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COLLEGE BASEBALL
Fruitful Sunday for UAB,
Rice
From staff and electronic reports
View the Mobile Alpha version of this report.
Senior righthanders Ryan Nance and Michael Busby
pitched UAB into the NCAA postseason on Sunday, shutting out Memphis 5-0 in
the title game of the Conference USA Championship tournament at Trustmark
Park in Pearl, MS.
Nance fanned six and parceled out five hits over 6
1/3 innings before giving way to Busby with the bases loaded and one out in
the bottom of the 7th. Busby ended the threat with two strikeouts and
limited the Tigers to one hit and one walk the rest of the way.
Freshman outfielder Jeff Schalk was the offensive
hero with two hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer in the top of
the 7th.
Regular season champion Rice also picked up a plum
prize on Sunday as the NCAA Division I baseball tournament selection
committee announced that the Owls will be among 16 regional hosts. It will
be the 10th time in the past 12 years that perennial powerhouse Rice has
been picked as a regional host.
The NCAA regional sites and host schools:
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Baton Rouge - LSU
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Chapel Hill - North
Carolina
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Charlottesville -
Virginia
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College Station -
Texas A&M
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Columbia - South
Carolina
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Coral Gables -
Miami (FL)
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Eugene - Oregon
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Gainesville -
Florida
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Gary - Purdue
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Houston - Rice
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Los Angeles - UCLA
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Palo Alto -
Stanford
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Raleigh - N.C.
State
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Tallahassee -
Florida State
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Tucson - Arizona
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Waco - Baylor
The rest of the 64-team field, including the eight
national seeds, will be announced at noon Monday on ESPNU and ESPN3.
UAB is assured of a regional spot by virtue of its
conference tournament title. East Carolina, Central Florida, Tulane and
Southern Miss are among C-USA schools hoping to receive an at-large bid to
the tournament.
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