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Interview With A-10 Tourney MVP

St. Louis claimed the Atlantic 10 Tournament title as the number five seed.  The Billikens did it by beating top-seeded Charlotte twice, and Bryant Cotton had a hand in both wins.  Bryant fired a complete game in a 3-2 win over the 49ers to improve to 9-4 last Thursday, then he made his first relief appearance of the season two days later and struckout the only batter he faced to end the A-10 Championship game & earn the first save of his career (as well as A-10 Tournament MVP honors).  Bryant and the Billikens are now headed to Louisville along with Vanderbilt and Illinois State for NCAA Regional action.

Bryant

6’2 – 190  -Sr. – RHP –  Omaha, NE                   Head Coach: Danny Hendrickson

Photos courtesey of Sideline Photos

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A By The Numbers Look At The Last Week Before The NCAA Tournament

Garrett Wittels (Sun Belt photo)

batting .414 this season.

4…Games shy of Robin Ventura’s all-time record 58 game hitting streak Wittels now stands.  FIU needs two wins in double-elimination regional play to give him a chance to tie the mark.

5…Of 27 #1 seeds, Bethune-Cookman, TCU, Coastal Carolina, The Citadel and Minnesota, that won their conference tournaments.

27…Years since Atlantic Sun champion Mercer had won a conference crown.  The Bears won what was then known at the Trans America Athletic Conference in 1983.

13…Straight conference tournaments Oral Roberts has won.  ORU’s Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent) championship streak is the third longest in NCAA history behind Oklahoma State’s 16 and Wichita State’s 14.

30…Straight Summit League Tournament games won by ORU after going 3-0 at this year’s event.

9…Big Ten Championships won by Minnesota-a conference record-after the Golden Gophers beat Iowa to claim the 2010 crown.

12…Innings it took Virginia Commonwealth to beat UNC-Wilmington 7-5 in the CAA Championship game.  VCU’s Joe Van Meter homered in the top of the 12th for the eventual game winning runs.

VCU's Joe Van Meter

104…Hits this season by Van Meter-a new CAA single season record.  The third baseman was also named the CAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

8…Straight NCAA Tournament bids for Southern Mississippi after beating Rice 7-4 to claim just the program’s second Conference USA crown.  After running all the way to the College World Series last year, the Golden Eagles were an NCAA “bubble team” going into this year’s CUSA tourney.

2…Missouri Valley Conference title won by Illinois State after beating Wichita State 17-8 to claim the title.  WSU was playing in its 33rd MVC title game.

3…Grand slams hit in the same game by BYU in a 25-18 win over Utah in a Mountain West Conference elimination game.  Sean McNaughton hit two of the slams, while Austin Hall hit the other.  The three grand slams in one game ties an NCAA record.

27 & 4…Strikeouts recorded and runs allowed by TCU starting pitchers Matt Purke, Steven Maxwell and Kyle Winkler to help the Horned Frogs go 3-0 at the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Kyle Winkler (TCU photo)

32-2…Combined record this season of Purke, Maxwell and Winkler to help TCU to its seventh straight NCAA bid.

13-1…LSU head coach Paul Mainieri’s record at the SEC Tournament after his Tigers completed a 2010 sweep of the event with Sunday’s 4-3 win over Alabama in the championship game.  LSU did not qualify for the tournament in Mainieri’s first season at the helm in 2007, but they have now won three straight SEC Tournament titles.

3…Shutout innings of relief pitched by LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo to help his team win the SEC title game in 11 innings.

4,895…Fans in attendance to see The Citadel win the Southern Conference Championship-a 10-3 win over Western Carolina in Charleston, SC.

12…Straight wins by The Citadel after winning the SoCon title game.  Bulldog ace Asher Wojciechowski is also 12-2 this season after striking out eight in eight innings to earn the victory.

Lamar's Anthony Moore (SLC photo)

7…Seed of Southland Conference Tournament champion Lamar, which beat #1 seed Texas State 17-7 to claim the crown.

.625…Batting average of Lamar centerfielder Anthony Moore to help the Cardinals sweep their four SLC Tournament games.  Moore was 10-for-16 at the plat with three home runs, two doubles, and 10 RBIs to earn tournament MVP honors.

18…Years since Hawaii had won a WAC Championship prior to beating Fresno State 9-6 in this year’s championship game in Mesa, AZ.

4…Straight WAC Tournament championships Fresno State had won before losing to the Rainbows in Sunday’s title game.

33…Wins this season by St. Louis-a new school record-after beating #1 seed Charlotte to win the program’s second Atlantic 10 Tournament championship.

25…Years since Grambling State had won a SWAC title before beating Alcorn State to win this year’s championship.

5…ACC Championships won by Florida State after the Seminoles downed North Carolina State 8-3 in Sunday’s championship game.

CLICK HERE to see the Collegebaseball360.com NCAA Tournament page for complete 2010 Tournament coverage.