Diamond Niner Report

We have made it to the final regular season weekend of the season. Its hard to believe since it seems like yesterday we were just at the First Pitch Dinner!! Charlotte had yet another big win on the road over Top 10 SC this week. Great way to finish out the non-conference schedule.

Before we get into what is going on in CUSA this week, we’d like to thank all the Seniors that are going to be honored this weekend in their final games at the Hayes. Thank you to Austin Knight, Jack Dragum, Hale Sims, Paxton Thompson, Evan Michelson, Clark Dearman, and Aubrey Gillentine. We appreciate you putting the 9 Across The Chest and representing our alma mater during your time here.

With one weekend remaining in Conference USA play there is still plenty up for grabs before we head to Houston next week:

• DBU has clinched the 1 Seed in the Tournament
• UTSA has clinched the 2 seed in the Tournament
• WKU has clinched a spot in the tournament and are currently 0.5 games up on CLT for 3rd. They travel to DBU this weekend and can clinch the 3 seed with a sweep. Anything less than a sweep would require them to win 1 more game than CLT, LT, FAU, & MTSU. Tie breakers may come into play and they only hold the tie-breaker over FAU.
• Charlotte has clinched a spot in the Tournament and are currently in 4th. They host MTSU this weekend and can finish anywhere from 3rd to 7th. Since the Niners have played 1 less game than everyone except UTSA, tie breakers will not likely come into play. To clinch the 3 seed, Charlotte will have to win the series over MTSU, and win 1 more game than WKU, FAU, and LT does this weekend.
• FAU, MTSU, and LT are all tied for 5th at the moment and are 0.5 games behind CLT. All three have clinched a spot in the tournament. MTSU is at CLT; FAU is at UAB, and LT is hosting UTSA this week. On paper FAU has the easiest path and LT has the toughest.
• There are three teams currently tied for the 8th and final spot in the Tournament at 7-20 in conference play. Rice, UAB, & FIU. The tournament host Rice will host FIU this weekend and this series will likely decide the final spot. UAB hosts FAU as mentioned before and has the tie-breaker over FIU. Rice has the tie-breaker over UAB.

Before we dive in to this week, lets take a moment to recognize some 49ers that were scheduled to graduate this weekend. UNC Charlotte graduation is going on this weekend but our guys will be down in Miami taking on FIU, so they were honored on Saturday at the Hayes. The graduates that were honored were Breven Yarbro, AJ Wilson, Paxton Thompson, Evan Michelson, Matt Little, Collin Kramer, Blake Jackson, Aubrey Gillentine, and Will Butcher. Congrats guys!

Now on to baseball. Things are coming down to the wire in the 49ers’ final season in Conference USA. With just 2 weeks left in the regular season, teams have turned their eyes to Houston, the site of the 2023 Conference USA Tournament. Charlotte is one of four teams that have already punched their ticket for Houston, joined by DBU, UTSA, and LaTech.

Charlotte currently sits in 3rd place in the league, 6 games back of 2nd place UTSA. Mathematically, the Niners could still end up as high as 2nd in the league with a hot finish and some help.

This weekend, DBU & UTSA match up in a series in San Antonio that will likely determine the 1 and 2 seeds in the tournament. Charlotte will travel down to last place FIU this weekend for the final time. They will likely need 3 wins to remain in the 3rd position at the end of the week. LaTech is 0.5 games behind CLT in 4th and they travel to FAU this weekend. FAU is just 1 game behind Latech and is tied with WKU & MTSU at 12-12 in conference play. MTSU host UAB and WKU hosts Rice this weekend. The 3 seed and the 7 seed are currently separated by 1.5 games.

Rice is the tournament host this year and is fighting to maintain a spot as one of the 8 teams that qualify. They currently are hanging on to the 8th seed by 1 game over UAB, and 2 games ahead of FIU.

Lots to get sorted out in the final 2 weeks of play. Projections have shown that DBU & UTSA could qualify for at-large bids ,with DBU safely in the NCAA Tournament. Here are the standings and latest RPI for the league.

We are a little late getting the nuggets out this week, but here we are with an abbreviated version.

The Niners dropped a mid-week at Winthrop and a series at WKU last week, but finished the road swing on a high note, beating #7 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday. Charlotte is now 23-21 overall and 12-8 in Conference USA. The RPI is now at 74.

After Tuesday’s win over Coastal Carolina, Charlotte now has more Quad 1 wins than anyone else in C-USA.

After 7 weeks of conference play, Charlotte remains in 3rd place with 3 weeks remaining. DBU & UTSA have separated themselves at 1 & 2, and there is a group of 5 teams battling 3 through 7. Rice is fighting off UAB and FIU for the 8th and final spot in the C-USA Tournament. We believe that DBU & UTSA have clinched spots in the C-USA Tourney and Charlotte could clinch this weekend.

Here are where things stand with 3 weekends remaining:

Charlotte finished the week 3-2, losing mid-weeks at UNC and against ECU, before sweeping UAB at the Hayes. The Niners have now won 7 straight C-USA games and sit in 3rd place with a record of 12-5 in conference. The overall record for the 49ers is 22-17. Charlotte will now start a 5 game road trip that starts at Winthrop and continues with a weekend at Western Kentucky.

Before we jump into rankings, standings, and RPI, we should acknowledge that Cam Hansen was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week this week after his stellar performance on Sunday in a 2-0 win over UAB. Hansen carried a no-hitter into the 9th vs the Blazers.

Charlotte has currently played the toughest schedule in Conference USA based on Strength of Schedule, where the Niners currently rank 30th in the country. The OOC SOS is at #4 in the country.
The RPI has CLT dropping a few spots to 56 this week as the Niners played UAB 3 times who was around 200 in the RPI. We use Warren Nolan as our source for RPI data and overall Conference USA is still rated 7th with a record of 124-98 out of conference. Conference USA now has only four teams in the RPI Top 100 (UTSA, DBU, CLT, FAU).

From C-USA, UTSA and Dallas Baptist are both now ranked in various polls. Here’s a look at the national rankings for our teams of interest this week:

D1 Baseball– 3 South Carolina; 6 Coastal Carolina; 12 ECU; 19 DBU; 25 UTSA
Baseball America– 2 South Carolina; 7 Coastal Carolina; 14 ECU; 19 DBU; 23 UTSA
USA Today Coaches Poll– 3 South Carolina; 7 CCU; 14 ECU; 20 DBU ; RV: UNC, UTSA

After a sweep this weekend, CLT finds themselves 2.5 games out of 1st place in C-USA with 12 games remaining. CLT, UTSA, & DBU are sitting in the Top 3. Then there is a large pack of teams that are within 3 games of each other, fighting for seeding in the tournament. At the bottom we have UAB and FIU, who are both 11 games out of 1st. They would be out of the conference tourney if the season ended today. Here are the standings heading into the last 4 weekends of conference play:

Charlotte is 10-12 out of conference against the nations’ 4th toughest Strength of Schedule. AS of now, there are only three non-conference games left: at Winthrop (112), at Coastal Carolina (6), and at South Carolina (1). There are still a few opportunities for an RPI bump. Here is how the 49ers OOC opponents have fared:

Charlotte finished the week a perfect 4-0, beating Winthrop at home before travelling to Houston to grab a 3 game sweep over Rice. That pushes the Niners to 19-15, and 9-5 in Conference USA. At the halway point in conference play, the Niners it in 3rd place.

Charlotte returns to NC this week for 5 games including a trip to Chapel Hill, hosting ECU in uptown, and hosting UAB at the Hayes this weekend.
Before we jump into rankings, standings, and RPI, we should acknowledge that Wyatt Hudepohl was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week this week after his stellar performance on Friday in a 1-0 win at Rice.

From C-USA, UTSA jumped back into the national rankings this week, and Dallas Baptist is now ranked. Here’s a look at the national rankings for our teams of interest this week:

D1 Baseball– 6 South Carolina; 7 ECU; 10 Coastal Carolina; 18 UNC; 25 UTSA
Baseball America– 6 South Carolina; 7 ECU; 8 Coastal Carolina; 17 UNC; 21 DBU; 24 UTSA
USA Today Coaches Poll– 6 South Carolina; 8 ECU; 13 CCU; 16 UNC; RV: DBU. UTSA, UNCW, VT

Charlotte has currently played the toughest schedule in Conference USA based on Strength of Schedule, where the Niners currently rank 20th in the country. The OOC SOS is at #7 in the country.
The RPI has CLT climbing to 52 this week, up a few spots from last week. We use Warren Nolan as our source for RPI data and overall Conference USA is rated 7th with a record of 118-93 out of conference. Conference USA now has only four teams in the RPI Top 100 (UTSA, DBU, CLT, FAU).

After a sweep this weekend, CLT finds themselves 3 games out of 1st place in C-USA with 15 games remaining. UTSA, & DBU are looking to pull away and CLT, LT, & FAU are looking to make up ground. FIU, UAB, and WKU are fighting to stay in the Top 8 in order to qualify for the C-USA Tournament in Houston. Here is how Conference USA stands and what remains half way through conference play,

As of now, the 49ers only have 5 non-conference games remaining, and 4 of those teams are currently ranked. Out of conference, the Niners have only played 2 teams with a losing record. Here’s a look at how the non-conference opponent are doing.

Charlotte finished the week 2-1, beating Radford on a walk-off run rule game on Tuesday and then splitting a rain shortened series with UTSA 1-1. That leaves the Niners at 6-4 after four weeks of Conference USA play.

We are a day late this week, but the Niners beat Winthrop 4-3 at the Hayes to start off Week 8 before hitting the road to Houston to take on Rice.

A look at the national rankings for teams of interest this week:

D1 Baseball– 6 South Carolina; 9 ECU; 13 UNC; 17 Coastal Carolina

Baseball America– 5 South Carolina; 9 ECU; 13 UNC; 18 Coastal Carolina

USA Today Coaches Poll– 5 South Carolina; 10 ECU; 13 UNC; 21 CCU; RV: DBU, UTSA, ODU

Charlotte has currently played the toughest schedule in Conference USA based on Strength of Schedule, where the Niners currently rank 19th in the country. The OOC SOS is at #5 in the country.

The RPI has CLT climbing to 66 this week, up 1 spot from last week. We use Warren Nolan as our source for RPI data and overall Conference USA is rated 6th with a record of 118-91 out of conference. Conference USA continues to have five teams in the RPI Top 100 (UTSA, DBU, CLT, FAU, Rice).

With 4 Conference USA play heating up we have switched things up a little bit this week. After 4 weeks of C-USA play here is where we stand in the conference with 4 weeks down, 6 weeks to go. We’ve added each team’s C-USA schedule and results to this point.

Professional Baseball is underway and many #ProNiners are playing throughout professional baseball. Bookmark this page and you can come back and click the link for each player to see how they are doing. Here’s where you can find our guys this summer:

• Josh Maciejewski- Extended Spring Training (New York Yankees)- expected to be assigned soon. Profile
• Aaron McKeithan- Peoria Chiefs (High-A St Louis Cardinals) Profile
• Bryce McGowan- Fresno Grizzlies (Single-A Colorado Rockies) Profile
• David McCabe – Augusta Green Jackets (Single-A Atlanta Braves) Profile
• Nate Furman – Lynchburg Hillcats (Single-A Cleveland Guardians) Profile
• Spencer Giesting – Hillsboro Hops (High-A Arizona Diamondbacks) Profile
• Quinton Martinez – Inland Empire 66ers (Single-A Los Angeles Angels) Profile
• Zach Jarrett – Gastonia Honey Hunters (Atlantic League) Profile
• Reece Hampton- Savannah Party Animals Profile

Charlotte finished the week 3-1, beating Gardner-Webb on a walk-off on Tuesday and then taking a the series at UAB 2-1. That leaves the Niners at 5-4 after three weeks of Conference USA play, heading into a huge weekend hosting 1st place & 24th ranked UTSA at the Hayes this weekend.

This week, the Niners welcome Radford to the Hayes for a mid-week game, before the big weekend series vs UTSA.

A look at the national rankings for teams of interest this week:

D1 Baseball– 6 South Carolina; 12 ECU; 13 UNC; 17 Coastal Carolina

Baseball America– 6 South Carolina; 15 ECU; 16 UNC; 22 Coastal Carolina; 24 UTSA

USA Today Coaches Poll– 6 South Carolina; 15 UNC; 16 ECU; 21 CCU; RV: UTSA, ODU, DBU

Charlotte has currently played the toughest schedule in Conference USA based on Strength of Schedule, where the Niners currently rank 11th in the country. The OOC SOS is at #2 in the country.

The RPI has CLT climbing to 67 this week, up 5 spots from last week. We use Warren Nolan as our source for RPI data and overall Conference USA is rated 8th with a record of 108-83 out of conference. Conference USA continues to have five teams in the RPI Top 100 (UTSA, DBU, CLT, FAU, Rice).

Here is how Conference USA stands after three weekends of conference play, listed in order that CLT plays them:

Here is how Charlotte’s OOC teams have performed this season, listed in the order that CLT plays them:

The Niners picked up their first signature win of 2023 this past week, beating the 11th ranked South Carolina Gamecocks at Truist Field in Uptown Charlotte. Charlotte beat the Gamecocks by the score of 6-2 behind a 3-run homer from Cam Fisher and a strong 5 scoreless innings from Collin Kramer.

Charlotte finished the week 2-2, after dropping the series to Dallas Baptist 2-1. That leaves the Niners at 3-3 after two weeks of Conference USA play.

This week, the Niners welcome Gardner-Webb to the Hayes for a mid-week game, before heading to Birmingham to take on UAB.

A look at the national rankings for teams of interest this week:

D1 Baseball– 8 ECU; 9 South Carolina; 13 UNC; 19 Coastal Carolina

Baseball America– 9 ECU; 10 South Carolina; 15 UNC

USA Today Coaches Poll– 8 South Carolina; 10 ECU; 14 UNC; RV- CCU, UTSA, ODU, VT, DBU

Charlotte has currently played the toughest schedule in Conference USA based on Strength of Schedule, where the Niners currently rank 7th in the country.

The RPI data is starting to settle a little more this week with CLT sitting at 72. That increased 32 spots from last week. We use Warren Nolan as our source for RPI data and overall Conference USA is rated 11th with a record of 99-72 out of conference. Conference USA now has five teams in the RPI Top 100 (UTSA, DBU, CLT, FAU, Rice).

Here is how Conference USA stands after one weekend of conference play, listed in order that CLT plays them:

Here’s a look at how Charlotte’s OOC opponents have fared:

After a big series win at C-USA preseason favorite LaTech, Charlotte sits at 2-1 in conference play. The Niners got a great effort on the mound and at the plate this weekend to secure the series, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-8 over the series. UTSA & Rice completed sweeps in week 1 and sit 1 game ahead of Charlotte in the early standings. Cam Hansen’s performance on Sunday earned him C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors.

This week, the Niners welcome Dallas Baptist to the Hayes after hosting nationally ranked South Carolina uptown on Tuesday. DBU was picked to finish 2nd in their first season as a baseball member of Conference USA.

A look at the national rankings for teams of interest this week:

D1 Baseball– 10 ECU; 11 South Carolina; 15 UNC

Baseball America– 10 ECU; 14 South Carolina; 19 UNC

USA Today Coaches Poll– 10 ECU; 11 South Carolina; 16 UNC; RV- VT, ODU, UTSA

Charlotte has currently played the toughest schedule in Conference USA based on Strength of Schedule, where the Niners currently rank 13th in the country. South Carolina comes to the Queen City with an RPI of 2 so that SOS will only get stronger.

The RPI data is starting to settle a little more this week with CLT sitting at 104. We use Warren Nolan as our source for RPI data and overall Conference USA is rated 11th with a record of 99-72 out of conference.

Here is how Conference USA stands after one weekend of conference play, listed in order that CLT plays them:

Here is a look Charlotte’s non-conference opponents & their results from last week: