UCF walked off to stay undefeated, while UConn knocked off a ranked opponent and Tulane won its seventh in a row, highlighting Friday’s action in The American.
No. 15 UCF trailed 4-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth before scoring two in the eighth and one in the ninth to beat No. 24/18 Ole Miss 5-4 in Orlando. CF JoMarcos Woods had the game-winning hit, an opposite-field line drive through the left side to plate pinch-runner Kam Gellinger. With the win, the Knights improve to 9-0, which marks the best start in program history.
UConn took down No. 21 Kennesaw State 5-3 at Stillwell Baseball Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia. CF Jack Sundberg and RF Jon Testani each drove in two runs for the Huskies, while RHP Carson Cross struck out a career-high 11 over 5.2 innings and picked up the win. UConn improved to 3-4 with the victory.
RF Lex Kaplan and 2B Garrett Deschamp both homered as Tulane improved to 9-1 with an 8-2 win over Creighton in New Orleans. RHP Corey Merrill held the Bluejays to no runs on three hits and no walks while striking out seven over seven innings of work.
LF Kevin Merrell’s two-run double in the sixth provided all the offense necessary in USF’s 2-1 win over High Point. RHP Jimmy Herget threw six shutout innings for the Bulls, who lifted their record to 5-3-1.
No. 3/11 Houston moved to 7-2 with a 3-0 win over Columbia. RHP Andrew Lantrip was stellar again for the Cougars, throwing 7.2 shutout innings, limiting the Lions to five hits while striking out six.
DH Luke Lowery hit his league-leading fourth home run of the season in East Carolina’s 5-1 win over Albany. LHP Evan Kruczynski tossed seven shutout innings for the Pirates, who improved to 3-4.
Cincinnati fell 6-2 to Iowa in Emerson, Georgia, dropping to 1-7 on the year. RF Ian Happ singled and walked three times for the Bearcats.
All eight conference teams will be in action tomorrow. Memphis will host Saint Louis in a doubleheader while Houston continues its series against Columbia by playing a twin bill. The other six conference teams will continue their weekend sets with a single game.