Champ Central
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Grayson Padgett’s pinch-hit three-run home run put Houston on top for good as the No. 2-seeded Cougars rallied past No. 7-seeded Memphis 6-5 in the opening game of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship Tuesday morning at Spectrum Field.
Houston (37-19) advances in the winners’ bracket and will face either No. 6-seeded Cincinnati or No. 3-seeded UConn Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. Memphis (29-28) will meet either Cincinnati or UConn in an elimination game Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET.
Memphis had built a 3-2 lead after five innings and added what appeared to be two key insurance runs in the top of the eighth to make it 5-2, but the Cougars rallied with a four-run bottom half, capped by Padgett’s second home run of the season, a long fly that dinged off the rightfield foul pole.
Houston put its first two men on in the eighth with a hit batter and a base hit by Corey Julks, and the Cougars made it a one-run game on Cooper Coldiron’s one-out base hit to center, which brought Scheiner in. Padgett came on as a pinch-hitter and followed with his three-run shot - just his second home run of the 2017 season.
Memphis’ Chris Carrier had put the Tigers ahead 3-2 in the fifth inning with a sharp line drive that cleared the leftfield wall for a two-run home run. The Tigers added to the lead in the top of the eighth when Zach Schritenthal smacked a one-out line drive to right-center that ended up bringing in two runs after the ball was misplayed in the outfield.
Leftielder Corey Julks went 3-for-4 for Houston, which continued its strong showing in The American Championship. The Cougars look to become the first team to reach the championship final in four straight years.
Nolan Bond (2-0) was credited with the win for Houston, while Aaron Fletcher came on with one on in the ninth to retire the side on a double play and a groundout for his seventh save of the season. Houston’s Jake Scheiner, who was named one of two American Athletic Conference Players of the Year Monday, hit his league-leading 16th home run in the bottom of the first inning.
Memphis was led by Carrier, who went 2 for 4, including his 15th home run of the season. Connor Alexander took the loss in relief, falling to 6-4.
Tickets for the championship will be available at Spectrum Field each day of the tournament or may be purchased in advance by calling the box office at 727-467-4457. The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central page at
www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.