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News Nuggets, 05.17.04
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

ECU-connected duo helps Berlin clinch World Bowl berth

A pair of NFL Europe protagonists with substantial East Carolina ties were key factors in the Berlin Thunder's successful drive to solidify a position as one of the league's elite teams.

As has been the case most of the season, the Thunder relied on its offense Sunday to put away the Rhein Fire 33-20 and become the first team in NFL Europe history to sew up a spot in the World Bowl with three weeks left in the regular season.

Former East Carolina coach Steve Logan is in charge of quarterbacks and receivers for Berlin, which does not have a designated offensive coordinator.

Ex-Pirate wideout/QB Richard Alston has been one of the Logan scoring machine's most prolific receivers all season.

The Thunder put up 24 unanswered points to open the pivotal game against the Fire, with quarterback Rohan Davey tossing two first half touchdowns and completing 16 of 27 passes overall for 305 yards.

Alston, who has also been a productive return specialist for the Thunder, was the recipient of three passes for 70 yards, including a 51-yard bomb.

Assigned to Berlin by the Cleveland Browns, Alston has scored four touchdowns and caught 19 passes for 327 yards in the team's seven games.

World Bowl XII, scheduled for Saturday, June 12, at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, will be televised in the U.S. by Fox.

Pirates on the brink of regular season crown

Memphis, Houston and Texas Christian have all punched their tickets to the Conference USA Baseball Tournament in Houston, but 5th-ranked East Carolina has done those teams one better.

The Pirates captured two of three games from the Horned Frogs at Kinston's Grainger Stadium over the weekend to wrap up a share of the league's regular season title.

TCU's 3-1 victory on Sunday, after suffering a 7-2 defeat on Friday and a 14-3 bludgeoning on Saturday, stopped the Pirates' C-USA winning streak at 21 games, the longest unblemished run in league history.

But the two wins by ECU, which went into the weekend with a four-game lead over Southern Miss and Tulane, was enough to move the Pirates into position to claim the C-USA championship outright by winning one of their regular-season-ending three games against the Golden Eagles on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

USM swept its series with Charlotte and Tulane won three games from Saint Louis to remain mathematically in contention for a slice of the title.

In other games, Houston won two of three at Louisville and Memphis handled Cincinnati three times in a row to join the Pirates, Frogs, Golden Eagles and Green Wave as teams with guaranteed berths in the eight-team C-USA Tournament.

The race for the tourney's final two berths is a tussle between four teams. South Florida needs just one more win to earn a spot, while UAB holds a 1½ game lead over Louisville for the eighth seed.

Technically, Charlotte still has hope but will need to take care of business in its series at TCU this week while getting some help from other teams.

Following is a complete rundown of the C-USA standings, scoreboard and remaining schedule:

C-USA Standings, Scoreboard, Schedule

(Includes games played through May 16)

                  CONFERENCE        OVERALL
  TEAM           W  L  T  Pct     W  L  T  Pct
X# ECU          23  4  0 .852    45  8  0 .849
 # USM          20  7  0 .741    39 13  0 .750
 # Tulane       20  7  0 .741    37 15  0 .712
 # Houston      17 10  0 .630    26 26  0 .500
 # TCU          16 11  0 .593    30 22  0 .577
 # Memphis      13 13  0 .500    25 25  0 .500
   USF          12 14  0 .462    31 21  0 .596
   UAB          11 15  0 .423    25 26  0 .490
   Louisville   10 17  0 .370    23 28  0 .451
   Charlotte     9 18  0 .333    20 29  0 .408
   Cincinnati    5 22  0 .185    13 38  0 .255
   Saint Louis   4 22  0 .154    13 39  0 .250

X — Clinched share of regular season title.
# — Clinched berth in C-USA Tournament.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD

Sunday:
TCU 3, ECU 1
USM 12, Charlotte 11
Memphis 5, Cincinnati 4
Houston 8, Louisville 4
Tulane 13, Saint Louis 9
South Florida 8, UAB 3

Saturday:
UAB 8, South Florida 5
USM 3, Charlotte 1
Memphis 3, Cincinnati 0
Memphis 7, Cincinnati 3
ECU 14, TCU 3
Houston 12, Louisville 2
Louisville 7, Houston 5
Tulane 12, Saint Louis 3

Friday:
USM 11, Charlotte 4
Cincinnati at Memphis (Rain)
Tulane 10, Saint Louis 3
ECU 7, TCU 2
South Florida 23, UAB 5

REMAINING SCHEDULE

Tuesday, May 18:
Akron at Cincinnati
Tennessee Martin at Memphis
Sam Houston State at TCU
Samford at UAB

Thursday, May 20
Charlotte at TCU
UAB at Cincinnati
ECU at Southern Miss
Tulane at Houston
Louisville at USF
Memphis at Saint Louis

Friday, May 21
Charlotte at TCU
UAB at Cincinnati
ECU at Southern Miss
Tulane at Houston
Louisville at USF
Memphis at Saint Louis

Saturday, May 22
Charlotte at TCU
UAB at Cincinnati
ECU at Southern Miss
Tulane at Houston
Louisville at USF
Memphis at Saint Louis

Wednesday-Sunday, May 26-30
Conference USA Tournament (Houston, TX)

Friday-Sunday, June 4-6
NCAA Regionals (Sites TBD)

Friday-Sunday, June 11-13
NCAA Super Regionals (Sites TBD)

Friday, June 18-Monday, June 28
College World Series (Omaha, NE)

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007