Houston moved into sole possession of first place with five games to go, while USF, UConn and UCF were also winners Friday night in The American.
 
No. 25/21 Houston downed East Carolina 10-1 in a battle of first-place teams at Cougar Field. RHP Andrew Lantrip tossed eight innings of one run ball and struck out nine, while LF Corey Julks had three hits as Houston moved to 34-16 and 12-7 in The American. SS Hunter Allen had three hits for East Carolina, which fell to 31-19 and 11-8 in The American. Saturday's game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT.
 
USF scored eight runs in the ninth for a 12-0 win over Tulane in New Orleans. C Levi Borders had two RBIs and two runs scored, while three pitchers combined for the Bulls’ sixth shutout of the year as USF moved to 30-19-1 and 11-8 in league play. 3B Tyler Wilson had two hits for Tulane, which dropped to 29-19 and 9-10 in The American.
 
UConn scored four runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to turn a 5-5 tie into a 12-6 win over Cincinnati. LF Blake Davey drove in three runs for the Huskies, who improved to 30-20 and 9-10 in The American. 1B Ryan Noda and LF RJ Thompson each drove in two runs for the Bearcats, who fell to 15-33 and 6-13 in conference play.
 
RHP Zach Rodgers struck out 10 over eight innings of work in UCF’s 10-2 win over Memphis. CF Derrick Salberg drove in three runs for the Knights, who improved to 29-21 and 8-11 in The American. 1B Tucker Tubbs hit his league-leading 15^th home run of the year for the Tigers, who dropped to 32-16 and 10-9 in the conference.