Jeff Brightwell is The American's baseball analyst for the week and will also be the play by play announcer on the American Digital Network broadcasts. You can also follow him all week on twitter.
CHAMPIONSHIP WRAPUP
The American Conference Championship is in the books and the UConn Huskies are your 2016 American Champions!
Both clubs had different approaches on the mound today. UConn came back with Pitcher of the Year Anthony Kay after he threw a complete game on Wednesday and they were forced into a second game Yesterday. The Cougars were well rested not having to dip too far into their bullpen this week after going 3-0, starting Andrew Lantrip which was is first start since last week.
One great story before the game began, UConn named Bryan Daniello one of their tai-captains on the bus ride to the park, the senior came into today 10-16 with four doubles and three stolen bases.
Bobby Melley returned to the lineup and started the scoring, putting the Huskies up 2-0 with a home run to left in the top of the third. Shortly after the game would go into an hour-three minute lightning delay before play would resume.
Trailing 3-0, Joe Davis homered for the third time this week to lead off the 6th and pull Houston to within two, but the Huskies got the run back in the top of the seventh with a Willy Yahn ground out to score Jack Sundberg.
Leading 4-2 going into the ninth, the Huskies would open up the game, scoring three runs highlighted by a Yahn triple to right center to score Sundberg.
UConn starter Anthony Kay would throw six innings, allowing two runs and striking out five. The Huskies would bang out 15 hits led by Bryan Daniello who would go 3-4 on the game and end the week 13-20 at the plate.
UConn will have the automatic bid to the NCAA while the Cougars will have to wait for Monday’s selection show.
The 2016 Baseball Championships provided a lot of memorable moments, but what stood out to me is that eight of 14 games were won by seeds 5-8 showing how competitive the league is from top to bottom. See you all in 2017!
Day 6 - PREGAME
After five days, it’s finally Championship Sunday in Clearwater! The Houston Cougars are here for a third straight year while UConn make their first appearance.
Houston vs UConn
The Huskies swept Houston 3-0 in Storrs in Mid April. 3-2, 4-1, and 9-2
Houston 3-0
*The Cougars beat Cincinnati Tuesday 9-1, Tulane 5-3 Wednesday and 6-2 on Saturday.
*Houston won The American Tournament in 2014 and lost to ECU a year ago in the title game.
*Houston’s Joe Davis has homered twice this week, a grand-slam against Tulane on Thursday and a two-run shot yesterday to open up the game.
*Zac Taylor has two homers as well, hitting on against Cincinnati Tuesday and a two-out solo shot yesterday against Tulane.
*Closer Nick Hernandez has finished all three games this week.
UConn 3-1
*Beat Memphis 6-2 Wednesday and USF 9-1 on Thursday. The Huskies then lost to Memphis 9-5 in the first semi-final game yesterday before coming back to eliminate the Tigers in game two.
*The Huskies got strong starts in the first two games of the week. Anthony Kay threw a complete-game against Memphis while Tim Cate went 7.1 against USF Wednesdsay.
*Bryan Daniello has quietly gone 10-17 in this tournament.
*William Montgomery was dominate in yesterday’s win over Memphis, throwing seven shutout innings.
On a side note, here are some highlights of the week heading into the title game.
*USF’s Brandon Lawson goes seven innings giving up just two runs in the Bulls 4-2 over ECU.
*Even though Cincinnati went 0-2, a tremendous job by Ty Neal who led his team to a fourth place finish and an 11 game improvement over last year.
*Brooks Morgan of UCF, the master of the “rally hats”, walk-off home run against Cincinnati in the 10th.
*UConn’s Anthony Kay, the Pitcher of the Year, threw a complete-game against Memphis to start their week.
*The American “Rookie Hitter of the Year” Joe Davis of Houston showed off his power with a Grand Slam on Wednesday and followed with a homer on Saturday.
*Houston’s Seth Romero set an American Championship record with 11 k’s against Tulane on Wednesday while the Cougars struck out 14 as a team, also a record.
*Tulane’s Alex Massey’s dominate performance against UCF on Friday.
*Memphis run as a six-seed, after losing their first game Wednesday, the Tigers won three straight and forced a second semi-final game yesterday. The Tiger defense turned 10 double plays this week.
*ECU’s Evan Kruczynski was impressive in his opening day start going seven innings, allowing just two runs and striking out six.
END OF DAY 5 THOUGHTS
For the third straight year, the Houston Cougars will play for a conference championship while UConn makes it’s debut after splitting a pair of games with Memphis.
Houston got six innings out of Mitch Ullom as the Cougars beat the Green Wave 6-2. With two outs in the fifth and a 1-1 tie, Houston’s Zac Taylor doubled, followed by a RBI-Single by Connor Wong and a Joe Davis homer to go up 4-1. Tulane would get a lead-off homer from Hunter Hope in the sixth to cut the deficit to 4-2, but the Cougars would score a run in the eight and ninth for the 6-2 final.
Tulane is now 39-19 and will wait to see where they will play in the NCAA tournament. Houston is on to the Championship again.
In game two of the semi’s, Memphis raced out to a 9-0 lead after three innings, highlighted by back-to-back homers by Chris Carrier and Jacob Elliott in the third. Drew Crosby went four innings for the Tigers in his first start of the season, allowing just one run on five hits. Bryan Cruse retired the first eight Huskies he faced in just his 11th relief outing this season before running into trouble with two outs in the top of the seventh.
UConn would put up a fight with a four run seventh led by Bryan Daniello’s 2-run single, but they would fall 9-5 to the Tigers.
In the rematch between UConn and Memphis, William Montgomery was dominate going seven scoreless innings and retiring the last nine Tigers he faced, scattering just three hits and striking out six.
Huskies would strike first and get their first lead of the day in the second on a Tyler Gnesda RBI-single that scored Bryan Daniello. In the fourth, UConn would add a run as Gnesda again drove in a run on a ground out to score Joe Deroche-Duffin. Freshman Jonathan Bowlan would keep Memphis close, retiring 12 straight between the fourth and seventh before Aaron Hill hit his first home run of the season to lead off the eighth. UConn would add three runs in the eighth for a 5-0 final.
UConn is now 36-23 and faces Houston tomorrow at Noon. Memphis ends the season at 22-39.
Day 5 - PREGAME
It’s “Semi-Final Saturday” for the American Conference Baseball Championship at Brighthouse Field.
Game one extends the season series to a seventh game against Tulane and Houston at 10:00 while UConn looks to push their winning streak to 12 when they face Memphis at 1:00.
Tulane vs Houston
Tulane 2-1
*The Green Wave beat UCF Tuesday 4-3 then lost 5-3 to Houston on Thursday before eliminating UCF yesterday 5-0.
*Both Tulane starters have pitched will, Emerson Gibbs went seven innings against the Cougars Thursday and Alex Massey threw eight shut-out innings against UCF.
*The middle of the Tulane order will have to produce today, going just 2-14 yesterday between the two and five spots.
Houston 2-0
*The Cougars beat Cincinnati 9-1 on Tuesday then beat Tulane 5-3 on Thursday.
*Houston will have the advantage of rest. They Cougars earned both Wednesday and Friday off going 2-0 so far.
*Cougars pitching has been dominant so far, allowing just two runs per game.
UConn vs Memphis
UConn 2-0
*The Huskies beat Memphis 6-2 Wednesday and USF 9-1 on Thursday.
*Anthony Kay and Tim Cate have not dissappointed. Kay threw a complete game against Memphis while Tim Cate followed with 7.1 against USF on Thursday.
*The Huskies had the day off yesterday and must be beaten twice today, they still have weekend starter William Montgomery available for the semi-finals.
Memphis 2-1
*Memphis lost to UConn on Wednesday 6-2, beat ECU Thursday 5-4, and beat USF 7-5 yesterday.
*Jake Overbey who was hitting .174 coming into the tournament is 5-9 with 4 RBI in three games this week.
*Jonathan Bowlan has 10 starts and may be Saturday’s starter.
END OF DAY 4 THOUGHTS
It was “Elimination Friday” in Clearwater at the American Conference Baseball Championships.
Tulane’s Alex Massey was dominant in eight inning for the Green Wave, going 8 innings allowing just two hits and striking out seven in a 5-0 shutout of UCF. The Knights’ Cre Finfrock matched Massey until Jake Willsey hit a leadoff homer in the fifth for a 1-0 Tulane lead.
With Massey dominating on the mound, a two-run double by Richard Carthon in the seventh would practically put the game out of reach as the Green Wave stays alive to face Houston tomorrow at 10:00.
In the second game, opportunities for both Memphis and USF came and went early as the teams combined to go just 13-42 with runners on base. But Luke Borders would put the Bulls up in the bottom of the fifth with a 2-run single to right for a 2-0 lead. Memphis would storm back with three in the top of the sixth highlighted by Zach Schritenthal’s RBI single to left.
Tied at four going to the ninth, Jake Overbey drove in two with a single to center and the Tigers would add another run on a Jason Santana sacrifice fly to go up 7-4. The Bulls threatened in the bottom of the inning, but after a Duke Stunkel rbi single, the Bulls hit into their fourth double-play of the game for the 7-5 final.
So the semi-finals are set, Houston plays Tulane for a seventh time this season at 10:00 and Memphis takes on UConn at 1:00.
Day 4 - PREGAME
It’s “Elimination Friday” in Clearwater for four teams. Tulane faces UCF at 11:00 while Memphis takes on USF at 3:00.
Tulane vs UCF
Tulane 1-1
*The Green Wave beat UCF Tuesday 4-3 before losing 5-3 to Houston yesterday.
*Tulane’s starting pitching should be rested after working six relievers on Tuesday and Emerson Gibbs going seven innings in yesterday’s game against Houston.
*Hitters two through five will have to produce, that part of the order was a combined 1-16 yesterday.
UCF 1-1
*UCF lost to Tulane 4-3 Tuesday and eliminated Cincinnati Wednesday night 7-6.
*UCF provided the moment of the Championships so far Wednesday when Brooks Morgan, “Mr Rally Hat”, hit his second homer of the season in the bottom of the tenth to give at the Knights a 7-6 come from behind win.
*The Knights are coming off a much needed day off after playing back-to-back days.
Memphis vs USF
Memphis 1-1
*The Tigers lost 6-2 to UConn on Wednesday, and eliminated ECU 5-4 yesterday.
*Freshman Alex Hicks earned his first career win in middle relief going three innings.
*Darien Tubbs provided the early jump start for the Tigers hitting his third homer of the year in the first inning yesterday.
USF 1-1
*USF beat ECU 4-2 on Wednesday before losing 9-1 to UConn last night.
*The Bulls used three starters on Tuesday to help hold ECU at bay, while they went with a combination of relievers last night starting with Tommy Eveld.
*USF has motivation, Memphis has eliminated the Bulls the past two seasons from the tournament
END OF DAY 3 THOUGHTS
Lower seeds continue to impress and we had record setting performances on day three of The American Conference Championships.
The Day started off with a bang as Memphis’ Darien Tubbs hit his third home run of the year in the bottom of the first to jump start the Tigers as they would knock out the number-two seed ECU 5-4. The performance of the game came from Tiger freshman Alex Hicks who earned his first win going 3 innings in middle-relief. ECU was unable to take advantage of two inning where the bases were loaded, getting just a single run in the fifth and again in the eighth.
Memphis goes to Friday’s 3:00 elimination game while ECU will await the NCAA Selection Show.
In game two, the Houston Cougars set an American Championship record with fourteen strikeouts, while Seth Romero set his own Championship record with eleven of the fourteen. In the third inning, Rookie Hitter of the Year Joe Davis connected for a grand-slam, the first one in an American Championship game in three years. For Tulane Emerson Gibbs went seven innings allowing just four hits.
Houston advances to Saturday’s semi-finals while Tulane will face UCF Friday morning at 11:00.
In the night game, USF’s Tommy Eveld hung tough in his first start of the year, but was chased in the fifth when UConn put three on the board for a 4-1 lead. Player of the Year Joe DeRoche-Duffin had four hits and a pair of doubles. Rookie Pitcher of the Year, Tim Cate was outstanding, going a career-high 7.1 innings and striking out nine as the Huskies ran away with a 9-1 win.
USF faces Memphis tomorrow at 3:00 while UConn goes to Saturday’s semi-finals.
Day 3 - PREGAME
It’s day three of The American Conference Baseball Championships, another team will be eliminated while we have two winners-bracket games to follow.
At 11:00, the number two-seed ECU Pirates will look to bounce back after a first round loss to USF when they face the Memphis Tigers who fell to UConn yesterday. At 3:00 we have a great matchup between Tulane and Houston after a day off. And, the night-cap features a winners-bracket game between USF and UConn.
Memphis vs ECU
ECU won the regular season series 2-1
Memphis 0-1
*Matt Ferguson is the expected starter. He did not pitch in the final weekend series an is coming off a complete-game win at Tulane two weeks ago.
*The Memphis offense managed nine hits off the league’s Pitcher of the Year Anthony Kay yesterday. However, the Tigers only managed to put together consecutive hits once in the game.
*Senior Jake Overbey reached base four times, with a career high three hits.
ECU 0-1
*Even Kruczynski was solid in his start yesterday going seven innings and giving up just two runs.
*The Pirate bullpen after walking five batters in the ninth inning of yesterday’s loss.
*Offensively, ECU will have to get the run game going, they were caught twice stealing yesterday and had two runners thrown out after leadoff hits.
Houston vs Tulane
Tulane won the series 2-1 last week
Houston 1-0
*Seth Romero the preseason co-pitcher of the year went 7. 2 innings giving up just one earned run in a 3-2, 13-inning win for the Cougars.
*Houston wants to keep it’s offense rolling, they scored nine runs while banging out three doubles and a home-run.
*Trey Cumbie helped save the bullpen on Tuesday, going 7 innings as the starter.
Tulane 1-0
*The Green Wave rested their starting rotation Tuesday, stringing together six relievers in the win over UCF.
*Emerson Gibbs is expected to start, he matched Romero in last weeks 13-inning game, going 7.2 innings allowing only one run.
*The Green Wave showed their toughness after getting down midway through the game and steadily chipping way for the come from behind win Tuesday.
USF vs UConn
UConn swept USF the final weekend of the season
USF 1-0
*USF got seven innings from Brandon Lawson yesterday to set up the Bulls win over ECU.
*The Bulls got eight hits in their tournament opener while also drawing six walks.
*USF will have to find some offense against the Huskies, they managed just seven runs in the series against UConn.
Upon 1-0
*The Huskies should have a fresh bullpen after Anthony Kay threw a complete-game against Memphis in their tournament opener.
*John Toppa paced the UConn offense with three hits and four RBI.
*UConn had two big innings, scoring three in the fourth and three again in the sixth.
END OF DAY 2 THOUGHTS
Day two of the American Conference Baseball Championships provided an upset, some great pitching, and a dramatic finale.
In game one, the seventh seeded USF Bulls pulled off the first big upset of the week, knocking off the two-see ECU 4-2 behind an outstanding outing from Brandon Lawson who went seven innings allowing just two runs on seven hits and striking out eight. East Carolina’s Evan Kruczynski was equally as good, throwing seven innings, giving up two runs, scattering seven hits and striking out six.
However, ECU walked five Bulls in the ninth to allow the two deciding runs to score.
In game two, The American Pitcher of the Year, Anthony Kay, didn’t dissappoint. Kay threw his second complete game of the season scattering nine hits, allowing two runs and striking out six in just 101 pitches. Joe Toppa led the Huskies with three hits and four RBI. For Memphis, Jake Overbey reached base four times with a career high three hits.
Memphis faces ECU Wednesday at 11:00 while USF and UConn play at 7:00.
Game three provided lots of excitment. Cincinnati held a four run lead behind Andrew Zellner who went seven innings before the Knights rallied to tie it up in seventh. The Bearcats would then go up by a run in the ninth, but a Luke Hamblin rbi-single tied it up and sent it to extras. A.J. Bumpass would send Cincinnati up by a run again in the tenth for a 6-5 lead.
But, the Knights would strike last, a lead-off triple by Josh Moser would set up a sacrifice fly by Ryan Crile to tie the game at 6. Then it was time for the heroics. Brooks Morgan, who had kept the dugout alive the whole game with a variety of “Rally Hats” was sent to the plate to pinch-hit, and on the first pitch he saw, he ended the game with his second homer of the year into Frenchy's on the top of the left-field pavilion for a 7-6 UCF win.
With the win, UCF gets Thursday off before coming back Friday against tomorrow’s Houston/Tulane loser. Cincinnati's season comes to an end with the loss, still a great turn around for Ty Neal's club who made an 11 game improvement over last season
DAY 2 - PREGAME
On day two of the American Baseball Championships, we begin play in the second bracket. First up will be USF vs ECU at 11:00, then Memphis vs UConn at 3:00 before our first elimination game at 7:00 featuring Cincinnati and UCF.
USF vs ECU
USF won the series 2-1 in mid-May
USF 7-seed 23-31/8-16
*If the Bulls’ pitching staff can get it to the later innings, USF has one of the best closers in the league in Tommy Eveld. In 25 games, he has 9 saves and a 1.84era.
*The Bulls were hit hard with injuries following an NCAA Regional a year ago. Kevin Merrell played in just 38 and Levi Borders was limited to 16 games.
*The Bull’s coaching staff has done an excellent job in keeping the talent in state. All 33 players on the USF roster are from Florida.
ECU 2-seed 34-19-1/15-8-1
*In his first year as head coach, Cliff Godwin led the Pirates to the American Tournament Championship in 2015.
*The Pirates boast one of the best weekend rotations in the league, Jimmy Boyd, Evan Kruczynski, and Jacob Wolf have gone a combined 19-8 with a 2.22era.
*ECU leads The American in hitting with a .288 average along with the league’s batting champion, freshman Dwanya Williams-Sutton who hit .372.
Memphis vs UConn
UConn won the series 2-1
Memphis 6-seed 19-37/9-15
*The Tigers have one of the youngest pitching staffs in the league with eight freshmen and four sophomores.
*To be successful this week, Memphis must get on base early. If they do they can get their running game going which has produced 77 stolen bases despite having no individuals in the NCAA’s top 50.
*Memphis rested starters Colton Hathcock and Matt Ferguson the final weekend. Hathcock threw short relief which Ferguson did not appear.
UConn 33-22/14-9
*The Huskies are the hottest team in The American, winning nine straight entering their tournament opener. A good week could put them on the good side of the NCAA bubble.
*UConn has a great one-two duo on the mound. Anthony Kay went 7-2 with a 2.47 era to win the league’s Pitcher of the Year, while Anthony Kay was 3-1 with a 2.87era en route to The American’s Rookie Pitcher of the Year award.
*The Huskies also featured the Player and Coach of the Year. OF Joe DeRoche-Duffin hit 17 homers and drove in 52 runs as Head Coach Jim Penders led UConn to the 3-seed winning six straight American games to end the season.
Cincinnati vs UCF
The Knights won the series 2-1 in early May
Cincinnati; lost to Houston 9-1 Tuesday
*A.J. Olasz was solid early before being chased in the sixth. The left-hander finished with 5.1ip, walking just one and scattering five hits.
*Ryan Noda hit his sixth home-run of the year, a fifth-inning shot to right field.
*Cincinnati will be looking for their first postseason win since 2008.
UCF Lost 4-3 to Tulane Tuesday
*Robby Howell threw 6.2ip allowing just 4 hits and 2 earned runs in last night’s game against Tulane.
*The Knights hope to continue their offensive success against Cincinnati, they scored 22 runs in the series against the Bearcats.
*Sam Tolleson drove in two runs Tuesday with a 2-run single in the fifth.
END OF DAY 1 THOUGHTS
Managing a pitching staff is alway the biggest challenge for a coach on the opening day of a conference tournament. Some go with the regular weekend rotation, while some take a chance with a a mid-week starter or reliever.
In game one of the Championship, both Ty Neal of Cincinnati and Todd Whiting of Houston opted to start off the tournament with a couple of mid-week pitchers due to the short week.
For the Bearcats, A.J. Olasz was coming off four straight mid-week starts and most recently threw 5.1 shutout innings against Western Carolina a week ago.
The last start for the Cougars Trey Cumbie was the series finale against Cincinnati where he went 5.2 innings, allowing just four hits and no runs. Prior to that, he was part of a 10-0 shut out of Rice where he threw 8 innings, scattering just five hits on May 10.
Today’s “Play of the Game” may have been Houston’s Connor Hollis’ 2-run bunt in the top of the 6th that opened up a 4-1 lead for the Cougars. Meanwhile freshman Trey Cumbie struck out a career high nine in seven innings and Hollis ended with 3 RBI in a 9-1 Cougar win. Cincinnati threatened in the eight and loaded the bases with one out, but Houston went to Nick Hernandez who got back-to-back strike outs to end the inning.
Houston has the day off tomorrow which will allow them to rest the bullpen and likely start Seth Romero against Tulane on Thursday. Meanwhile, Cincinnati will play in tomorrow’s elimination game at 7:00 against UCF.
In game two, UCF started second-team All Conference right-hander Robby Howell who went 6.2 innings against Tulane on April 22 giving up nine hits and four runs. Tulane opted to give give Trevor Simms his first start of the season, bringing in a 4-1 record in 14 relief outings.
Simms would last just 2.1 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and Tulane would string together relievers for the remainder of the game.
Howell would go 6.2 allowing just 4 hits and 2 earned runs.
UCF would grab a 3-0 lead midway through the game highlighted by Sam Tolleson’s 2-run single in the fifth. Back-to-back walks to start the bottom of the inning would help the Green Wave chip away, answering with two runs. The Green Wave would get an rbi single in the sixth from Jake Rogers and a Jeremy Montalbano double in the seventh would score Grant Witherspoon to give them the lead.
Tulane used six pitchers in the game with Corey Merrill earning the decision in the 4-3 Green Wave win.
UCF comes back tomorrow to face Cincinnati while Tulane will take on Houston Thursday.
DAY 1 - Tuesday Pregame
We’re finally here, day one of The American Conference Baseball Championships! We’ll have two games, Houston vs Cincinnati at 3:00 followed by UCF vs Tulane at 7:00. Winning in this bracket gets you an added bonus, a day off. Winners will face each other on Thursday at 3:00, while the losing teams turn around to play at 7:00 tomorrow night.
Let’s take a look at the teams in these two games.
Game One: Cincinnati vs Houston
- Houston won season series 2-1 at Cincinnati
Cincinnati 4th seed 26-28-1/13-10-1
*The Bearcats had the biggest turn-around of any team this year, improving on last year’s 15-41 campaign to win 26 games and finish in the top half of the league.
*UC will need some offensive production this afternoon after scoring just two runs in their series with the Cougars two weeks ago and their running game could be the difference. Cincinnati led the conference in stolen bases.
*Starting pitching will be paramount, the Bearcats finished fourth in ERA and have a solid 1-2 punch in the Rotation in Andrew Zellner (7-4, 2.21) and J.T. Perez (6-5 2.97).
Houston 5th seed 33-12/11-12
*The Cougars are looking for a third straight American Championship, winning the tournament in 2014 and the regular season a year ago.
*Freshman Joe Davis was The American Rookie Position Player of the Year. He led the state of Texas in homers for two years at Bowie High School and was drafted a year ago by Tampa Bay.
*The Cougars feature five All-Conference selections and their post-season experience could propel them to a long tournament run.
Game Two: UCF vs Tulane
- Tulane Swept UCF in late April
UCF 8th seed, 23-31/8-16
*Pitcher Robby Howell was named second-team All-Conference after going 7-3 with a 1.91 era which led the league.
*The Knights led the league in turning 55 double-plays this season and are fielding .972 as a team.
*You could see a lot of Harrison Hukari this week, the reliever appeared in 31 games this season, going 2-3 with 3 saves and a 3.44 era.
Tulane #1 seed, 37-17/15-7
*Tulane enters the week coming off it’s first regular-season championship since 2005.
*The Green Wave boast 7 All-Conference selections including Emerson Gibbs who went 7 innings, giving up no earned runs in a 4-3 series opener against the Knights on April 22.
*Scoring runs on Tulane will prove tough, they were second in The American in pitching as well as the best fielding team in the league.