Complete Notes |
Conference Stats
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The fourth weekend of American Athletic Conference baseball play begins Friday, following another strong showing against nonconference opponents in midweek games. Seven conference teams picked up a midweek win, as eight of the nine American programs enter the weekend with winning records over their past five games. The American went 6-0 Tuesday and 2-2 Wednesday, improving to 19-5 against other conferences in April. With a 134-84 (.615) nonconference record this season, The American holds the fifth-best RPI ranking among the 31 NCAA Division I conferences.
ECU (No. 11) and UConn (No. 28) are both top-30 RPI teams, as The American is one of five conferences to boast at least two schools in the top 30 (ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC). Six of the nine American teams are top-100 RPI programs.
No. 8 ECU (25-7, 8-1), UCF (21-12, 3-6), Cincinnati (14-18, 5-4) and Tulane (22-11, 4-2) are coming off American series wins. The Pirates have won three-straight conference series to lead The American, while Tulane came out on top in back-to-back American sets to move into second place in the league’s standings.
ECU will step aside from American play this weekend and continue a nine-game road trip in the West Coast. It will be a top-10 matchup when the Pirates take on No. 1 UCLA in a three game series, starting Friday and ending with a Saturday doubleheader. The Pirates defeated UNC Wilmington 9-1 on Tuesday and have won nine of their last 10 games, which include American series wins over UCF, USF and Houston, respectively. Lefthander Jake Agnos was named to the midseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List Wednesday. Agnos has started eight games posting a 4-2 record with a conference-high 69 strikeouts in 45.2 innings, sporting a 2.76 ERA. He has registered seven-plus strikeouts in seven-consecutive games heading into this weekend.
Tulane third baseman Kody Hoese received national recognition this week. After being named American Player of the Week, he was named National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Tuesday before earning a spot on the midseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List Wednesday. On the year, Hoese leads The American in batting average (.410), hits (57), runs scored (43), home runs (17), RBIs (43), total bases (120) and slugging percentage (.863). His 120 total bases and 17 home runs lead the nation this season. The Green Wave won a 15-14 decision at Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night and will look to keep it going at home this weekend, welcoming USF to the diamond for a three-game series. Tulane pounded-out 19 hits and five home runs, using a pair of late three-run homers to clinch its midweek victory over the Lions.
Wichita State infielder Luke Ritter was selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award Wednesday. Ritter ranks third in The American with a .386 batting average, and has 49 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 28 RBIs, 19 walks and nine stolen bases. In a 1-0 loss to Oklahoma State Wednesday night, he saw his 44-game on-base streak continued from last season come to an end. His remarkable reached-safely streak ranks third all-time in American history. Jordan Boyer leads the Shockers with the second-best batting average in the league (.389). Wichita State (18-15, 3-3) will look to snap a three-game slide when it welcomes Houston (18-15, 3-6) to Eck Stadium for an American series starting Friday.
Houston used a seven-run rally in the second inning on the way to capturing the 2019 Don Sanders Cup with a 12-7 win at Sam Houston State in Game 2 of the season series Tuesday night. Righthander Fred Villarreal leads The American with a 1.26 ERA and seven saves (tied with UConn’s Jacob Wallace) through 19 appearances and 35.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen. Devon Roedahl has five pitching wins to lead the conference. At the plate, Joe Davis ranks second in the league with 40 RBIs, 88 total bases and 14 home runs.
UConn (21-12, 5-4) completed a midweek sweep of nonconference opponents after defeating Bryant Tuesday and Northeastern Wednesday. UConn has two players that have reached base in at least 30-consecutive games. Mike Woodworth (30) and Anthony Prato (39) both extended their streaks on Wednesday. Christian Fedko has drawn a conference-high 33 walks this year, which ranks 14th nationally. The Huskies have won six of their last 10 games and are set to host Memphis (16-14, 3-3) for a three-game conference series starting Friday.
Memphis returns to conference play after sweeping a Saturday doubleheader against Southern to clinch its fifth series of the season. The Tigers won via walk-off in a 12-inning 14-12 slugfest before using a pair of five-inning surges to win 10-1 in eight innings in the series finale. Freshman Hunter Goodman ranks third in The American with 36 RBIs, while lefthander Hunter Smith is second in the league in strikeouts with 54.
UCF improved to 9-0 in midweek games this year after using a late rally to push past Jacksonville 8-2 on the road Tuesday. Tyler Osik capped the scoring for the Knights with a grand slam in the top of the ninth. UCF took two of three against USF (15-16, 2-7) last weekend to pick up its first American series win of the season. The Knights return to American play this weekend when they hit the road for a three-game series at Cincinnati starting Friday. Righthander Chris Williams enters the weekend ranked second in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio and walks allowed per nine innings.
Cincinnati defeated crosstown rival Xavier 2-1 Tuesday, but fell to Miami (Ohio) 12-8 in 11 innings in the Joe Nuxhall Classic Championship Wednesday. Cincinnati rallied for four runs in the eighth inning to bring the contest to extra innings, but the Redhawks scored four runs in the 11th frame to clinch the tournament title. Four Bearcats had at least three hits on Wednesday, as Joey Bellini went 4-for-6. AJ Bumpass went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, three RBIs and two triples. Joey Wiemer and Eric Santiago also had three-hit showings. The Bearcats took two of three games on the road at then-No. 22 UConn last weekend to move into third place (with UConn) in American standings.
USF used an eight-run surge in the fourth inning on the way to completing a season series sweep of Bethune-Cookman in Tampa Wednesday night. The Bulls tallied 12 hits and pummeled four home runs in the win. Jordan Santos (grand slam) and Chris Chatfield (two-run) each hit homers to power the fourth-inning surge. The Bulls look to clinch their first conference series of the year when they head to New Orleans this weekend to face Tulane in a three-game set.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Friday, April 12
Memphis at UConn* - 3 p.m.
UCF at Cincinnati* - 6 p.m.
Houston at Wichita State* - 7 p.m.
USF at Tulane* - 7:30 p.m.
ECU at UCLA - 9 p.m.
Saturday, April 13
Memphis at UConn* - 1 p.m.
Houston at Wichita State* - 3 p.m.
USF at Tulane* - 3 p.m.
UCF at Cincinnati* - 4 p.m.
ECU at UCLA - 5 p.m.
ECU at UCLA - 9 p.m.
Sunday, April 14
UCF at Cincinnati* - 1 p.m.
Memphis at UConn* - 1 p.m.
Houston at Wichita State* - 1 p.m.
USF at Tulane* - 2 p.m.
All times Eastern and subject to change
*Denotes conference game