2003 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament

The 2003 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament was held from May 21 through May 23, 2003 to determine the champion of the Southland Conference in the sport of college baseball for the 2003 season. The event pitted the top six finishers from the conference's regular season in a double-elimination tournament held at Warhawk Field, home field of Louisiana–Monroe in Monroe, Louisiana. Sixth-seeded McNeese State won their second overall championship and claimed the automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.[2]

2003 Southland Conference
Baseball Tournament

Teams	6
Format	Double-elimination
Finals site	Warhawk Field Monroe, Louisiana
Champions	McNeese State (2nd title)
Winning coach	Todd Butler (1st title)
MVP	Rusty Begnaud, McNeese State

2003 Southland Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 22 Lamar  ‍†‍‍^y	20	–	6		.769			40	–	18		.690
Southwest Texas State  ‍‍‍	19	–	7		.731			30	–	28		.517
Texas–Arlington  ‍‍‍	18	–	9		.667			37	–	25		.597
Northwestern State  ‍‍‍	16	–	11		.593			35	–	22		.614
Louisiana–Monroe  ‍‍‍	12	–	14		.462			29	–	28		.509
McNeese State  ‍‍‡‍^y	12	–	15		.444			31	–	30		.508
Texas–San Antonio  ‍‍‍	12	–	15		.444			29	–	27		.518
Sam Houston State  ‍‍‍	9	–	18		.333			20	–	33		.377
Southeastern Louisiana  ‍‍‍	8	–	18		.308			18	–	35		.340
Nicholls State  ‍‍‍	7	–	20		.259			22	–	32		.407
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 2003[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

Seeding and format

The top six finishers from the regular season were seeded one through six. They played a double-elimination tournament.

Team	W	L	T	Pct	Seed
Lamar	20	6	.769	—	1
Southwest Texas State	19	7	.731	1	2
Texas–Arlington	18	9	.667	2.5	3
Northwestern State	16	11	.593	4.5	4
Louisiana–Monroe	12	14	.462	8	5
McNeese State	12	15	.444	8.5	6
UTSA	12	15	.444	8.5	—
Sam Houston State	9	18	.333	11.5	—
Southeastern Louisiana	8	18	.308	12	—
Nicholls State	7	20	.259	13.5	—

Bracket and results

	First round					Second round					Third round					Semi-finals					Finals
	1	Lamar	4
	6	McNeese State	6			6	McNeese State	6
						4	Northwestern State	1
	3	Texas–Arlington	4								6	McNeese State	12
	4	Northwestern State	3								3	Texas–Arlington	3
						3	Texas–Arlington	15													6	McNeese State	7	14
						5	Louisiana–Monroe	10													3	Texas–Arlington	12	0
	2	Southwest Texas State	4													3	Texas–Arlington	6
	5	Louisiana–Monroe	7								5	Louisiana–Monroe	6			5	Louisiana–Monroe	4
						1	Lamar	3			2	Southwest Texas State	5
						2	Southwest Texas State	4

All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.[2]

Pos.	Name	School
P	Aaron Pullin	Texas–Arlington
	Rusty Begnaud	McNeese State
C	Joey Wolfe	Louisiana–Monroe
1B	Tim Lemke	McNeese State
2B	Jack Skaggs	Louisiana–Monroe
3B	Ryan Roberts	Texas–Arlington
SS	Lance Dawkins	McNeese State
OF	Al Hayward	Louisiana–Monroe
	Paul Bruder	Texas–Arlington
	Dooley Prince	McNeese State
DH	Kasey Baker	Texas–Arlington

Most Valuable Player

Rusty Begnaud was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Begnaud was a pitcher for McNeese State.[2]

References

1. "2018 Southland Conference Baseball" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 16. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
2. 2018 Baseball Record Book (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 29. Retrieved December 30, 2018.