A little breakdown of teams on Tech's side of the bracket to get you ready for a tournament that Tech has to play well in.
Southern Miss:
Southern Miss enters the C-USA tournament 44-12 (25-5). The Golden Eagles won the league by an astounding 6 games and swept the ‘Dogs to open C-USA play. They are a legit contender for a national seed and should be a lock to host a regional. They can swing the bat hitting .316 on the year with 78 home runs. West Monroe native Dylan Burdeaux leads the team with a .372 average along with 11 home runs and 66 RBI. He’s the leading candidate for C-USA Player of the Year. Freshmen Matt Wallner has been unreal this year as well hitting .340 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI. Lastly, two way player Taylor Braley has been rock solid at 3rd and on the mound. Offensively he is hitting .333 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI, and he also has 53 BB. Burdeaux, Wallner, and Braley killed Tech to the tune of 13-39, 4 HR and 14 RBI in the earlier series. On the mound Kirk McCarty, Hayden Roberts, and Braley make up a solid rotation. McCarty is a left-hander that is the best arm they have. Closer Nick Sandlin locks things down at the end of ball games with a low ¾ arm slot that makes him extremely tough to hit. Southern Miss is the favorite heading into Biloxi this week.
Charlotte:
Charlotte enters this week 32-22 (18-12) which was good for 4th place in Conference USA. The 49ers took two of three from Tech in the second C-USA series of the year. Charlotte is led offensively by T.J. Nichting who hit .378 with 5 home runs and 45 RBI on the year while playing outstanding outfield defense. Zach Jarrett, son of NASCAR legend Dale Jarrett, lead the 49ers with 11 home runs this year. Nichting and Jarrett combined to go 8-22 with 7 RBI and 5BB in the series with Tech earlier this year. With five guys hitting over .300 and a team that rarely strikes out Tech is in for a tough test Wednesday night. The lack of striking out gave Tech fits in the series earlier this year. Mix that in with a lineup that is left-handed heavy and Nate Harris will be in for a knockdown, drag out fight. On the mound the 49er pitchers make you beat them. Likely Wednesday night starter Colton Laws has only walked 13 guys in 87+ innings. Their pitching staff will give up hits and have been prone to the home run ball at times. It’ll be key for Tech’s stellar lineup to get pitches to drive. We could very well be in for a pitcher’s duel come Wednesday night with the conference’s top 2 pitchers on the mound in Laws and Harris.
UTSA:
UTSA enters the tournament with a 28-26 (15-15) overall record as the 8th and final seed. UTSA defeated the ‘Dogs two out of three inside the Love Shack in the third C-USA series of the year. UTSA is hitting .299 on the year averaging just under 7 runs per game. Bryan Arias and Jesse Baker lead the RoadRunners at the plate. The duo has combined for 57 extra base hits on the year, 23 of which are home runs. Tech kept the duo under control in Ruston holding them to just 4-24 with 3BB and just one home. If Tech does run into UTSA that will need to continue. On the mound UTSA has struggled to a 5.09 team ERA. Outside of Chris Muller and Karl Craigie, no one on the UTSA pitching staff has an ERA under 3.41. UTSA is a good club that has been up and down all year.
As you can see all three teams on Tech’s side of the bracket are teams that the ‘Dogs lost series too. If that isn’t enough motivation to go out and succeed then nothing will be. Tech will need to continue playing their game. Nate Harris at the top of Tech’s rotation will give them a great chance Wednesday night against Charlotte. Outside of him, I think you will see Burroughs piece games together. Offensively, the guys just need to continue doing what they are doing. Southern Miss certainly has the best offense in the league, but Tech is close behind. If they get rolling, especially the deeper it gets into this tournament, I expect you will see some big numbers from them. All games will be broadcasted on ESPN3.com if you are interested in watching. As always, I’ll have all games covered from start to finish. If you have any other questions please let me know.
Southern Miss:
Southern Miss enters the C-USA tournament 44-12 (25-5). The Golden Eagles won the league by an astounding 6 games and swept the ‘Dogs to open C-USA play. They are a legit contender for a national seed and should be a lock to host a regional. They can swing the bat hitting .316 on the year with 78 home runs. West Monroe native Dylan Burdeaux leads the team with a .372 average along with 11 home runs and 66 RBI. He’s the leading candidate for C-USA Player of the Year. Freshmen Matt Wallner has been unreal this year as well hitting .340 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI. Lastly, two way player Taylor Braley has been rock solid at 3rd and on the mound. Offensively he is hitting .333 with 14 home runs and 55 RBI, and he also has 53 BB. Burdeaux, Wallner, and Braley killed Tech to the tune of 13-39, 4 HR and 14 RBI in the earlier series. On the mound Kirk McCarty, Hayden Roberts, and Braley make up a solid rotation. McCarty is a left-hander that is the best arm they have. Closer Nick Sandlin locks things down at the end of ball games with a low ¾ arm slot that makes him extremely tough to hit. Southern Miss is the favorite heading into Biloxi this week.
Charlotte:
Charlotte enters this week 32-22 (18-12) which was good for 4th place in Conference USA. The 49ers took two of three from Tech in the second C-USA series of the year. Charlotte is led offensively by T.J. Nichting who hit .378 with 5 home runs and 45 RBI on the year while playing outstanding outfield defense. Zach Jarrett, son of NASCAR legend Dale Jarrett, lead the 49ers with 11 home runs this year. Nichting and Jarrett combined to go 8-22 with 7 RBI and 5BB in the series with Tech earlier this year. With five guys hitting over .300 and a team that rarely strikes out Tech is in for a tough test Wednesday night. The lack of striking out gave Tech fits in the series earlier this year. Mix that in with a lineup that is left-handed heavy and Nate Harris will be in for a knockdown, drag out fight. On the mound the 49er pitchers make you beat them. Likely Wednesday night starter Colton Laws has only walked 13 guys in 87+ innings. Their pitching staff will give up hits and have been prone to the home run ball at times. It’ll be key for Tech’s stellar lineup to get pitches to drive. We could very well be in for a pitcher’s duel come Wednesday night with the conference’s top 2 pitchers on the mound in Laws and Harris.
UTSA:
UTSA enters the tournament with a 28-26 (15-15) overall record as the 8th and final seed. UTSA defeated the ‘Dogs two out of three inside the Love Shack in the third C-USA series of the year. UTSA is hitting .299 on the year averaging just under 7 runs per game. Bryan Arias and Jesse Baker lead the RoadRunners at the plate. The duo has combined for 57 extra base hits on the year, 23 of which are home runs. Tech kept the duo under control in Ruston holding them to just 4-24 with 3BB and just one home. If Tech does run into UTSA that will need to continue. On the mound UTSA has struggled to a 5.09 team ERA. Outside of Chris Muller and Karl Craigie, no one on the UTSA pitching staff has an ERA under 3.41. UTSA is a good club that has been up and down all year.
As you can see all three teams on Tech’s side of the bracket are teams that the ‘Dogs lost series too. If that isn’t enough motivation to go out and succeed then nothing will be. Tech will need to continue playing their game. Nate Harris at the top of Tech’s rotation will give them a great chance Wednesday night against Charlotte. Outside of him, I think you will see Burroughs piece games together. Offensively, the guys just need to continue doing what they are doing. Southern Miss certainly has the best offense in the league, but Tech is close behind. If they get rolling, especially the deeper it gets into this tournament, I expect you will see some big numbers from them. All games will be broadcasted on ESPN3.com if you are interested in watching. As always, I’ll have all games covered from start to finish. If you have any other questions please let me know.
