American Athletic Conference teams scored wins against two nationally ranked opponents Tuesday as Tulane beat No. 8 LSU 4-1 and UCF scored a 3-1 road win against No. 18 Florida Atlantic.
The Green Wave took advantage of a sold-out crowd at Turchin Stadium and an outstanding pitching performance from J.P. France to complete a sweep of its two games against LSU this season. France pitched into the eighth inning and scattered six hits and allowed one run while striking out six, while Jake Willsey provided some punch at the plate with his sixth home run of the season.
Tulane (27-13) has won its last five games heading into this weekend's series against Houston in New Orleans.
UCF snapped a four-game slide with its best win of the season as the Knights were 3-1 winners against Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Florida. UCF built an early 3-0 lead, thanks in part to a Matt Diorio home run, and three Knight pitchers combined to allow six hits and one run with eight strikeouts.
Houston has won three of its last four following the Cougars' 4-3 victory against Sam Houston State last night. Corey Julks was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Josh Vidales was 2-for-4 as the duo accounted for five of Houston's seven hits. Trey Cumbie worked 7.2 strong innings wiht five strikeouts to pick up the pitching win.
USF dropped a 6-5 decsion to Florida International as the Bulls lost a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning, when the Owls put three on the board. The Bulls got one back in the bottom of the eighth, but stranded two runners and were unable to threaten in the ninth. Duke Stunkel went 3-for-3 with a triple for the Bulls, who host UCF this weekend.
Memphis also let an early lead get away as the Tigers fell 8-7 to Belmont at FedEx Park. Memphis had a 7-4 lead after seven innings, but was undone by four-run eighth for Belmont. Outfielder Jake Little went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Tigers, who host UConn this weekend.