CLEARWATER, Fla. –  No. 4-seeded ECU scored five runs on five hits in the eighth inning on the way to a 6-5 win over No. 8-seeded Tulane on Wednesday to advance in the winner’s bracket at in American Athletic Conference Championship action Robin Roberts Field.
 
Tulane’s loss sets up a rematch from opening day, as the Green Wave will face top-ranked Houston for the second time this tournament.


 
The Pirates got three runners on with no outs to begin their late rally before pinch hitter Jeremy Whitehead brought home the first run to close the gap to three. ECU scored its final four runs with two outs in the inning. Conference Player of the Year Bryant Packard and Spencer Brickhouse had RBI singles to tie the game before Dwanya Williams-Sutton slid head-first into home plate on a wild pitch to give ECU the lead for good. Jake Washer added an RBI singles to extend the Pirates’ lead to 6-4. 
 
Grant Witherspoon sent a pair of two-run home runs over the fence to lead Tulane. Witherspoon is the fourth player to hit two home runs in a single tournament game in The American’s five-year history and the first to do so since 2015. Tulane starter Kaleb Roper had a solid outing, fanning a career-high 11 batters through 7.2 innings, but took the loss. ECU’s Evan Voliva got the final two outs in the seventh inning and earned the win, while Jake Agnos threw the final two innings and struck out three to collect his first save of the year.
 
Witherspoon delivered his first two-run home run of the game to put Tulane on top, 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning. ECU answered in the fifth frame, cutting the deficit to one run with a sac fly RBI from Drew Henrickson. Connor Litton scored the run after popping up a double to center field and reaching third base on an error.
 
Trey Benton came out of the bullpen with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and the bases loaded before fanning his first batter and retiring the second to get the Pirates out of the jam. The Green Wave got two more on in the bottom of the sixth with no outs, but ECU’s defense prevailed again, as Benton retired two more batters before Ryan Ross entered the game to make the final out of the inning. 
 
Witherspoon’s second two-run shot came in the seventh inning over the right field fence. Sal Gozzo scored the final run of the game on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth.
 
The schedule for the coming days of The American Championship will be announced following Wednesday’s action.
 
The latest information on the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship is available on the conference’s Championship Central page at www.TheAmerican.org/Baseball.

 
 
 
2018 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
presented by visit st. pete/clearwater
SPECTRUM field • clearwater, fla.
 
UPDATED TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Tuesday, May 22 (American Digital Network)
Game 1 – No. 4 ECU 8, No. 5 UCF 4
Game 2 – No. 8 Tulane 11, No. 1 Houston 6
Wednesday, May 23
at Spectrum Field (American Digital Network)
Game 3 – No. 7 Wichita State 4, No. 2 USF 3
Game 4 – No. 3 UConn 6, No. 6 Cincinnati 2
Game 8 – Wichita State (35-19-1) vs. UConn (33-18-1)	4:45 p.m.
at Robin Roberts Field (American Digital Network)
Game 5 – Houston 6, UCF 2 (UCF eliminated)
Game 7 – ECU 6, Tulane 5
Game 6 – USF (32-19-1) vs. Cincinnati (28-27)	5:05 p.m.
TBD (American Digital Network)
Game 9 – Tulane (25-32) vs. Houston (34-22)	TBD
Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6	TBD
TBD (American Digital Network)
Game 11 – ECU (41-15) vs. Winner of Game 9	TBD
Game 12 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10	TBD
Game 13 – Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 (if necessary)	TBD
Game 14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary)	TBD
Sunday, May 27 (ESPNews)
Game 15 – Semifinal winners	Noon

 
 
all times Eastern