May 24, 2008

Kendall Rogers
Rivals.com College Baseball Editor

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS: FRIDAY'S QUICK TAKES
WHO HELPED THEIR CASE?
After losing series to Miami, North Carolina and Georgia Tech the past few weeks, it struck my mind that Virginia might need to perform well at the ACC Tournament to assure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Fortunately for coach Brian O'Connor and the Cavaliers, they won't have to worry. The Cavaliers won their first game in Jacksonville by a score of 8-7 over top-ranked North Carolina. On Friday, the Cavaliers struck again with a 5-3 win over Florida State to advance to Sunday's ACC Tournament title game. With a pair of wins and a title game appearance at the tourney, the Cavaliers clearly are a postseason team.	Virginia
WHO HURT THEIR CASE?
The Lone Star Showdown between Texas and Texas A&M will likely now trickle down to system institutions Texas-San Antonio and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Just a few weeks ago, UTSA appeared to be the clear-cut leader to win an automatic bid out of the Southland Conference. Now the Roadrunners are trying to figure out what went wrong. UTSA dropped two of its last three series to Texas A&M CC and Texas State. They also lost the SLC Tournament opener to the Islanders before getting eliminated from the tournament Friday afternoon by A&M-CC. With an RPI in the 60s, UTSA's season has pretty much come to a close.	UTSA
BIGGEST SURPRISE
It has been a strange and tough year in Lafayette. The Ragin' Cajuns entered the spring with high hopes, but put together a horrendous conference resume. Still, the Cajuns always knew they'd ultimately have a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament by winning the conference tourney, which by the way is being held in Lafayette, La., this week. Though the regular season was a blur for the Cajuns, they've had some redemption so far this week. ULL defeated Troy 6-1 in its tournament opener. They were also victorious Friday afternoon by beating South Alabama 8-1. Give the Cajuns credit for playing like their season is on the line.	Louisiana-Lafayette
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
After beating Alabama in the tournament opener, Kentucky really had a lot to play for. With other happenings around the country, the Wildcats had a golden opportunity to join the mix as a possible Regional host. However, the Wildcats let that possibility slip away with devastating losses to Ole Miss and Alabama in consecutive days. The Wildcats lost to the Rebels on a walk-off homer, while the Crimson Tide eliminated them with ease Friday night. Perhaps more than anything, it was disappointing to see the Wildcats making fundamental errors in the field, such as not covering second base when the catcher is attempting to throw out a runner. Though its SEC Tournament run was disappointing, UK probably learned a valuable lesson.	Kentucky
KENDALL'S ROUNDUP
Let's take a trip around the country and see how some bubble teams faired on the diamond Friday afternoon. Alabama solidified its positive postseason status with a 13-4 victory over Kentucky, while pitcher Eddie Gamboa and UC Davis inched past Cal State Northridge 4-3 ? Looking at those on the bad side of the bubble entering Friday's games, College of Charleston had the day off, while New Orleans won a pair of games against Troy and South Alabama ? UC Santa Barbara recorded a huge 6-2 win over UC Irvine and Oregon State beat Pacific 15-2 to keep its postseason hopes alive. Baylor, meanwhile, suffered a blow when it lost a 14-3 decision to Oklahoma State ? In other action, Michigan appears to be in great shape for a Regional host. The Wolverines faced their toughest competition of the Big Ten Tournament Friday afternoon and recorded a 6-1 win over Purdue with pitcher Chris Fetter leading the charge.

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Rivals.com. He can be reached at rogersk@yahoo-inc.com.