Division 1 Conference Tournaments Underway

By Jorge Bannister
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

I apologize for my lack of writing the past three weeks. I have been absolutely swamped with my baseball season. Now that the season is over --  for us anyway -- I am back and with full force through the College World Series.

Conference tournaments are underway across the nation.

Now, I know the Atlantic 10, Big East, Conference USA, the MVC and the Mountain West are mid-major to major conferences in other sports, but in baseball that’s just not the case. I will go through the first two days of action from the big conferences. You should be able to figure them out from the posting.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Day 1 (Wednesday, May 20)

Florida State 7, Boston College 2
Miami 8, Georgia Tech 6
North Carolina 8, Duke 3

Day 2 (Thursday, May 21)

*Boston College 7, Georgia Tech 3
Florida State 4, Miami 2
Virginia 6, Clemson 5

Day 3 (Friday, May 22)

*Miami vs. Boston College, noon
*Clemson vs. Duke, 4 p.m.
North Carolina vs. Virginia, 8 p.m.

Day 4 (Saturday, May 23)

Florida State vs. Georgia Tech, noon
North Carolina vs. Clemson, 4 p.m.
Virginia vs. Duke, 8 p.m.

Championship Game (Sunday, May 24)

1 p.m.

* = Elimination game

Outlook: There’s too much parody in the league this year. I mean, Boston College beating Georgia Tech, get real. Still, look for a Florida State-UNC final with the team with the rested arms getting the win.

Big XII

Day 1 (Wednesday, May 20)

Kansas State 5, Kansas 4
Baylor 14, Texas 9
Missouri 5, Texas A&M 2
Oklahoma 5, Texas Tech 2

Day 2 (Thursday, May 21)

Texas 9, Kansas 3
Kansas State 9, Baylor 4

Day 3 (Friday, May 22)

Missouri vs. Texas Tech, 4 p.m.
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M, 8:30 p.m.

Day 4 (Saturday, May 23)

Kansas vs. Baylor, 10 a.m.
Texas vs. Kansas State, 1:30 p.m.
Oklahoma vs. Missouri, 5 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech, 8:30 p.m.

Championship Game (Sunday, May 24)

1 p.m.

Outlook: Whoever wins the Texas-Kansas State game will be in the title game against either Oklahoma or Baylor.

Big West

UC-Irvine wins the title. There’s no postseason tournament.

Pac-10

All that’s listed on the Web site is the following: Champion determined by three-game round-robin play.

As of right now, Arizona State (42-11, 19-5) is atop the conference. Washington State (28-23, 16-8), UCLA (26-27, 14-10), Oregon State (33-16, 13-11) and Washington (25-27, 13-11) finish off the Top 5.

Outlook: Arizona State is the clear-cut favorite. They’ve dominated all year long both in and out of conference. Look for the Sun Devils to be the Pac-10 champs. Although, you can never count out Oregon State.