Feb. 24, 2008

Three Conference USA teams (Southern Miss, Tulane and UCF) opened the 2008 season by posting three-game sweeps at home. For the Green Wave it was their first series on campus since the 2005 NCAA Super Regional and it also represented the first games in the brand-new Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.

More than 5,000 fans were on hand Friday night to watch Tulane shutout Illinois-Chicago, 6-0. Shooter Hunt struck out eight over six innings to lead the Wave. Tulane finished the series by posting 4-3 and 9-2 wins.

Southern Miss hosted Lipscomb at newly-renovated Pete Taylor Park and opened the 2008 campaign with a 3-1 victory on Friday night. The Golden Eagles then had to rally to win the final two games of the series, scoring six unanswered runs in a 6-3 victory on Saturday and then used a Keith Winstead pinch-hit single to earn a 9-8 decision on Sunday.

UCF had little doubt in any of its three games against Florida A&M, outscoring the Rattlers 50-4 in gaining its first 3-0 start since 2005. The 50 runs are the most ever scored by the Knights in a series, as 14 different players drove in at least one run.

UAB won a pair of one-run games to open its series against Ball State, before dropping the final two outings against the Cardinals. Houston took two-of-three from Pacific, posting a 3-1 decision on Friday night and rallying for a 10-9 win in the bottom of the ninth on Sunday.

A pair of Conference USA's ranked teams dropped two-of-three playing on the road against nationally-ranked opponents. East Carolina rebounded from a tough game one loss at No. 2 South Carolina to post a 13-4 win in game two. The Pirates were in position to earn a series win on Sunday, but the Gamecocks rallied with two runs in the bottom of the 11th inning to win, 7-6. Rice dropped each of the first two games of its series at No. 13 Long Beach State by one run, including a 1-0 extra-inning loss on Friday. But, the No. 3 Owls rebounded with a 3-1 win on Sunday to close out a well-pitched series that saw just 10 total runs scored over the weekend.

Marshall opened the series with a 14-9 win over Western Carolina before dropping the final two outings against the Catamounts. Memphis participated in the annual Service Academies Classic in nearby Millington, Tenn., losing pitchers duels to Seton Hall and Ohio State before defeating Air Force on Sunday.