http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle...=205153818
NEW ORLEANS - The 2011 Sun Belt Conference baseball regular season title came down to the final conference weekend once again as FIU and Troy battled for the conference crown and overall top seed at next week's baseball tournament to be held May 25 through 29 at Warhawk Field on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Troy (40-16, 21-9 SBC) took two-of-three games this weekend from South Alabama to win its first regular season title since the 2006 season, the year the Trojans also won the SBC tournament. The Trojans will enter the 2011 tournament as the league's top seed and will be placed into pool A which features seed Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 8. Pool B will feature seed Nos. 2, 3, 6 and 7.
The conference moved to a new round-robin format this season and will feature the top eight of the ten SBC teams competing against each other in two four-team pools with the team with the best record in each pool advancing to the tournament's championship game.
Each team in the tournament will be guaranteed three games and a day off prior to Championship Sunday. The tournament will begin on Wednesday, May 25 and continue through Sunday, May 29. Two-way ties in a pool will be broken by head-to-head play. In the case of a three-way tie, the highest seed will advance.
Pool A will be comprised of No. 1 Troy, No. 4 WKU, No. 5 Florida Atlantic and No. 8 UALR. Troy's 30 wins at home this year are a new school record. The 21 SBC wins are a new Troy record, eclipsing the 20 wins the team had during the 2006 season. The Trojans are making their sixth consecutive appearance at the SBC tournament. Troy lost to FIU in last year's championship finale.
WKU (32-22, 17-13 SBC) concluded the regular season with an 8-6 decision over Middle Tennessee on Saturday and took two-of-three from the Blue Raiders. This marks the 13th consecutive season the Toppers have qualified for the tournament.
Florida Atlantic (32-22, 17-13 SBC), last year's co-regular season champions, concluded its season with a 7-3 loss to FIU. The Owls will be making their fifth trip to the SBC tournament and seeks their first-ever SBC tournament title.
The eighth and final seed in Pool A is the UALR Trojans (20-32, 10-20 SBC). The Trojans will be making their first appearance in the SBC tournament since the 2003 season and first appearance under head coach Scott Norwood.
Pool B will be comprised of No. 2 FIU, No. 3 Louisiana-Lafayette, No. 6 South Alabama and No. 7 Arkansas State.
FIU (37-17-1, 20-9-1 SBC) concluded its weekend winning two-of-three against intra-state rival FAU and has won 18 of its last 19 games. The Panthers lead the SBC in hitting and in pitching. FIU, one of the hottest teams in the NCAA, won the 2010 title over Troy. The Panthers will look to become just the third team in SBC history to win back-to-back tournament titles.
Louisiana-Lafayette (31-24, 18-12 SBC) enters the 2011 tournament with 18 SBC wins and 31 overall wins. The Ragin' Cajuns were the co-champions of the regular season a year ago. ULL is making its 18th appearance in the SBC tournament and will look for its first SBC tournament title since the 1998 season.
South Alabama (29-26, 15-15 SBC), the most storied program in the SBC tournament, will be making its 33rd appearance in head coach Steve Kittrell's final season at the helm of the Jaguar program. The Jags have won 11 SBC tournament titles and seeks its first since the 2005 season.
Arkansas State (25-30-1, 13-16-1 SBC) will be making its first back-to-back tournament appearance since the 2005-2006 seasons. The Red Wolves qualified for 14 consecutive tournaments from 1993-2006.
Game times for the this year’s tournament are 11 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the championship game scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The championship game will be televised live by the Sun Belt Network.
The change in format is the first change since the 1999 season when the tournament expanded to an eight-team double-elimination setup. FIU won the SBC tournament in 2010, defeating Troy 14-10 in each team's sixth game of the tournament.
The Sun Belt Conference has sent multiple teams to the NCAA Baseball Championship for 22 consecutive years. In seven of the past 12 years the Sun Belt has sent three teams to the NCAAs.
2011 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Seeds (SBC Record)
1. Troy (21-9, 0.700) – A
2. FIU (20-9-1, 0.683) – B
3. Louisiana-Lafayette (18-12, 0.600) – B
4. WKU (17-13, 0.567) – A
5. Florida Atlantic (17-13, 0.567) – A
6. South Alabama (15-15, 0.500) – B
7. Arkansas State (13-16-1, 0.450) – B
8. UALR (10-20, 0.333) – A
Makeup of the Pools and Schedule of Play
Pool A (Seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8)
Troy vs. WKU, Florida Atlantic and UALR
WKU vs. Troy, Florida Atlantic and UALR
Florida Atlantic vs. Troy, WKU and UALR
UALR vs. Troy, WKU and Florida Atlantic
Pool B (Seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7)
FIU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, South Alabama and Arkansas State
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. FIU, South Alabama and Arkansas State
South Alabama vs. FIU, Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State
Arkansas State vs. FIU, Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama
