It’s win or else at SBC

UALR and Arkansas State took to the pool play format the Sun Belt Conference used for its past two baseball tournaments better than anybody else.

UALR, as the lowest seed, won four games in four days two years ago to win the tournament and advance to an NCAA regional for the first time.

Last year, Arkansas State was tied with Troy, which it had lost to during pool play. But based on its higher seed, ASU advanced to the final where it lost to Louisiana-Monroe.

Both teams could be looking at tougher roads when the Sun Belt Tournament begins today at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field in Lafayette, La., with the return to a double-elimination format.

“[Before] you were rewarded for the regular season, and that’s how it worked out for us,” ASU Coach Tommy Raffo said. “This year, there’s no tiebreakers. You win it or you go home.”

UALR (28-26) and ASU (26-29) are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning both will have to advance to Sunday’s final to play each other.

Doing that could prove difficult considering each team is playing one of the tournament’s top seeds and a trip to the loser’s bracket would mean playing as many as six games to get to Sunday.

“The double-elimination drains your pitching staff,” UALR Coach Scott Norwood said. “If you’re in the loser’s bracket and you’re having to fight back and win five or six games, it could really be tough on you. But teams have done it.”

UALR opens the tournament at 4 p.m. today against No. 2 seed South Alabama (40-16), which is ranked No. 24 by Baseball America and swept a season series against the seventh-seeded Trojans earlier this year.

ASU, the No. 8 seed, will play No. 1 seed Troy (39-16) at 12:30 p.m. today.

Neither team’s road to Sunday is favorable.

The Red Wolves lost 2 of 3 games to Troy two weeks ago and have a 4-5 record against the three teams on their side of the bracket (Troy, No. 4seed Florida Atlantic and fifth-seeded Western Kentucky).

UALR went 2-7 against South Alabama, No. 3 seed Louisiana-Lafayette and No. 6 seed Florida International, but the Trojans enter as one of the league’s hottest teams. UALR took 2 of 3 games from ASU last weekend and is 10-4 since April 26, the best mark over that time of any team in the field.

“It’s just confidence,” Norwood said. “If you have the confidence walking in, it makes it a little bit easier.”

An improved pitching staff could help, too.

UALR finished the regular season with a 4.43 ERA, sixth best in the 10-team league but much better than last year’s 6.00 ERA, which was the worst in the Sun Belt.

Senior right-hander Chance Cleveland, who was named second-team All-Sun Belt on Tuesday, will start today. Cleveland has lost nine games, but his 3.39 ERA is sixth in the league while his981/3 innings pitched are second and his 88 strikeouts are tied for second.

“We’ve pitched the ball a lot better,” Norwood said. “I think all year long, we’ve been more consistent than we have in previous years here. Whatever we need to do, we’ll do.”

ASU is coming off two consecutive losses and faces a Troy team that won 2 of 3 from South Alabama last week to earn the top seed.

Troy led the Sun Belt in runs scored and doubles this season, and Raffo called the Trojans’ Nos. 2, 3 and 4 hitters - Logan Pierce, Danny Collins and Trae Santos - “probably the best combo in the nation.” Collins is hitting .370, while Pierce is hitting.366 and Santos has a leaguebest 15 home runs.

ASU will lean on senior right-hander Daniel Wright to slow Troy’s lineup, which includes four players hitting .333 or better.

Today’s games

UALR VS. SOUTH ALABAMA WHAT Sun Belt Tournament WHEN 4 p.m.

WHERE M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field, Lafayette, La.

RECORDS UALR 28-26; South Alabama 40-16 RADIO None INTERNET ualrtrojans.com, sunbeltsports.org PITCHING MATCHUP UALR: Chance Cleveland (RHP, 5-9, 3.39 ERA); South Alabama: Anthony Izzio (RHP, 2-0, 4.76)

ARKANSAS STATE VS. TROY WHEN 12:30 p.m.

WHERE M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field, Lafayette, La.

RECORDS Arkansas State 26-29; Troy 39-16 RADIO KNEA-FM, 95.3, in Jonesboro, KNEA-AM, 970, in Jonesboro INTERNET astateredwolves.com, sunbeltsports.org PITCHING MATCHUP Arkansas State: Daniel Wright (RHP, 6-4, 3.17 ERA); Troy: TBA

Sports, Pages 19 on 05/22/2013

Upcoming Events