The first of eight consecutive weekends of conference play gets underway Friday.
Tulane comes in to its road trip to UConn as the hottest team in The American. The Green Wave has won six in a row, capped by a solid 7-1 victory at No. 14 LSU Tuesday. The key for Tulane’s has been its power throughout the lineup – the Green Wave has 24 home runs in 25 games this season – after hitting 29 home runs in 60 games last year. UConn a three-game winning streak of its own after Tuesday’s 9-4 victory at Boston College. Freshman P Tim Cate has allowed only one earned run in three starts for the Huskies, taking a 0.40 ERA in 22.2 innings into Saturday's projected start.
Houston and East Carolina meet in a three-game series in Greenville, North Carolina, with both teams nationally ranked. Houston is ranked as high as No. 15 in the polls, backed by the Friday-Saturday pitching punch of P Andrew Lantrip and P Seth Romero. Freshman 1B Joe Davis leads the league with a .396 batting average to go with six home runs and 31 RBIs. ECU is ranked No. 19, thanks to a lineup that is batting .311 – more than 20 points better than any other team in The American. East Carolina 3B Eric Tyler set the conference record with eight RBIs in a win against Jacksonville Sunday and followed with a 4-for-4 showing in a midweek win against a tough UNC Wilmington team.
Cincinnati started the season with one win in its first 12 games, against a challenging schedule, but the Bearcats have bounced back to win 11 of their last 12, including a 5-0 decision at Indiana Tuesday. The Bearcats, who host USF this weekend, have been led by 3B Connor McVey, who has a 20-game hitting streak and is batting .349 with 14 stolen bases. P Andrew Zellner has led the pitching staff with a 2.06 ERA and wins in his last three decisions. USF’s weekend starters have gone a combined 9-2 this season, led by P Phoenix Sanders, who is 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA.
UCF takes a young team into its first conference weekend as the Knights visit Memphis. P Robby Howell has gone 5-0 for the Knights, while IF Austin Griffin has a league-leading eight home runs, including three grand slams. Memphis has been tough at home this season, with OF Jake Little providing consistency at the plate. Little is eighth in The American in batting with a .330 average coming into Friday’s game.