CHAMP CENTRAL
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CLEARWATER, Fla. – Centerfielder Darien Tubbs went 2-for-3 with a home run to lead Memphis to a 5-4 win against East Carolina Thursday in an elimination game of American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.
No. 6-seeded Memphis staved off elimination and will face either USF or UConn Friday for a spot in the semifinal round of the championship. East Carolina, the No. 2 seed in the field, was eliminated with its second loss of the tournament.
Tubbs staked the Tigers to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when he took a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left-center. He drew a four-pitch walk in the bottom of the third and came around to score on a two-run single by Jake Elliott, which gave the Tigers a 5-2 lead.
Memphis’ bullpen took over from there, as Alex Hicks and Nolan Blackwood combined to work 4.2 innings of relief, allowing four hits and one run. Hicks went three innings with two strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season, improving to 1-2, while Blackwood earned his seventh save of the season.
East Carolina, which trailed 5-2 after three innings, scored single runs in the fifth and eighth innings, but the Pirates saw a double play end the fifth inning and stranded two runners in the top of the eighth when Blackwood got struck out hitter Zack Mozingo.
The Pirates finished with eight hits as Travis Watkins, Garrett Brooks and Eric Tyler had two hits each. Jimmy Boyd took the loss, falling to 7-5 after he allowed five hits and five runs in 2.1 innings.
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. 1 Tulane 4, No. 8 UCF 3
Wednesday, May 25 (American Digital Network)
Game 3 – No. 7 USF 4, No. 2 East Carolina 2
Game 4 – No. 3 UConn 6, No. 6 Memphis 2
Game 5 – UCF 7, Cincinnati 6 (10 innings) ........................................ (Cincinnati eliminated)
Thursday, May 26 (American Digital Network)
Game 6 – Memphis 5, East Carolina 4......................................... (East Carolina eliminated)
Game 7 – Tulane (38-17) vs. Houston (34-22)................................................................ 3 p.m.
Game 8 – UConn (34-22) vs. USF (24-31)........................................................................ 7 p.m.
Friday, May 27 (American Digital Network
Game 9 – Loser of Game 7 vs. UCF (26-32).................................................................. 11 a.m.
Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. Memphis (20-37)........................................................ 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 29 (ESPNews)
Game 15 – Semifinal winners.............................................................................................. Noon
all times Eastern