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CLEARWATER, Fla. – Houston third-baseman Connor Hollis and centerfielder Zac Taylor drove in three runs each as the fifth-seeded Cougars took a 9-1 win against fourth-seeded Cincinnati Tuesday in the opening game of the 2016 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.
Houston advances in the double-elimination bracket to face the winner of the second opening-round game between UCF and Tulane Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. Cincinnati will face the UCF-Tulane loser in an elimination game Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Houston scored three runs on two sacrifice bunts and another on a sacrifice fly as the Cougars improved to 34-22 on the year. Three Cougar pitchers held Cincinnati to an 0-for-10 showing with runners in scoring position as the Bearcats (26-29-1) left nine men on base.
Houston got on the board in the top of the third inning when Connor Wong’s base hit to left brought Justin Montemayor home from second. The Cougars made it 2-0 on a safety squeeze by Jose Reyes that scored Josh Vidales.
Cincinnati got one back in the bottom of the fifth when Ryan Noda’s sixth home run of the season cleared the right field fence to put the Bearcats on the board.
The Cougars’ short game paid off again in the top of the sixth, when Connor Hollis dropped a suicide squeeze bunt with runners on second and third. Wong scored easily from third and Corey Julks ran hard from second to beat the tag at the plate after Hollis was retired at first. Hollis’ two RBIs gave Houston a 4-1 lead.
Houston made it 5-1 when Julks dropped a shallow fly over a drawn-in infield to bring Wong home from third. Hollis followed with a sacrifice fly to left to give the Cougars a 6-1 lead.
The Bearcats loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth on a pair of base hits and a walk, but Houston closer Nick Hernandez came in and registered back-to-back strikeouts to preserve the lead.
Houston broke it open in the top of the ninth on a three-run blast by Zac Taylor, which made it 9-1.
Houston pitcher Trey Cumbie scattered five hits and one run in 7.0 innings with nine strikeouts to improve to 5-2 on the year. A.J. Olasz took the loss for Cincinnati, falling to 2-6. Hernandez earned his ninth save of the season.
The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central page at www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.
2016 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
bright house field · clearwater, fla.
Tuesday, May 24 (CBS Sports Network)
Game 1 – No. 5 Houston 9, vs. No. 4 Cincinnati 1
Game 2 – No. 8 UCF (25-31) vs. No. 1 Tulane (37-17)................................................... 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 25 (American Digital Network)
Game 3 – No. 7 USF (23-31) vs. No. 2 East Carolina (34-19-1)................................. 11 a.m.
Game 4 – No. 6 Memphis (19-37) vs. No. 3 UConn (33-22)......................................... 3 p.m.
Game 5 – Cincinnati (26-29-1) vs. Loser of Game 2...................................................... 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 26 (American Digital Network)
Game 6 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4......................................................... 11 a.m.
Game 7 – Houston (34-22) vs. Winner of Game 2......................................................... 3 p.m.
Game 8 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4..................................................... 7 p.m.
Friday, May 27 (American Digital Network
Game 9 – Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5...................................................... 11 a.m.
Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6...................................................... 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 28 (American Digital Network)
Game 11 – Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9................................................. 10 a.m.
Game 12 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10................................................. 1 p.m.
Game 13 – Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 (if necessary)................. 4:30 p.m.
Game 14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary)................. 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 24 (ESPNews)
Game 15 – Semifinal winners.............................................................................................. Noon
all times Eastern