? Tournament bracket (.pdf)
? Ticket information
FRISCO ? The six-team field and first-round times have been set for this week’s Southland Conference Tournament and the Regular Season Champion UTSA Roadrunners (34-20, SLC-record 24-6) will open against No. 6 seed Stephen F. Austin (30-26, 17-13) at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23, at Brown-Stroud Stadium in Natchitoches, La.
It will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two schools. UTSA won the first matchup, 6-5, on March 2 in the opening game of the Al Ogletree Classic in Edinburg. The Lumberjacks then took two of three games in Nacogdoches from April 20-22, giving the Roadrunners their only league series loss of the year. UTSA prevailed 7-6 in 10 innings in the opener, but Stephen F. Austin rallied to win the following two contests by scores of 6-5 in 11 innings and 1-0. The Roadrunners have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two programs dating back to Feb. 18, 1995, and lead the all-time series, 13-6.
UTSA locked up the regular-season title, its first in school history, with a thrilling 7-6 victory in 10 innings against I-35 rival Texas State on Friday night. The Roadrunners now turn their attention toward the third SLC Tournament Championship in school history and their second in the past three years. UTSA defeated Northwestern State, 7-6, for the 1994 title and the Roadrunners won the 2005 crown with a 4-1 triumph against Lamar. Both of the program’s championships have been won at the site of this year’s tourney and the Roadrunners sport a 14-12 all-time SLC Tournament record, including a perfect 7-0 mark in Natchitoches.
Other first-round pairings include No. 2 Lamar (33-23, 20-10), who won the East Division, against No. 5 McNeese State (21-32, 17-12) at 3 p.m. and No. 3 Texas State (35-21, 20-10) vs. No. 4 Sam Houston State (34-22, 18-12) at 7 p.m.. Lamar and McNeese State will be playing for the fourth game in a row, as the Cardinals picked up a 2-1 series victory against the Cowboys this past weekend. Meanwhile, the Bobcats took two of three home games against the Bearkats from April 5-6.
Awaiting the winner of the 20th edition of the conference’s postseason classic will be an automatic berth to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
You can order tickets (all-session or single-game) through the Northwestern State ticket office at 318/357-4268 or by clicking the ticket information link above.
Fans unable to attend this year's event will have a chance to view this year’s tournament through video streaming at southland.org. The entire championship event will be available for $19.95 or single games for $4.95 per contest. Live audio (with a Rowdy Zone subscription) and live stats (free) also will be available for all UTSA tilts at goUTSA.com.
Southland Conference Tournament First-Round Matchups
Wednesday, May 23
No. 1 UTSA (34-20, 24-6) vs. No. 6 Stephen F. Austin (30-26, 17-13), 11 a.m.
No. 2 Lamar (33-23, 20-10) vs. No. 5 McNeese State (21-32, 17-12), 3 p.m.
No. 3 Texas State (35-21, 20-10) vs. No. 4 Sam Houston State (34-22, 18-12), 7 p.m.
