Baseball Championship Series Opens Friday

Concordia Texas will host the Blue Bracket in Austin, Texas and East Texas Baptist will host the Red Bracket in Marshall, Texas, May 6-8.

5/3/2016 10:58:44 AM

Tournament Brackets

RICHARDSON, Texas - Concordia Texas and East Texas Baptist finished first and second in the league standings and will serve as hosts for the 2016 American Southwest Conference Baseball Championship Tournament Series, May 6-8.

The 2016 conference championship opens with two four-team tournament brackets, followed by a best-of-three games set between the bracket winners. The Blue tournament bracket is hosted by Concordia Texas (Austin, Texas), the No. 1 seed and ASC regular season champion. The Red tournament bracket is hosted by No. 2 seed East Texas Baptist (Marshall, Texas).

The winners of the Blue and Red brackets advance to the Gold bracket for a best of three-game series hosted by the highest remaining seed. The Gold bracket winner is the ASC champion and earns automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

Blue Bracket
Game one in the Blue bracket begins with the defending ASC champion No. 4 UT Tyler vs. No. 5 LeTourneau at 3:00 p.m. In game two, No. 1 Concordia Texas will take on No. 8 UT Dallas at 7:00 p.m.

No. 1 Concordia Texas (27-13) has won two of the last three ASC regular season titles and will host the Blue bracket. Concordia has won three ASC tournament championships (2002, 11', 12') and makes its sixth consecutive tournament appearance and 12th overall. Concordia ranks second in the ASC with a 27-19 tournament record, one win behind UT Dallas (28) who the Tornados play in game two. Junior outfielder Jack Valadez leads Concordia at the plate with a .420 average and .506 on-base percentage, both ranked fourth in the ASC. As a team, the Tornados lead the ASC in walks (189), rank third in runs scored (273) and fourth in RBI (233). On the mound, Concordia pitching leads the ASC in ERA (3.40), strike outs (338), runs allowed (171), earned runs allowed (128), opposing batting average (.260) and innings pitched (338.2). The Tornados are led by the league's leading one-two punch in junior Lane Hobbs and sophomore Justin Traxler. Hobbs leads the ASC with a 9-1 record and Traxler ranks third at 7-2. The Tornado duo has the most combined wins of any two pitchers in the conference. Hobbs also holds top marks in strike outs (83) and ERA (1.60) and is tied for first in shutouts (3). Traxler leads the league in earned runs allowed (12), ranks second in ERA (2.36) and third in strike outs (62) and opposing batting average (.218).

No. 5 LeTourneau (15-20) rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the seventh inning to defeat UT Dallas in the last game of the season to jump from the No. 8 seed to No. 5. The YellowJackets are 6-3 in the postseason event, have three tournament appearances all coming in the last three years and won the ASC championship in 2014. Senior catcher Taylor Empkey leads the LETU offense with 22 RBI and has a .289 average, 39 hits and eight doubles. Junior infielder Kyle Jacobs leads the team with three home runs and has 32 hits with a .286 average. On the mound, freshman pitcher Andrew Harlan leads the team in wins (4), innings pitched (74.0) and strike outs (38). Senior Boone Privette ranks second in runs allowed (18) and tied for third in earned runs allowed (15).

No. 8 UT Dallas (21-18) makes its eighth consecutive tournament appearance and 13th overall and leads the ASC with a 28-26 tournament record. UTD has finished second in the ASC championship five times, most recently as the 2015 runner-up. Sophomore outfielder Josh Covey leads the Comets at the plate with a .452 average and a .525 on-base percentage, ranked first and second in the ASC, respectively. Five Comets recorded more than 20 RBI this season led by senior outfielder Haden Johnson with a team-high 26. Covey and senior outfielder David McKenzie lead the team with 47 hits and senior shortstop Jimmy Norris ranks third in the ASC with 25 stolen bases. Norris is also the ASC career leader in stolen bases with 85 swipes in 99 attempts in 129 games. On the mound, senior pitcher Aaron Bach leads the Comets in wins (5), strike outs (43) and innings pitched (81.0).

No. 4 UT Tyler (25-15) is the defending ASC champion and has the longest current streak of consecutive tournament appearances with nine. The Patriots have a 25-11 tournament record and is tied with McMurry for the most ASC championships with four (2015, 13', 10', 09'). Sophomore first baseman Alex Bishop and junior utility player Trenton Buchhorn lead the Patriots offense. Bishop leads the ASC in on-base percentage (.533), ranks third in batting average (.426), fifth in slugging percentage (.652) and hits (60) and is ninth in RBI (39). Buchhorn leads the conference in RBI (52) and ranks tied for ninth in total bases with Bishop (92). The Patriots' rotation is led by senior pitchers Michael Blevins, Tyler Stallings and junior Cason Adams. Blevins (3.78), Stallings (3.83) and Adams (3.84) rank seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively in ERA in the ASC. Adams leads the team in strike outs (51) and innings pitched (75) and Blevins ranks fifth in the ASC in opposing batting average (.242). Stallings ranks fifth in earned runs allowed (18) and sixth in hits allowed (47).

Red Bracket
The Red Bracket begins with No. 3 Hardin-Simmons vs. No. 6 Sul Ross State at 3:00 p.m. No. 2 East Texas Baptist hosts No. 7 Howard Payne at 7:00 p.m.

No. 2 East Texas Baptist (28-12) enters the tournament series winning 12 of its last 13 games and has the best overall record in the ASC. The Tigers make their second consecutive tournament appearance and sixth overall and have a 5-9 tournament record. ETBU was one of the better hitting teams in Division III in 2016. The Tigers led the nation with 61 home runs, more than doubling any team in the ASC. ETBU finished the regular season ranked first in the league in RBI (285), runs scored (324), total bases (712), slugging percentage (.528) and on-base percentage (.407). Leading the Tigers at the plate is senior outfielder Tyler Bates and junior first baseman Conner Combs. Bates leads the ASC in total bases (107) and runs scored (49) and ranks second in home runs (11). Combs leads the league in home runs (14), slugging percentage (.768) and ranks second in RBI (48). ETBU pitching leads the ASC with 28 wins anchored by junior Ernest Perez with eight, ranked second and has 53 strike outs for sixth in the conference. Senior relief pitcher Jimmy Russo ranks second in saves (9).

No. 3 Hardin-Simmons (25-15) makes its second straight tournament appearance and 14th overall. The Cowboys are 17-28 in the ASC tournament and finished as the runner-up in 2001 and 2005. HSU ended the regular season ranked in the top three in seven ASC offensive categories including first in batting average (.325), second in hits (438), third in home runs (24) and total bases (647). Sophomore second baseman Taylor Cooling leads the ASC in hits (68), doubles (19), ranks third in runs scored (44), total bases (95) and eighth in batting average (.400). HSU pitching leads the ASC in saves (11) and ranks third in wins (25). Senior pitcher Colton Spears leads the team in wins (6), ranked tied for fourth in the ASC.

No. 7 Howard Payne (19-19) has a 6-8 tournament record, makes its third straight appearance and fifth overall and won the title in 1997. Freshman outfielder Cliff Lunceford leads a group of 11 Jackets' hitter with 10 or more RBI with a team-high 25. Senior shortstop Brandon Garrett leads the team in hits (37) and at-bats (130). On the mound junior pitchers Kyle Ramon and Adrian Acosta lead the team with four wins each. Ramon ranks eighth in the ASC in opposing batting average (.263) and leads HPU in strike outs (51) and innings pitched (60.1).

No. 6 Sul Ross State (18-22) makes its fourth tournament appearance and has a 6-4 record with one title coming in 1999. The Lobos led the ASC in hits (449), doubles (104), ranked second in total bases (661), tied for second in home runs (24) and ranked third in RBI (240). SRSU pitching recorded 331 innings on the mound, ranked third, and 244 strike outs at fifth in the conference. Junior second baseman Johnny Campos ranked tied for third in the ASC in hits (61) and tied for eighth in runs scored (40). Senior first baseman / pitcher Ely Gallego tied for third in RBI (45) and ranked third in doubles (16). On the mound, senior pitcher Justin Vajgert led the league in innings pitched (85.0), ranked second in strike outs (69) and tied for fourth in wins (6). When not on first base, Gallego contributed in the rotation picking up five wins, 59 strike outs and one shut out in 78.2 innings pitched.

NOTES: Concordia Texas admission: $10 adults, $5 students, senior citizens per day ... East Texas Baptist admission is $5 per game ... No Pets are allowed at the conference tournament per ASC policy within the confines of the facility. Only propoerly marked and leashed service animals are permitted. ... To talk about / follow the tournament on Twitter, use the hashtag: #ASCbb.

2016 ASC Baseball Championship Tournament Series
Blue Bracket | Austin, Texas | Tornado Field | Hosted by Concordia University Texas

Friday, May 6
Game 1: No. 5 LeTourneau vs. No. 4 UT Tyler, 3:00 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Concordia Texas vs. No. 8 UT Dallas, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 7
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1:00 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4:00 p.m.
Game 5: Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 8
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1:00 p.m.
Game 7: Game 6 teams (if needed), 30 minutes after Game 5

Red Bracket | Marshall, Texas | Woods Field | Hosted by East Texas Baptist University

Friday, May 6
Game 1: No. 6 Sul Ross State vs. No. 3 Hardin-Simmons, 3:00 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 East Texas Baptist vs. No. 7 Howard Payne, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 7
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 1:00 p.m.
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 4:00 p.m.
Game 5: Loser Game 4 vs. Winner Game 3, 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 8
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 1:00 p.m.
Game 7: Game 6 teams (if needed), 30 minutes after Game 5

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