2003 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament

The 2003 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston, SC from May 21 through May 24. Top seeded Western Carolina won the tournament and earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. It was Western Carolina's ninth tournament win, the most in SoCon history.

2003 Southern Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	8
Format	Double-elimination tournament
Finals site	Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park Charleston, South Carolina
Champions	Western Carolina (9th title)
Winning coach	Todd Raleigh (1st title)
MVP	Brian Sigmon, Western Carolina
Attendance	20,212

2003 Southern Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Western Carolina  ‍†‍‡‍^y	22	–	8		.733			43	–	21		.672
Georgia Southern  ‍‍‍	19	–	10		.655			39	–	21		.650
The Citadel  ‍‍‍	19	–	11		.633			32	–	25		.561
UNC Greensboro  ‍‍‍	17	–	13		.567			39	–	21		.650
Furman  ‍‍‍	17	–	13		.567			32	–	24		.571
College of Charleston  ‍‍‍	17	–	13		.567			31	–	27		.534
VMI  ‍‍‍	16	–	14		.533			24	–	28		.462
Davidson  ‍‍‍	12	–	17		.414			18	–	27		.400
East Tennessee State  ‍‍‍	9	–	20		.310			15	–	36		.294
Appalachian State  ‍‍‍	8	–	22		.267			14	–	36		.280
Wofford  ‍‍‍	7	–	22		.241			9	–	40		.184
† – Conference champion ‡ – SoCon Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 2003[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The tournament used a double-elimination format. Only the top eight teams participate, so East Tennessee State, Appalachian State and Wofford were not in the field.

Seeding

Team	W	L	Pct	GB	Seed
Western Carolina	22	8	.733	–	1
Georgia Southern	19	10	.655	2.5	2
The Citadel	19	11	.633	3	3
UNC Greensboro	17	13	.567	5	4
Furman	17	13	.567	5	5
College of Charleston	17	13	.567	5	6
VMI	16	14	.533	6	7
Davidson	12	17	.414	10	8
East Tennessee State	9	20	.310	13
Appalachian State	8	22	.267	14
Wofford	7	22	.241	15

[2][3]

Bracket

	First Round					Second Round					Third Round					Semifinals					Finals
	Winner's Bracket
	5	Furman	3
	4	UNC Greensboro	2
						1	Western Carolina	6
						5	Furman	0
	8	Davidson	0
	1	Western Carolina	14
											2	Georgia Southern	0
											1	Western Carolina	1
	7	VMI	4
	2	Georgia Southern	6
						2	Georgia Southern	14
						6	College of Charleston	6
	6	College of Charleston	8
	3	The Citadel	2																		1	Western Carolina	4	6
																					2	Georgia Southern	8	5
	Loser's Bracket
	4	UNC Greensboro	7
	8	Davidson	3			6	College of Charleston	3
						4	UNC Greensboro	4
											4	UNC Greensboro	10
	3	The Citadel	1								7	VMI	1			2	Georgia Southern	4
	7	VMI	2			7	VMI	2								4	UNC Greensboro	1
						5	Furman	1

[4]

All-Tournament Team

Position	Player	School
P	Ryan Basner	Western Carolina
C	A.J. Zickgraf	Georgia Southern
1B	Jon Wade	VMI
2B	Brandon Burnsed	Georgia Southern
3B	Chris Davis	Western Carolina
SS	Lee Curtis	College of Charleston
OF	Ryan Gordon	UNC Greensboro
OF	Brandon Long	Georgia Southern
OF	Matt Nelson	Western Carolina
DH	Brian Sigmon	Western Carolina

Walt Nadzak Award, Tournament Most Outstanding Player

Brian Sigmon

Western Carolina

[5]

References

1. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 2003". Boyd's World. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
2. 2011 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 47. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
3. "Seeds Set for SoCon Baseball Championship". SoConSports.com. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
4. 2011 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 49. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
5. 2012 Southern Conference Baseball Media Guide. SoConSports.com. p. 62. Retrieved 2012-09-16.