Championship Central
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Rightfielder A.J. Bumpass went 4-for-4, scored three runs and had two RBIs to lead No. 2-seeded Cincinnati to an 11-6 win against No. 7-seeded Memphis Tuesday evening in a first-round game of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve at Spectrum Field.
Cincinnati (27-29) advances in the winners’ bracket, where the Bearcats will face either UCF or Tulane Thursday night. Memphis (27-27) will play the UCF-Tulane loser in an elimination game Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.
Tuesday’s win was Cincinnati’s first victory in an American Athletic Conference Championship game since the formation of the league, snapping a 10-game slide in the tournament and a 17-game skid in conference tournaments. It was the Bearcats’ first win in a conference tournament since a 13-2 victory against USF May 23, 2008, in the semifinal round of the Big East Championship.
Bumpass’ two-run triple to the right-center power alley in the fifth inning gave Cincinnati the lead for good as part of a six-run outburst that effectively put the game away. Bumpass made it 6-4 with his three-base hit before Jeremy Johnson drove him home with an RBI single. Wyatt Stapp added a two-run single to right in his second at bat of the fifth inning to give the Bearcats a 9-4 cushion.
Cincinnati added two more in the bottom of the sixth on RBIs from the bottom two hitters in the order. Johnson’s base hit to center pushed the Bearcats’ lead to 11-4 after six innings.
Memphis got two back in the top of the eighth, including an RBI single by Alec Trela. But Bearcat reliever AJ Kullman finished a three-inning save with a strikeout in the bottom of the ninth to end it.
David Orndorff earned the win for Cincinnati, improving to 5-2 after he allowed four runs and five hits with three strikeouts and three walks in 6.0 innings. Chris Durham took the loss for Memphis, falling to 4-4.
Jace Mercer went 3-for-4 and scored three runs, joining Bumpass to provide seven of Cincinnati’s 13 hits and six of the 11 runs scored.
Trela was 2-for-2 with two RBIs for Memphis, while Colton Neel was 2-for-4 with a home run.
2019 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship
Spectrum Field · Clearwater, Fla.
Tuesday, May 21 | American Digital Network
Game 1: No. 4 seed UConn 4, No. 5 seed Houston 3
Game 2: No. 8 seed Wichita State 6, No. 1 seed ECU 2
Game 3: No. 2 Cincinnati 11, No. 7 seed Memphis 6
Game 4: No. 6 seed UCF vs. No. 3 seed Tulane | 47 minutes following Game 3
Wednesday, May 22 | American Digital Network
Game 5: ECU vs. Houston | 3 p.m. ET
Game 6: Memphis vs. Loser of Game 4 | 47 minutes following Game 5
Thursday, May 23 | American Digital Network
Game 7: UConn vs. Wichita State | 3 p.m. ET
Game 8: Cincinnati vs. Winner of Game 4 | 47 minutes following Game 7
Friday, May 24 | American Digital Network
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5 | 3 p.m. ET
Game 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6 | 47 minutes following Game 9
Saturday, May 25 | American Digital Network
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 | 10 a.m. ET
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 47 minutes following Game 11
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 26 | Championship | ESPNews
Game 15: Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner | Noon ET