2014 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament
The 2014 American Athletic Conference baseball tournament was held at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, from May 21 through 25. The event, held at the end of the conference regular season, determined the champion of the American Athletic Conference for the 2014 season. Houston won the round-robin tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[2][3][4]
 Tournament Logo | |
| Teams | 8 |
|---|---|
| Format | Round-robin tournament |
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Houston (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Todd Whitting (1st title) |
| MVP | Josh Vidales (Houston) |
| Television | ESPNU (Championship game) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Louisville †y | 19 | – | 5 | .792 | 48 | – | 15 | .762 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | 17 | – | 7 | .708 | 36 | – | 23 | .610 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Houston ‡y | 14 | – | 9 | .609 | 48 | – | 16 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 14 | – | 9 | .609 | 30 | – | 25 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 10 | – | 14 | .417 | 27 | – | 31 | .466 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temple | 9 | – | 14 | .391 | 15 | – | 32 | .319 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 9 | – | 14 | .391 | 27 | – | 31 | .466 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 8 | – | 16 | .333 | 30 | – | 29 | .508 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | 6 | – | 18 | .250 | 22 | – | 31 | .415 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 6, 2014[1] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Format and seeding
The top eight finishers from the regular season were seeded one through eight. The tournament used a round-robin format, with the field divided into two groups. The winners of each group, Louisville and Houston, faced off in a single championship game. With nine teams in the league, the last-place regular season finisher, Cincinnati, was not in the field.[5][6]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Seed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 19 | 5 | .792 | – | 1 |
| UCF | 17 | 7 | .708 | 2 | 2 |
| Houston | 14 | 9 | .609 | 4.5 | 3 |
| Rutgers | 14 | 9 | .609 | 4.5 | 4 |
| South Florida | 10 | 14 | .417 | 9 | 5 |
| Temple | 9 | 14 | .391 | 9.5 | 6 |
| Connecticut | 9 | 14 | .391 | 9.5 | 7 |
| Memphis | 8 | 16 | .333 | 11 | 8 |
| Cincinnati | 6 | 18 | .250 | 13 | – |
Bracket
| Division A | UL | RU | USF | Mem | Overall | |
| 1 | Louisville | W 9–3 | L 1–2 | W 13–3 | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Rutgers | L 3–9 | W 10–0 | L 1–5 | 1–2 | |
| 5 | South Florida | W 2–1 | L 0–10 | L 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| 8 | Memphis | L 3–13 | W 5–1 | W 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Division B | UCF | Hou | Tem | UConn | Overall | |
| 2 | UCF | L 8–13 | W 6–2 | W 7–1 | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Houston | W 13–8 | W 3–0 | L 2–7 | 2–1 | |
| 6 | Temple | L 2–6 | L 0–3 | W 9–4 | 1–2 | |
| 7 | Connecticut | L 1–7 | W 7–2 | L 4–9 | 1–2 |
| Finals | ||||
| A | Louisville | 4 | ||
| B | Houston | 10 | ||
All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[4]
| Pos | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| P | Andrew Lantrip | Houston |
| P | Jimmy Herget | USF |
| C | Kyle Gibson | Louisville |
| C | Keaton Aldridge | Memphis |
| IF | James Vasquez | UCF |
| IF | Casey Grayson | Houston |
| IF | Josh Vidales | Houston |
| IF | Kyle Teaf | USF |
| OF | Jeff Gardner | Louisville |
| OF | Kyle Survance | Houston |
| OF | Vinny Zarrillo | Rutgers |
| DH | Nick Solak | Louisville |
Most Outstanding Player
Josh Vidales was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Vidales was a second baseman for Houston.[4]
References
- "2014 Baseball Standings". American Athletic Conference. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
- "2013-14 Championships". The American. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- "Clearwater, Fla. to host first American Athletic Conference championship". NCAA. July 1, 2013. Archived from the original on September 9, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- "Houston Claims American Baseball Championship". The American. May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- "First American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship To Be Held At Bright House Field". The American. July 1, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- "Louisville Earns Top Seed For American Baseball Championship". The American. May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.