSA 910
6 Western Kentucky 10
2 Louisiana Tech 14
6 Western Kentucky 4

Schedule

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Game Time* Matchup# Score Television
Wednesday, May 26
1 11:00 a.m.[a] No. 4 Old Dominion vs. No. 5 Florida Atlantic ESPN+
2 2:30 p.m. No. 1 Charlotte vs. No. 8 Middle Tennessee
3 6:30 p.m. No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 7 UTSA
Thursday, May 27
4 12:15 a.m. No. 3 Southern Miss vs. No. 6 Western Kentucky ESPN+
5 9:00 a.m. No. 5 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 1 Charlotte
6 1:15 p.m. No. 4 Old Dominion vs. No. 8 Middle Tennessee
7 5:00 p.m. No. 7 UTSA vs. No. 6 Western Kentucky
8 9:50 p.m. No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 3 Southern Miss
Friday, May 28
9 3:00 p.m. No. 5 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 8 Middle Tennessee ESPN+
10 6:30 p.m. No. 6 Western Kentucky vs. No. 2 Louisiana Tech
Saturday, May 29
11 9:00 a.m. No. 4 Old Dominion vs. No. 5 Florida Atlantic ESPN+
12 12:30 p.m. No. 3 Southern Miss vs. No. 2 Louisiana Tech
13 4:00 p.m. If necessary
14 7:30 p.m. No. 3 Southern Miss vs. No. 2 Louisiana Tech
Championship – Sunday, May 30
15 1:00 p.m. No. 4 Old Dominion vs. No. 2 Louisiana Tech CBS Sports Network
*Game times in CDT. # – Rankings denote tournament seed.

Notes

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  1. ^ The first game of the tournament was set to start at 9:00 a.m., but was delayed due to weather.[3]

Conference championship

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Conference USA Championship
(4) Old Dominion Monarchs vs. (2) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
May 30, 2021, 1:06 p.m. (CDT) at Pat Patterson Park in Ruston, Louisiana
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
(4) Old Dominion 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 2 7 12 0
(2) Louisiana Tech 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 5 10 2
WP: Aaron Holiday (4–1)   LP: Jonathan Fincher (7–3)
Home runs:
ODU: Kyle Battle (1); Tommy Bell (1); Robbie Petracci (1)
LaTech: Parker Bates (1)
Attendance: 2,484

All–Tournament Team

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Position Player Team
C Brock Gagliardi Old Dominion
IF Hunter Wells Louisiana Tech
IF Manny Garcia Louisiana Tech
IF Tommy Bell (MVP) Old Dominion
IF Christopher Sargent Southern Miss
OF Bobby Morgensen Florida Atlantic
OF Parker Bates Louisiana Tech
OF Andy Garriola Old Dominion
UT Steele Netterville Louisiana Tech
P Greg Martinez Louisiana Tech
P Aaron Brown Middle Tennessee
P Hunter Gregory Old Dominion
P Hunter Stanley Southern Miss

Tournament site

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In June 2020, Louisiana Tech University won the bid to host the tournament on their campus for the first time since joining the conference.[4] This will also be the first campus site for the tournament since 2016, as since then the games were played at MGM Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. The tournament returns to the state of Louisiana for the first time since the 2008 tournament, where it was played in New Orleans.

Pat Patterson Park, is a newly reconstructed stadium that opened for the 2021 season. The former stadium, along with other sports facilities was destroyed in 2019 by a F3 tornado.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "2021 Baseball Standings". conferenceusa.com. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Herd baseball announces 2021 spring schedule". WSAZ-TV. February 4, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  3. ^ @ConferenceUSA (May 26, 2021). "Today's first game between @FAUBaseball and @ODUBaseball has been delayed ..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Diaz, Cory (June 1, 2020). "1 year after tornado destroyed stadium, Louisiana Tech to host 2021 C-USA baseball tournament". The News-Star. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "LA Tech Baseball Practices at the New 'Love Shack' for First Time". Louisiana Tech University Department of Athletics. February 9, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.