5/13/2024 baseball Edit

CUSA Baseball Weekly Round-Up - 5.13.2024

Caleb Wardell • BleedTechBlue

Staff Writer

With the thirteenth weekend of the 2024 season concluding, I will continue my weekly CUSA Round-Up series, where I will be giving a quick recap of how each team in the conference did the previous week.

Louisiana Tech (38-15) (15-6)

Last Week’s Record: 3-0; Series Sweep vs Western Kentucky

Up Next: Series @ Liberty

Conclusion: Louisiana Tech pulled off a massive sweep of Western Kentucky to move into first place going into the final weekend of the regular season. After a walk-off victory in game one, the Bulldogs were much more dominant in the next two games, including a run-rule of the Hilltoppers in game two. The Bulldogs travel to Liberty this weekend, looking for a sweep to clinch the Conference USA regular season title.

Dallas Baptist (38-12) (15-6)

Last Week’s Record: 4-0; Win vs UT Arlington, Series Sweep vs Liberty

Up Next: Series @ MTSU

Conclusion: DBU’s pitching was much more on par this week, leading to a big sweep of Liberty to stay in the race for the number one seed. The Patriots held the Flames to just 6 runs through three games and walked off Liberty in game two before handily taking the series finale. DBU will be rooting for the Bulldogs to drop at least one game at Liberty while looking to sweep MTSU on the road to steal the first seed at the very end.

Western Kentucky (32-19) (13-8)

Last Week’s Record: 1-3; Win vs Bellarmine, Swept @ LA Tech

Up Next: Series vs NMSU

Conclusion: Western Kentucky is reeling at the worst possible time and has now lost 5 of their last 6 after getting swept in Ruston this past weekend. The Hilltoppers unraveled down the stretch in game one and were mostly just outplayed in the series’ final two games. WKU still sits in a great position to lock up the three seed, but that will likely take a series win at home against the dangerous New Mexico State offense.

Liberty (22-29) (11-10)

Last Week’s Result Record: 1-3; Win vs Virginia Tech, Swept @ DBU

Up Next: @ #8 Wake Forest, Series vs LA Tech

Conclusion: Liberty had a chance to overtake DBU in the standings and move into the top three, but after being swept, the Flames will just have to aim to remain at number four. The Flames were within striking distance for the majority of the first two games, including leading 3-1 in the 9th before the Patriots hit a three-run homer in game two. Liberty has an opportunity to gain some momentum going into the tournament by hosting the top-seeded Bulldogs this weekend.

Sam Houston (30-21) (10-11)

Last Week’s Record: 3-0; Series Sweep @ FIU

Up Next: vs Houston, Series vs Jax State

Conclusion: The Bearkats have recovered nicely after the debacle at Louisiana Tech two weekends ago. Sam Houston put up 33 runs in Miami and swept the Panthers to move all the way up to number five in the conference standings. Facing last-place Jax State this week, the Bearkats could climb all the way up to the fourth seed, likely leading to a rematch versus Liberty in the first round of the CUSA Tournament.

FIU (25-25) (11-10)

Last Week’s Record: 1-3; Win @ Miami (FL), Swept vs Sam Houston

Up Next: vs Miami (FL), Series @ Iowa

Conclusion: FIU has plummed down the CUSA standings over the past three weekends due to going 1-8 versus DBU, Liberty, and Sam Houston. The Panthers’ pitching staff continues to hold a good offensive team back in a major way, and that was evidenced once again versus the Bearkats. FIU is the rare team that has already completed its conference slate and has the ability to experiment with lineup changes and bullpen arms at Iowa this weekend.

New Mexico State (24-25) (9-12)

Last Week’s Record: 1-1; 1-1 Series Tie @ TCU

Next Up: Series @ WKU

Conclusion: The Aggies had two games canceled this week, including a midweek game at rival New Mexico and the series finale at TCU. New Mexico State impressively forced a rubber match on the road against a surging Horned Frogs squad, but TCU declined to move game three up to Saturday, and the series finale was canceled due to rain. The Aggies have one last shot to make another big statement before the tournament on the road against the sliding Hilltoppers.

MTSU (19-32) (7-14)

Last Week’s Record: 2-2; Loss @ Lipscomb, 2-1 Series Win @ Jax State

Next Up: @ Southern Indiana, Series vs DBU

Conclusion: In a sickos classic, eighth-seed Middle Tennessee squared off with ninth-seed Jax State in Huntsville, with both teams competing to earn the final spot in the CUSA Tournament. After rallying to win game one, the Blue Raiders were handled in game two, forcing a rubber match on Sunday. MTSU prevailed with a 3-2 road victory to drastically improve their conference tournament hops. One win versus DBU will clinch the 8th seed for MTSU.

Jax State (18-31) (5-16)

Last Week’s Record: 2-2; Win vs UAB, 1-2 Series Loss vs Jax State

Next Up: @ Kennesaw State, Series @ Sam Houston

Conclusion: Despite entering the weekend after a competitive series at DBU, the Gamecocks were unable to leverage that performance at home against the Blue Raiders. Jax State led 7-2 early in game one before ultimately falling 12-9 to MTSU. The Gamecocks would bounce back with a firm game two win, but the offense was unable to get going in a brutal 3-2 loss on Sunday. To make the tourney, Jax State has to sweep Sam Houston, while MTSU must be swept by DBU.

Conference USA RPI Leaderboard

1) #21 Dallas Baptist

2) #33 Louisiana Tech

3) #61 Sam Houston

4) #94 Western Kentucky

5) #113 Liberty

6) #116 FIU

7) #132 NMSU

8) #181 Jax State

9) #223 MTSU

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