Tuesday, May 16, 2006

This Week in A-Sun Baseball

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A-Sun Championship presented by Progress Energy

THE ROAD to DELAND

A-Sun Championship presented by Progress Energy tickets are available now! Visit the Hatters Website for more information

If the championship began today
#1 Jacksonville
#2 Mercer
#3 ETSU
(3-0 v. Stet)
#4 Stetson
(0-3 v. ETSU)
#5 Florida Atlantic
(7-5 v. Cam, GWU, Lip, KSU)
#6 Campbell
(5-4 v. FAU, GWU, Lip; Must play KSU this Weekend)
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#7 Gardner-Webb
(6-6 v. FAU, Cam, Lip, KSU)
#8 Lipscomb
(4-8 v. Cam, FAU, Lip, KSU)
#9 Belmont
UNF and Kennesaw State not eligible during reclassifying seasons.

CHAMPIONSHIP NOTE OF THE WEEK
A tiebreaker has not been used to determine the final championship participant since 2002 when Samford finished tied with Mercer and Georgia State for the last spot.

A-Sun Notables

FIVE TEAM HEAT FOR LAST TWO TOURNAMENT SPOTS

Heading into the final weekend of the season, four teams are deadlocked for the final two tournament spots while Belmont stands just one game behind the group. Currently, Campbell and Gardner-Webb would be in the tourney with FAU and Lipscomb on the outside looking in using the league's tie-breaker scenarios. None of the five teams face one another setting up a lot of scoreboard watching during this weekend's play. ETSU and Stetson sit on the cusp of claiming tournament berths, needing one win each or a loss from two of the four teams tied at 11-16.

LALLI-POP

Gardner-Webb's Blake Lalli needs 12 hits to move into the top-20 in A-Sun history for hits in a season, and is currently six hits shy of his career high for single season hits. The senior has the No. 12 career batting avg. (.361) in A-Sun history and is tied with former Stetson first-round draft choice Brian Snyder for No. 6 in league history with 56 doubles - despite 13 doubles from Lalli's freshman season not counting while the Bulldogs competed as an independent. The Gibsonia, Pa., native leads the A-Sun with his .402 batting average heading into the final weekend of play.

RPI CLIMB

The A-Sun which had slipped to 15th in the RPI last week, vaulted back to 12th according to BoydsWorld.com. The league is bolstered by four teams in the top-100 including regular season champ Jacksonville who boasts a conference-best ranking of 42. The A-Sun has sent at least two teams to NCAA Regional play eight times in the last nine years.

TOP CLOSERS CALL A-SUN HOME

Andrew Urena of Mercer and Robbie Elsemiller of Stetson are two of the premier closers in the NCAA as Urena has racked up 14 saves and Elsemiller has collected 13. The duo rank fourth and sixth in the NCAA in saves heading into the week. Urena's 14 places him in a tie for third in conference history while Elsemiller is one behind, tied for sixth.

A-Sun Series of the Week

Thurs.-Sat.,
May 18-20
ETSU at Florida Atlantic
Boca Raton, Fla.

Preseason favorite Florida Atlantic has battled injuiries all season long and now has its back against the wall, needing wins to reach the A-Sun Championship presented by Progress Energy. The Owls are one of four teams tied at 11-16 battling for the final two tournament spots. Meanwhile, ETSU is looking for its second straight 30-win season and the third seed. The Owls have not won back-to-back games since the first week of April.

A-Sun Standings

A-Sun Players of the Week

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League Leaders