Complete Notes |
Conference Stats
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – American Athletic Conference baseball teams are set to play 12 midweek games before returning to three-game nonconference series over the weekend. The league will combine for eight games Tuesday and four more Wednesday. Five conference teams enter the fifth week of the 2019 season with winning records, including ECU (12-5), UCF (10-5), Tulane (10-6), UConn (7-6) and USF (7-6). Cincinnati (4-9), ECU, Houston (7-7) and Memphis (7-7) are each coming off series sweeps, while UConn took two of three games in its series at Texas State last weekend.
The Pirates went 4-1 last week, including a 3-2 win at No. 10 Ole Miss and a weekend sweep of Marist. ECU continues to receive national attention, remaining at No. 14 in Baseball America’s latest top-25 poll. Southpaw Jake Kuchmaner picked up the league’s Pitcher of the Week and Perfect Game’s National Pitcher of the Week honors after striking out a career-high nine batters to lead the Pirates in the win at Ole Miss. Kuchmaner took a no-hitter into the ninth inning (8.2 innings) before giving up his only hit of the day with two down in the final frame. Alec Burleson leads the conference at the plate with a .467 batting average and eight multi-hit games. An American team has taken down at least one ranked opponent each week, as once again, ECU has the opportunity to keep the streak alive with a Tuesday night game at No. 24 Duke.
Cincinnati opened its home slate with a series sweep of Bowling Green, winning by a score of 4-3 in all three games. The Bearcats swept a doubleheader Sunday with Wyatt Stapp recording a pinch-hit walk-off RBI single in Game 1. He followed with a double and a game-tying two-run home run in Game 2. Starter Garrett Schoenle had eight strikeouts through the first three innings of the series finale Monday, as the Bearcats secured their first weekend sweep of the year. Cincinnati remains home all week, hosting Wright State on Tuesday and Indiana on Wednesday, before a three-game series with Niagara starting on Friday.
Houston snapped a five-game slide, sweeping Army at Schroeder Park in a three-game series. On Sunday, senior first baseman Joe Davis hit a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning. Davis went 10-for-16 (.625) during a 3-1 week with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBIs and two runs scored, earning The American’s Player of the Week honors. He leads the league in slugging percentage (.818) and is tied for first in RBIs (19). The Cougars look to extend their streak Tuesday night against UTSA at home.
Memphis returns to FedExPark to kick off a five-game homestand, welcoming Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas Pine Bluff on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Memphis’ three-game sweep at Western Kentucky this past weekend marked the first time since 2012 the Tigers swept a road series and first time on the road in nonconference play since 2004. The Tigers’ offense exploded for 31 runs on 40 hits in the three-game set at Western Kentucky. Helping pace the offense was freshman Hunter Goodman, who hit .429 with three RBIs, two doubles and six runs scored.
UConn’s Paul Gozzo and Michael Chiovitti hit back-to-back home runs in the 12th inning Saturday to hand the Huskies a 4-1 win on the way to clinching its series at Texas State. Anthony Prato is on a 13-game on-base streak, while Mike Woodworth is on a 10-game hitting streak. The Huskies moved their home-opener originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, due to inclement weather and will return to action against Michigan State in Greenville, S.C. this weekend.
UCF enters the week after dropping their weekend series to Penn State. The Knights evened the three-game set on Saturday night with a 5-3 decision, led by Ray Alejo’s three-hit performance, but the Nittany Lions came out on top in Sunday’s rubber match. Kyle Kemp has thrown 10 innings this season with 16 strikeouts without allowing an earned run. Tyler Osik has reached safely for a career-long 13 games. UCF continues its homestand at John Euliano Park for a pair of midweek games against Yale.
After falling to UCSB in a three-game series, Tulane looks to bounce back Tuesday night, hosting McNeese State. Offensively, Tulane sports a .316 batting average which is 16th nationally, while the team's 137 runs are eighth in the country. Kody Hoese leads the conference with eight home runs, which ranks fourth nationally. His 52 total bases rank seventh nationally.
USF will look to get back on track against Jacksonville and Bethune-Cookman in midweek games, following a series loss against Liberty last weekend. The Bulls are 24th nationally with 1.15 home runs per game. Jordan Santos ranks third in The American with a .509 on-base percentage.
Wichita State (5-9) fell in three games during a tough road test at No. 10 Texas Tech and will begin a 14-game homestand against Oral Roberts Tuesday night. Luke Ritter (.411) and Jordan Boyer (.404) each pace the Shockers at the plate this season. Ritter has reached base safely in 26 consecutive contests dating back to last season. Entering the week, Ritter ranks second in The American in hitting.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, March 12
Oral Roberts at Wichita State - 2 p.m. (Cox)
Wright State at Cincinnati - 4 p.m.
ECU at Duke - 6 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
Yale at UCF - 6 p.m.
Mississippi Valley State at Memphis - 7 p.m.
USF at Jacksonville - 7 p.m.
McNeese State at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.
USTA at Houston - 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 13
Indiana at Cincinnati - 4 p.m.
Yale at UCF - 6 p.m.
USF at Bethune-Cookman - 6 p.m.
Arkansas Pine Bluff at Memphis - 7 p.m.
Friday, March 15
Niagara at Cincinnati - 4 p.m.
ECU at Maryland - 4 p.m.
Michigan State vs. UConn - 5 p.m.
VCU at UCF - 6 p.m.
UNCW at Memphis - 7 p.m.
Rhode Island at Wichita State - 7 p.m. (Cox)
Dartmouth at USF - 7 p.m.
UC Riverside at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Dallas Baptist - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 16
Michigan State vs. UConn - 1 p.m.
Niagara at Cincinnati - 2 p.m.
ECU at Maryland - 2 p.m.
Rhode Island at Wichita State - 2 p.m. (Cox)
Houston at Dallas Baptist - 3 p.m.
UNCW at Memphis - 3 p.m.
UC Riverside at Tulane - 3 p.m.
Michigan State vs. UConn - 5 p.m.
Rhode Island at Wichita State - 5 p.m. (Cox)
VCU at UCF - 6 p.m.
Dartmouth at USF - 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 17
Michigan State vs. UConn - Noon
Rhode Island at Wichita State - 1 p.m. (Cox)
Dartmouth at USF - 1 p.m.
UNCW at Memphis - 1 p.m.
VCU at UCF - 1 p.m.
Niagara at Cincinnati - 1 p.m.
ECU at Maryland - 1 p.m.
Houston at Dallas Baptist - 2 p.m.
UC Riverside at Tulane - 2 p.m.
All times Eastern and subject to change