Five American Athletic Conference teams picked up a victory on the first day of the 2015 season, highlighted by USF knocking off a ranked Cal State Fullerton team in Mark Kingston’s debut as head coach of the Bulls and Tulane picking up a win at Pepperdine.
 
USF held off No. 23/19 Cal State Fullerton for a 2-1 win at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida. Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year Jimmy Herget tossed five innings of one-hit ball while striking out nine. Both USF runs came on a two-run single by Luke Borders in the sixth inning.
 
Tulane opened David Pierce’s tenure as head coach with a 9-3 win at Pepperdine. 2B Garrett Deschamp, CF Grant Brown and DH Tim Yandel drove in two runs each for the Green Wave, while Eric Steel tossed 4.2 innings of one-hit, shutout relief for the victory.
 
UCF notched a 4-1 win at home over Siena behind five innings of one-run ball from Zach Rodgers. DH Matt Diorio went 1-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored in the victory.
 
No. 3/11 Houston tallied a 9-1 victory over Minnesota at Cougar Field. C Ian Rice had four RBIs to lead the Houston attack, while freshman SS Connor Wong went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in his collegiate debut.
 
Cincinnati split an opening day doubleheader in Starkville, Mississippi, downing Miami (Ohio) 3-1 in the first game before falling to No. 14/25 Mississippi State in the nightcap. CF Ian Happ went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored in the win over the Redhawks.
 
East Carolina dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 4/2 Virginia in Greenville. Evan Kruczynski held the Cavaliers to two unearned runs over 5.1 innings.
 
UConn fell 16-5 in the first of a three-game series at Florida Atlantic. Carson Cross struck out nine in five innings of two-run ball while making his first appearance since the 2013 season.
 
All eight teams are in action again Monday, including a pair of doubleheaders, both beginning at noon ET. Memphis will play two at Oral Roberts, while East Carolina hosts No. 4/2 Virginia for a pair of games.
 
USF will look for its second win over a ranked team in as many days when the Bulls square off with No. 12/7 Louisville in Clearwater. The Cardinals defeated Alabama State 5-1 Friday night in their season opener.
 
Cincinnati will look to even its three-game set when the Bearcats battle No. 14/25 Mississippi State for the second time this weekend in Starkville, Mississippi (5 p.m., SEC Network+.)
 
The rest of the weekend’s matchups remain the same, as UCF hosts Siena, Houston clashes with Minnesota, UConn is at Florida Atlantic and Tulane plays at Pepperdine.