Cincinnati remains alone atop the American Athletic Conference standings at the halfway point of conference play. The Bearcats, who have won each of their first four conference series, look to make it five in a row when they visit East Carolina for three games this weekend.
The Bearcats have been paced in conference play by their pitching rotation, led by P Andrew Zellner and P J.T. Perez. Zellner has a 1.47 earned-run average in conference games, while Perez has won three of his four starts against league opponents and has a 1.91 ERA against The American.
East Carolina comes into the series as The American's top-hitting team, but P Evan Kruczynski is 5-0 with a 1.51 ERA at the top of the Pirate rotation. P Joe Ingle has been solid at the back end with a league-leading eight saves.
The hottest team in The American is Tulane, which extended its winning streak to six games with a 4-1 victory against No. 8 LSU Tuesday. The Green Wave has registered a school-record 10 shutout wins, which leads the nation. P Ross Massey takes a 6-2 record and a 1.43 ERA into the weekend series at Houston.
Houston is 18-6 at Schroeder Park after beating Sam Houston State on Tuesday. 1B Joe Davis leads the team with a .336 average, seven home runs and 34 RBIs.
UCF picked up its best victory of the season Tuesday as the Knights were 3-1 winners against No. 18 Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton. Pitcher Robby Howell leads The American with seven wins heading into the weekend series at USF.
USF P Brandon Lawson leads the league with 75 strikeouts as the Bulls look for their first series win in conference play. USF has won at least one game in each of its first four conference series, but has dropped four one-run games in league play.
UConn wraps up a stretch of nine straight road games when the Huskies visit Memphis. UConn is 9-3 in its last 12 games, as the Huskies have allowed more than three runs only once in that stretch. Freshman Tim Cate brings a 1.70 ERA into his start this weekend.
Memphis has dropped five of its last six, but the Tigers have been solid in conference play, sitting only three games out of first place at the turn. OF Jake Little leads the Tigers with a .333 batting average and is one of four Memphis players with at least 10 stolen bases.