Championship Central
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Ross Cadena went 3-for-4 and drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth, while Brady Slavens hit a backbreaking three-run home run in the ninth as No. 8-seeded Wichita State stunned top-seeded ECU 6-2 Tuesday afternoon in a first-round game of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship presented by Air Force Reserve at Spectrum Field.
The Shockers advance in the winners’ bracket of the championship and will face No. 4-seeded UConn Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. The Pirates will meet No. 4-seeded Houston Wednesday at 3 p.m. in an elimination game.
The win for Wichita State marks the third consecutive season in which the No. 8 seed in the American Championship defeated the No. 1 seed in the opening game.
Paxton Wallace, who had led off the eighth with a double to left, scored from second on Cadena’s third hit of the day, beating the tag to put the Shockers ahead 2-1.
Wallace added an insurance run for the Shockers as he laced an RBI single to right, which brought David VanVooren in from third to make it 3-1. Slavens then broke it open as the freshman followed with his first career home run, a three-run shot to right that cleared the wall above the leap of Chandler Jenkins to make it 6-1.
ECU got one back in the bottom of the ninth on Jake Washer’s 11th home run of the season, and the Pirates got the tying run to the plate after they loaded the bases for Spencer Brickhouse. But Wichita State reliever Jacob Lindemann got Brickhouse to ground out to second to end the game, giving Lindemann his first save of the season
ECU had gained a 1-0 lead on Alec Burleson’s RBI double to left, which brought Brickhouse in from first. But the Shockers tied it in the top of the third as Jordan Boyer scored on Burleson’s wild pitch.
Burleson worked 6.0 innings and allowed one run on six hits while working through four walks. Clayton McGinness went 6.1 innings for Wichita State and allowed five hits and one run with three strikeouts and two walks. Alex Segal was credited with the win for the Shockers as he improved to 1-1 after he retired five of the six batters he faced. Gavin Williams took the loss for ECU, falling to 1-4.
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. 7 seed Memphis vs. No. 2 seed Cincinnati | 5:35 p.m. ET
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: Loser of Game 3 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: Winner of Game 3 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