Complete Notes
For a third straight week, the American Athletic Conference features three teams tied for the top spot in the conference standings. USF (23-13, 7-5), Houston (21-14, 7-5) and Cincinnati (17-17, 7-5) each share a .583 league winning percentage to lead the conference. UCF (25-12, 6-6), UConn (19-11-1, 5-4), USF and Tulane (16-21, 6-6), each won a conference series last weekend. The league's eighth-place team is just one and a half games behind the No. 1 spot.
Coming off an 8-2-1 midweek slate, The American will prepare for another 11 nonconference games before the fifth weekend of league play. The conference's .619 nonconference winning percentage is fifth-best among the 31 Division I leagues, while its RPI ranks fifth overall in the NCAA. The American is one of three conferences (along with the SEC and Pac-12) to have two top-10 RPI teams with UConn at No. 9 and ECU (26-9, 5-4) at No. 10.
ECU remains in four national polls this week, with its highest ranking coming from Baseball America and USA Today at No. 11. After knocking off its second straight ranked opponent in a series, the Huskies join the Pirates in the national rankings coming in at No. 24 on D1Baseball.com's list. Wichita State also received national recognition on USA Today’s Coaches’ poll at No. 24.
UConn won its second straight conference series over a top-25 team when it swept a doubleheader at No. 20 Wichita State on Friday. OF Isaac Feldstein leads the league with 10 home runs, while RHP P.J. Poulin has nine saves, which rank 14th in the NCAA. UConn heads to UMass Lowell on Wednesday before traveling to Cincinnati for its next conference series.
After dropping Game 1, USF won Game 2, 13-1, and Game 3, 5-4, to take down No. 7 ECU in a series and catapult to a first-place tie in the league standings. RHP Peter Strzelecki was named conference Pitcher of the Week after throwing his second career complete game, holding the Pirates to one run on Saturday. In Sunday's rubber match, 3B David Villar hit the game-winning solo home run in the seventh inning. USF's offense has surged this season, as the Bulls lead the league in batting average, slugging percentage, runs, hits, doubles, triples and RBIs.
UCF is coming off a 3-1 week after a midweek shutout win and a conference series victory. UCF earned its nation-leading eighth shutout at Miami (Fla.) last Wednesday. The Knights then overcame a four-run deficit, scoring five straight runs fueled by three homers to take Game 1 of its series against Cincinnati, 5-4. UCF carried the momentum into Saturday, clinching its seventh series of the year with an 11-2 win over the Bearcats in Game 2. OF Tyler Osik drove in 13 runs, hit a home run in three consecutive games and batted .500 to earn his second conference Player of the Week honor. UCF hosts 2017 NCAA regional opponent Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday before heading to Tampa for the War On I-4 series at USF.
Tulane went 3-1 last week, including two walkoffs and a key series win over Houston. 2B Jonathon Artigues played a major role in Tulane's success, hitting .500 (8-for-16) with six RBIs (including two game-winning hits), four doubles and four runs (including the game winner on Friday). The Green Wave's win on Friday consisted of a conference-record 33 runs scored, as Tulane overcame a 10-run deficit, scoring 14 times in the final three innings. Artigues hit a double, stole third base and crossed home plate on a wild pitch in the ninth inning to give the Green Wave the series-opener win. He then drove in the first run of Tulane’s 2-0 series-clinching win in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader and drove in the game-winning run with a double against New Orleans on Tuesday. The Green Wave is 13-9 at home and will host No. 18 LSU on Wednesday and East Tennessee State over the weekend.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, April 17
ECU at Duke - 6 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
North Florida at USF - 6:30 p.m.
Central Arkansas at Wichita State - 7 p.m.
Sam Houston State at Houston - 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 18
Bethune-Cookman at UCF - 6:30 p.m.
UConn at UMass Lowell - 7 p.m.
Kansas at Wichita State - 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Mississippi State at Memphis - 7:30 p.m.
LSU at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Sam Houston State - 7:30 p.m.
Xavier at Cincinnati - 6:30 p.m.
Friday, April 20
UConn at Cincinnati * - 6 p.m.
UCF at USF * - 6:30 p.m.
ECU at Memphis * - 7:30 p.m.
Wichita State at Houston * - 7:30 p.m.
East Tennessee State at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 21
ECU at Memphis * - 3 p.m.
East Tennessee State at Tulane - 3 p.m.
UConn at Cincinnati * - 4 p.m.
UCF at USF * - 6:30 p.m.
Wichita State at Houston * - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 22
UCF at USF * - 1 p.m.
UConn at Cincinnati * - 1 p.m.
ECU at Memphis * - 1 p.m.
Wichita State at Houston * - 2 p.m.
East Tennessee State at Tulane - 2 p.m.
All times ET & subject to change
* conference game