The American Baseball Weekly Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The second weekend of conference play for American Athletic Conference baseball squad saw every team in the league get conference games under their belt and UCF vault to the top of the standings with 14 games over three days. The Knights stretched their winning streak to eight games as they sit at 6-0 in conference play, pacing The American.
The only sweep on the weekend belonged to UCF, as they took all three games from Temple. The Knights got big contributions at the plate from CF Derrick Salberg (7-for-13, 5 RBI) and 2B Dylan Moore (7-for-14, 5 RBI) over the weekend. On the mound, junior Tanner Olson transitioned into the weekend rotation with a successful start, going 8.1 innings with a 0.86 WHIP and two runs allowed in the victory Saturday. The Knights are 6-0 in league play for the first time in program history.
Houston played its first conference series and went 2-1 in a battle with Memphis. A great start from Caleb Wallingford gave the Tigers the opening game on Friday night, but the Cougars rebounded with two wins to close out the series. Houston plated a half dozen runs in each of the next two games, winning by 6-3 and 6-2 margins. The Cougars strength continues on the mound, as their 1.56 ERA is over a run better than the second place mark, and their seven shutouts are nearly double the next best mark.
USF won two out of three games against Cincinnati, with weather forcing a doubleheader Saturday that the teams split. The Bulls were led by their ace Jimmy Herget, who followed last week’s two-hit performance with eight shutout innings in a 2-1 victory Friday night. The Bearcats have started conference play 1-5, and will look to rebound next weekend against Temple, who started league play with a 2-4 mark.
The final conference series of the weekend pitted Rutgers and UConn, and was repeatedly altered due to heavy rains in the Northeast. Friday night’s game was concluded Saturday morning with an 11-4 UConn victory. The second game began Saturday and finished Sunday with a 7-5 Scarlet Knights win. The third game was cancelled.
Louisville cruised to three wins in the lone series outside of conference play, besting Big East foes Xavier (8-1 and 12-3) and Butler (15-1). In their four games last week, the Cardinals outscored their opponents by a combined score of 40-8.
With the release of the national polls on Monday, The American maintained a strong presence with Louisville and Houston. The Cougars, who have started the year 22-5 overall, continued to surge up the rankings, and are now as high as No. 10 in the country
(Baseball America poll), making their first appearance in the nation’s top 10 since 2006. Louisville comes in at No. 11/8 this week in the
Baseball America/Coaches Polls. The American is one of four conferences with multiple teams in the top-15 of both of those polls, joining the SEC, ACC, and Pac-12.
Midweek action sees all conference teams in action, with nine games scheduled for Tuesday and five more on Wednesday. Louisville will meet the lone ranked opponent in rival No. 22/19 Kentucky on Tuesday. In total, 10 of the 14 midweek games will feature schools playing opponents inside their state’s borders.