# 2018 Southland Conference baseball tournament

The 2018 Southland Conference baseball tournament was held from May 23 through 26. The top eight regular season finishers of the league's thirteen teams met in the double-elimination tournament, which was held at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. As the winner of the tournament, Northwestern State earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. It was Northwestern State's first Tournament championship.

## Seeding and format

The top eight finishers from the regular season were seeded one through eight. They played a two bracket, double-elimination tournament, with the winner of each bracket meeting in a single championship final.
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | Seed |
| Sam Houston State | 24 | 6 | .800 | — | 1 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | 21 | 9 | .700 | 3 | 2 |
| Northwestern State | 18 | 12 | .600 | 6 | 3 |
| Houston Baptist | 18 | 12 | .600 | 6 | 4 |
| Central Arkansas | 17 | 13 | .567 | 7 | 5 |
| McNeese State | 15 | 15 | .500 | 9 | 6 |
| Nicholls State | 14 | 16 | .467 | 10 | 7 |
| New Orleans | 14 | 16 | .467 | 10 | 8 |
| Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 14 | 16 | .467 | 10 | – |
| Incarnate Word | 13 | 17 | .433 | 11 | — |
| Lamar | 13 | 17 | .433 | 11 | – |
| Stephen F. Austin | 9 | 21 | .300 | 15 | — |
| Abilene Christian | 5 | 25 | .167 | 19 | — |

## Results

| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Sam Houston State | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | New Orleans | 4$^{10}$ | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | New Orleans | 4$^{10}$ | 8 | New Orleans | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Houston Baptist | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Houston Baptist | 14$^7$ | 4 | Houston Baptist | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Central Arkansas | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Central Arkansas | 4 | | | | 8 | New Orleans | 3 | 6 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Houston Baptist | 4 | 1 | | | | | |
| 1 | Sam Houston State | 4 | | | | | | | | 4 | Houston Baptist | 4 | 1 | | | | |
| 5 | Central Arkansas | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Central Arkansas | 2 | 1 | Sam Houston State | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Houston Baptist | 6 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | New Orleans | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Northwestern State | 7 |
| 3 | Northwestern State | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Northwestern State | 7 |
| 6 | McNeese State | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | McNeese State | 1 | 3 | Northwestern State | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Southeastern Louisiana | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Southeastern Louisiana | 4 | 2 | Southeastern Louisiana | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Nicholls State | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Nicholls State | 2 | | | | 3 | Northwestern State | 3 | – | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | Nicholls State | 2 | – | | | | | |
| 6 | McNeese State | 4 | | | | | | | | 7 | Nicholls State | 2 | – | | | | |
| 7 | Nicholls State | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Nicholls State | 10 | 7 | Nicholls State | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Southeastern Louisiana | 6 | | | | | | | | | |

## Schedule

| Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Television | Attendance |
| Wednesday, May 23 |||||
| 1 | 9:00 a.m. | No. 3 Northwestern State vs. No. 6 McNeese State | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 2 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 2 SE Louisiana vs. No. 7 Nicholls State | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 3 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 1 Sam Houston St vs. No. 8 New Orleans | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 4 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 4 Houston Baptist vs. No. 5 Central Arkansas | ESPN+ | N/A |
| Thursday, May 24 |||||
| 5 | 9:00 a.m. | No. 6 McNeese State vs. No. 7 Nicholls State | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 6 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 1 Sam Houston St vs. No. 5 Central Arkansas | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 7 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 3 Northwestern State vs. No. 2 SE Louisiana | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 8 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 8 New Orleans vs. No. 4 Houston Baptist | ESPN+ | N/A |
| Friday, May 25 |||||
| 9 | 9:00 a.m. | No. 2 SE Louisiana vs. No. 7 Nicholls State | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 10 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 4 Houston Baptist vs. No. 1 Sam Houston St | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 11 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 3 Northwestern State vs. No. 7 Nicholls State | ESPN+ | N/A |
| 12 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 8 New Orleans vs. No. 4 Houston Baptist | ESPN+ | N/A |
| Saturday, May 26 |||||
| 13 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 8 New Orleans vs. No. 4 Houston Baptist | ESPN+ | N/A |
| Championship | 6:00 p.m. | No. 8 New Orleans vs. No. 3 Northwestern State | ESPN+ | N/A |
| *Game times in CDT. # – Rankings denote tournament seed. |||||

## All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team.
| Name | School |
| Pitchers ||
| Kyle Arjona | New Orleans |
| Corey Gaconi | Southeastern Louisiana |
| Cayden Hatcher | Nicholls State |
| Position players ||
| David Fry | Northwestern State |
| Orynn Veillon | New Orleans |
| Grant Buck | Houston Baptist |
| Brady Bell | Nicholls State |
| Beau Bratton | New Orleans |
| Ethan Valdez | Nicholls State |
| Luke Watson | Northwestern State |
| Riley McKnight | Sam Houston State |
| Jake Pulcheon | Houston Baptist |

### Most Valuable Player

David Fry was named Tournament Most Valuable Player. Fry was a first baseman for Northwestern State.