University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
The Quest for Trustmark - Part 4
5/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 17, 2011
The Quest for Trustmark and the 2011 C-USA Baseball Championship continues to be a tight race as it heads into its final weekend of the regular season. The eight teams heading to the championship have been decided, with Marshall, being left out of this year's event, and all that's left is deciding what seeds each team will get. Below you will find updated league standings, upcoming league series and information on the tournament which is set for May 25-29 at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss.
C-USA All Games (* Clinched C-USA Tournament berth)
| Team | W-L | Pct. | H | A | W-L | Pct. | H | A | N | L-10 | Streak |
| *Southern Miss | 15-6 | .714 | 8-1 | 7-5 | 37-13 | .740 | 22-3 | 12-8 | 3-2 | 7-3 | L 2 |
| *Rice | 14-7 | .667 | 8-4 | 6-3 | 35-17 | .673 | 21-10 | 11-4 | 3-3 | 8-2 | W 1 |
| *East Carolina | 11-10 | .524 | 6-6 | 5-4 | 34-17 | .667 | 24-9 | 9-8 | 1-0 | 7-3 | W 5 |
| *Houston | 11-10 | .524 | 4-8 | 7-2 | 24-27 | .471 | 14-13 | 9-12 | 1-2 | 3-7 | W 2 |
| *Tulane | 10-11 | .476 | 4-5 | 6-6 | 30-21 | .588 | 22-12 | 8-9 | 0-0 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| *UCF | 10-11 | .476 | 2-7 | 8-4 | 33-19 | .635 | 19-10 | 13-8 | 1-1 | 6-4 | W 4 |
| *Memphis | 10-11 | .476 | 4-5 | 6-6 | 27-23 | .540 | 18-10 | 8-10 | 1-2 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| *UAB | 9-15 | .375 | 4-8 | 5-7 | 27-25 | .519 | 18-9 | 7-13 | 2-3 | 3-7 | L 3 |
| Marshall | 6-15 | .286 | 4-8 | 2-7 | 19-29 | .396 | 5-8 | 4-16 | 10-5 | 4-6 | L 1 |
Last Week's Series
Houston 2, Southern Miss 1
The Cougars used a five-run inning in both the Saturday and Sunday games to defeat the Golden Eagles in two of three contests over the weekend. B.A. Vollmuth put Southern Miss ahead in the ninth for good in Friday night's game with a two-run single up the middle as USM rallied to take game one. Senior reliever Collin Cargill pitched in his 99th and 100th career games in the series.
Rice 2, Memphis 1
Michael Ratterree delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to lead Rice to a 7-6 victory over Memphis in Sunday's finale at Reckling Park in Houston to win their final home series and pick up a game on the the Golden Eagles in the standings. Rice's standout All-American, Anthony Rendon, was intentionally walked to get to Ratterree as it was his nation's leading 72nd walk of the year.
Tulane 2, Marshall 1
The series started on Friday with a pair of games due to impending weather expected in Charleston, W.Va., on Saturday. The two teams ended up spliting a pair of one-run games and keeping Marshall's hopes alive for a postseasn spot alive. It looked like Marshall was going to get a series win with a late lead on the Green Wave in the finale, but a seven-run eighth propelled Tulane to the series victory and knocked the Herd out of contention for a spot in next week's tournament.
UCF 3, UAB 0
The Knights went on the road to sweep the Blazers in Birmingham at Young Memorial Field. After dropping a close game on Friday, UAB fell victim to a nine-run, 10th inning in Saturday's game to lose 9-0 in the affair. UCF then brought out the offense to sweep the series on Sunday, beating the home squad 18-6 in eight innings.
East Carolina 3, Delaware State 0
ECU overmatched Delaware State over the weekend by soundly defeating their non-conference foe three times including a 24-0 victory on Friday en route to outscoring the visitors 37-2 in the sweep.
This Week's Series (All Times Central and are Thursday-Saturday)
Rice at Southern Miss (6, 6, 1)
Marshall at UCF (5:30, 5:30, 12 noon)
East Carolina at Tulane (6:30, 6:30, 1)
Houston at Memphis (6:30, 6:30, 1)
UAB at Utah (1, 1, 1)
Trustmark Park
The 2011 Conference USA Championship will be played at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. The stadium in suburban Jackson is the home of the Mississippi Braves, the AA club of the Atlanta Braves. The ballpark, which opened April 18, 2005, has capacity for nearly 7,500 fans. There are 5,500 chair-back seats in the reserved seating areas. The grass berm beyond the outfield walls has room for an additional 2,000 general admission customers.
The Farm Bureau Grill, beyond the right-field wall, is a full-service restaurant and there are nine concession stands that offer a wide variety of ballpark treats. Twenty-two luxury suites that seat between 16 and 20 fans are equipped with hardwood floors, a bar, flat screen TVs, refrigerator and sliding doors that open up to two rows of seats. The ballpark also includes the picnic pavilion, 150 closed-circuit monitors positioned around the park televising the game, two merchandise shops and a kids play area beyond the center-field wall.
The field dimensions are 330 feet down the left-field line, 332 feet down the right-field line, and 400 feet to center-field.
Purchase Tickets
To purchase tickets click here
New Championship Format
The 2011 Conference USA Championship will feature the top eight teams in regular-season league play. Those eight will be split into two four-team pools (or pods), with the winner of each pod playing in a single championship game. Teams will be assigned pods based on seed, which will be determined by the order of finish in regular-season conference play. Each team will be guaranteed to play three games. Teams in each pod will play two teams in its pod and one team outside its pod. The team with the best composite record in each pod will advance to the championship game. Two-way ties in a pod will be broken by head-to-head play. In case of a three-way tie, the highest seed will advance. The higher seed will be the home team in games on Days 1 and 3 and in the Championship Game; teams that were the visitors on Day 1 will be the home team on Day 2.
General Information/Directions
Virtual Tour
Ballpark Ground Rules
Seating Chart
Limited Suites Still Available
There are a limited number of private suites available for the Championship. These spaces are a great opportunity to entertain your employees, clients or prospects - and a great vantage point to cheer your team to victory! For more information about suite rentals or promotional opportunities in the tournament, please contact Laura Kestenbaum at 601.750.5150.
RV Parking at Trustmark Park for C-USA Baseball Championship
The daily rate for RV parking is $25 per day or $100 for the tournament (5 days). There will be no water, power or sewer provided; however, 24 hour security and trash pick-up will be provided.
Please complete this form and return to Laura Kestenbaum , Spectrum Events, via email at lkestenbaum@spectrumcapitalre.com. Please mail you checks ASAP to Spectrum Events at 781 Larson Street, Jackson, MS 39202. As soon as payment is received, your credentials will be mailed. They are trying to get as many registered in advance as we can.
