Friday, February 19
Three walk-off wins, two extra-inning affairs and two comfortable victories highlighted an eventful Opening Day in the American Athletic Conference.
UCF trailed Siena 8-2 after the top of the sixth inning, and the Knights faced a 9-5 deficit headed into the bottom of the ninth. But freshman leftfielder Matthew Mika capped his stellar debut with a bases-loaded single to right-center to cap UCF's incredible comeback in a 10-9 victory. Mika went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, including his first career home run.
Remarkably, almost simultaneously in Tampa, USF staged a walk-off win of its own as rightfielder Luke Maglich's base hit down the rightfield line lifted the Bulls to an 11-10 win against Liberty. All nine starters had at least one hit for the Bulls, who had 18 hits against the Flames. Maglich went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, while third-baseman David Villar was 4-for-5 with a home run for USF.
Tulane carried a 2-0 lead into the ninth inning only to see Illinois force extra innings with two in the top of the ninth and three in the top of the 10th. But the Green Wave had the last word as designated hitter Jeremy Montalbano's three-run shot to left capped gave Tulane a wild 6-5 win at Turchin Stadium. Green Wave pitcher Corey Merrill worked six shutout innings with seven strikeouts, while rightfielder Lex Kaplan went 3-for-5.
There was no such drama in Houston as the Cougars cruised to a 13-1 win against Villanova at Schroeder Park. Connor Wong led off with a home run and third-baseman Justin Montemayor went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs, which was plenty of offense for pitcher Andrew Lantrip. Lantrip worked six scoreless innings with five strikeouts, allowing two hits.
East Carolina rode a strong pitching performance from Evan Kruczynski, while shortstop Turner Brown had a day to remember in his collegiate debut as the Pirates rolled to an 11-1 win against Longwood at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Brown went 3-for-3 with a double, home run and three RBIs, which was more than enough for Kruczynski, who allowed one hit and struck out four in seven innings of work. Third-baseman Eric Tyler joined Brown with three hits as the Pirates had a 15-3 advantage in hits.
Cincinnati dropped a heartbreaker to No. 5 LSU as the Tigers twice rallied from late deficits to take a 6-5 win against the Bearcats in 12 innings in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Cincinnati held a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth and a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the 10th, but was unable to close the door on the Tigers. Centerfielder Treg Haberkorn drove in two of the Bearcats' four runs.
Memphis centerfielder Darien Tubbs went 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, but the Tigers fell 8-4 to Tennessee in the first game of their three-game series in Chattanooga. The Tigers fell behind, 6-0, after two innings and were unable to come all the way back against the Volunteers.
UConn's bats were held in check by Texas-San Antonio as the Huskies managed two hits in a 2-1 setback in Texas. Designated hitter Joe DeRoche-Duffin hit a solo shot for UConn, while pitcher Anthony Kay struck out eight and allowed one run in six innings of work.
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, February 20
Longwood at East Carolina 2 p.m.
Tennessee vs. Memphis
10 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at LSU (SEC Network+) 2 p.m.
UConn at Texas-San Antonio 3 p.m.
Siena at UCF 4 p.m.
Illinois at Tulane 5 p.m.
Liberty at USF 6:30 p.m.
Villanova at Houston 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feburary 21
Siena at UCF 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at LSU (SEC Network+) 1 p.m.
Longwood at East Carolina 1 p.m.
Tennessee vs. Memphis
10 1 p.m.
Liberty at USF 1 p.m.
UConn at Texas-San Antonio 2 p.m.
Villanova at Houston 2 p.m.
Illinois at Tulane 2 p.m.