Complete Notes |
Conference Stats
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – American Athletic Conference baseball teams prepare for their first midweek contests, as six conference programs will play seven games between Tuesday and Wednesday. The American is off to a 17-11 nonconference start to the season with three teams earning opening-weekend sweeps and six teams winning their first series this season. Nonconference series continue over the weekend with all teams in action to combine for another 28 games.
Thirteen games throughout the week will be played against top-25 opponents. Coming off a 2-1 opening-weekend series win over Southern Conference favorite Samford, USF continues its tough nonconference start, hosting No. 4 Florida Tuesday night. The Bulls welcome the Gators to Tampa for the first time in four years, as the teams split their last two regular-season contests. USF will then head to No. 5 North Carolina for a weekend series on the ACC Network Extra. Last year, USF defeated then-No. 6 North Carolina 4-3 on Opening Day.
Following a 3-0 sweep of Radford, ECU continues to receive national attention, remaining at No. 11 in D1Baseball.com’s poll and moving up to that spot in two other national polls. ECU hit a conference-high .363 to lead The American through its first 2019 series. The Pirates travel to Campbell Wednesday evening before returning to Clark-LeClair Stadium for a series against Monmouth.
UConn made a loud statement on opening weekend, taking two of three games against No. 4 Louisville 2-1 in a neutral-site series. It marked the first series win over a top-five ranked opponent since Jim Penders took the helm in 2004. The Huskies claimed Game 1 after catcher Paul Gozzo blasted a solo home run in the eighth inning in his only at-bat of the night. After falling 12-2 on Saturday, second baseman Christian Fedko hit a grand slam in the third inning Sunday to give the Huskies the lead for good in an 8-3 rubber-match win. Righthander Jacob Wallace earned two saves to clinch the conference’s first Pitcher of the Week honor in 2019. UConn will hit the road this weekend for a series at the College of Charleston.
UCF gets its 2019 midweek slate underway Tuesday night against 2018 Atlantic Sun champion Stetson, which also advanced to an NCAA Super Regional last year. The Knights then welcome to No. 18 Auburn to John Euliano Park in a series over the weekend. UCF swept Siena on Opening Weekend, outscoring the Saints 15-4, while the Knights’ starters combined for 18 strikeouts and a 0.60 ERA. Sophomores Dalton Wingo and Griffin Bernardo combined to hit .455 with six RBIs and two home runs.
Tulane enters a busy week, hosting Lamar in a Tuesday-Wednesday midweek series before No. 10 Ole Miss comes to town for a three games over the weekend. Tulane earned an opening-weekend sweep of George Washington, which included back-to-back walk-off wins. The Green Wave’s first-week action ended with a 14-hit offensive surge in a 16-6 Sunday victory. In Saturday’s 7-6 win, freshman Krishna Raj came on in relief and dealt six innings of scoreless baseball in earning his first collegiate win in the 13-inning victory.
Houston will play its first midweek game at Don Sanders Field on Wednesday night against McNeese State—a game that was originally slated to be played on the road Tuesday. Houston then faces No. 24 Arizona at home in a series over the weekend. The Cougars had back-to-back walk-off wins against Northwestern State to start the season. Shortstop Kobe Hyland hit a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning on Opening Day, while catcher Kyle Lovelace delivered the honors on Saturday via an RBI single to give Houston its first series win of the season. Each game of the series was within two runs, as the Demons took Game 3 on Sunday, 2-1.
Memphis is coming off a 1-2 opening weekend against Indiana and will continue its homestand at FedExPark this week. The Tigers return to action Wednesday against Murray State before taking on Southern Illinois in a weekend series. Memphis’ first win of the season came in the second game of a Saturday doubleheader. Senior righthander Alex Hicks picked up the win after fanning eight batters through five shutout innings in a 6-3 victory.
Wichita State and Cincinnati look to bounce back this weekend. The Bearcats had an 0-3 start after opening their season at Florida Atlantic. Cincinnati will stay on the road, taking on Houston Baptist this weekend. The Shockers played four games in Arizona at the Angels College Classic on Opening Weekend, splitting a two-game series with Grand Canyon, and taking losses to then-No. 5 Stanford (5-4) and Pepperdine (13-8). The Shockers will compete in the UT Arlington Classic, playing Stephen F. Austin and UT Arlington twice. Senior infielder Luke Ritter hit .429 with six hits, including a double, triple and homer, and batted in four runs to lead Wichita State last week.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, February 19
Stetson at UCF - 6 p.m.
Florida at USF - 6:30 p.m.
Lamar at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, February 20
Murray State at Memphis - 4 p.m.
ECU at Campbell - 5 p.m.
McNeese State at Houston - 7:30 p.m.
Lamar at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 22
Stephen F. Austin vs. Wichita State - Noon
Cincinnati at Houston Baptist - 2 p.m.
USF at North Carolina (ACC Network Extra) - 3 p.m.
UConn at Charleston - 4 p.m.
Monmouth at ECU - 4 p.m.
Southern Illinois at Memphis - 5 p.m.
Auburn at UCF - 6 p.m.
Ole Miss at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.
Arizona at Houston - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 23
Wichita State at UT Arlington - Noon
Cincinnati at Houston Baptist - 1 p.m.
UConn at Charleston - 2 p.m.
Monmouth at ECU - 2 p.m.
USF at North Carolina (ACC Network Extra) - 2 p.m.
Southern Illinois at Memphis - 3 p.m.
Ole Miss at Tulane - 3 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Wichita State - 4 p.m.
Auburn at UCF - 6 p.m.
Arizona at Houston - 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 24
Wichita State at UT Arlington - Noon
Arizona at Houston - 12:30 p.m.
USF at North Carolina (ACC Network Extra) - 1 p.m.
Auburn at UCF - 1 p.m.
UConn at Charleston - 1 p.m.
Monmouth at ECU - 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at Houston Baptist - 2 p.m.
Southern Illinois at Memphis - 2 p.m.
Ole Miss at Tulane - 2 p.m.
All times Eastern and are subject to change