CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
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CLEARWATER, Fla. – Leftfielder Corey Julks and shortstop Connor Wong were a combined 10-for-12 with 11 RBIs as Houston powered its way to the championship game of the 2015 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship with a 17-3 win against Memphis Saturday morning at Bright House Field.
The top-seeded Cougars set American Athletic Conference Championship single-game records for runs and hits (24) as they advanced to the tournament final for the second straight season. Houston, which won the 2014 American title, will face either East Carolina or UConn in Sunday’s championship game (noon ET on ESPNU).
Wong was 5-for-6 with a tournament-record six RBIs, while Julks finished 5-for-6 with five RBIs as all nine Houston starters had at least one hit before the fourth inning was complete. Six of the nine Cougars in the lineup had at least two hits before the game ended after the bottom of the eighth inning due to the 10-run rule.
Cougar pitcher Kyle Dowdy was equally effective on the mound as he worked eight innings and scattered three hits and three runs (one earned) to improve to 9-2.
Houston (42-17) opened the game with three straight hits as leadoff man Kyle Survance tripled to right-center and came home on Josh Vidales’ base hit to left-center. The Cougars scored a single run in the second inning before breaking the game open with three runs in the third inning and five in the fourth to build an 11-0 lead.
Wong had a two-run single to in the top of the third and added a two-run double in the fourth, while Julks contributed to the five-run fourth inning with a two-run single to left-center. Julks went on to add a bases-loaded double that cleaned the bases in the top of the eighth.
Memphis did not have an extra-base hit as the Tigers fell to 37-21 with the loss. Connor Alexander fell to 4-3 after he allowed six runs through 2.1 innings.
Houston improved to 6-1 all-time in American Athletic Conference tournament games, including a 3-0 mark in this year’s championship.
The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central page at
www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.
2015 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
bright house field • clearwater, fla.
Tuesday, May 19
Game 1 – No. 4 USF 10, No. 5 Memphis 6
Game 2 – No. 1 Houston 8, No. 8 Cincinnati 4
Wednesday, May 20
Game 3 – No. 2 East Carolina 4, No. 7 UCF 3
Game 4 – No. 3 Tulane 3, No. 6 UConn 1
Game 5 – Memphis 14, Cincinnati 9 (Cincinnati eliminated)
Thursday, May 21
Game 6 – UConn 4, UCF 3 (11 innings) (UCF eliminated)
Game 7 – Houston 7, USF 3
Game 8 – East Carolina 3, Tulane 1
Friday, May 22
Game 9 – Memphis 4, USF 1 (USF eliminated)
Game 10 – UConn 7, Tulane 6 (Tulane eliminated)
Saturday, May 23 (American Digital Network)
Game 11 – Houston 17, Memphis 3 (8 innings) (Memphis eliminated)
Game 12 – East Carolina (38-20) vs. UConn (35-24)
Game14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary, following conclusion of Game 12)
Sunday, May 24 (ESPNU)
Game 15 – Houston (42-17) vs. East Carolina/UConn Noon
all times Eastern