Full Bracket
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – UConn survived an elimination game in the Oklahoma City Regional, defeating Harvard 10-2 to highlight three American Athletic Conference teams competing in the NCAA Baseball Championship on Saturday. Cincinnati fell in the winner’s bracket of the Corvallis Regional, while ECU dropped its tournament opener in the Greenville Regional. The Bearcats, Huskies and Pirates will all play elimination games Sunday for a chance to advance to their respective regional final.
UConn Recap | Box Score
WP: Simeone (2-1)
LP: Miller (3-4)
Highlights
Nine Huskies in the lineup had a hit, as UConn pounded out 17 and survived an elimination game with a 10-2 win over Harvard in the Oklahoma City Regional. UConn advances to take on Nebraska Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The Huskies are 8-5 in NCAA elimination games since 2010.
UConn set the tone early on, tying a season-high with seven runs scored on eight hits in the second inning (including six with two outs) and refused to look back from there. Six different Huskies drove in a run during the second-inning offensive surge, led by Michael Woodworth who posted a pair of RBIs with his third triple of the year. UConn also tacked on a run in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.
The Huskies combined for five extra base hits with three triples and two doubles on the day. Six players in the UConn lineup turned in multi-hit performances, as Anthony Prato and Thad Phillips both enjoyed three-hit outings. Chris Winkel went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Joe Simeone and Kenny Haus combined for 5.0 shutout innings on the mound for the Huskies, scattering one hit and one walk while fanning five Harvard batters. The Huskies have posted 36 hits in their two NCAA tournament games this season.
Cincinnati Recap | Box Score
WP: Criswell (7-1)
LP: Murray (3-2)
Highlights
Michigan rallied for nine runs in the final four innings, as Cincinnati fell 10-4 to the Wolverines in the winner’s bracket of the Corvallis Regional. Cincinnati will take on Creighton in an elimination game at 3 p.m. ET Sunday.
After Michigan’s Jordan Nwogu led off the game with a solo homer, Cincinnati tied it up in the bottom of the second with Jace Mercer sliding head first into home plate on a throw to first base from a dropped third strike. The Bearcats broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run RBI double from Eric Santiago, giving Cincinnati a 4-1 lead. However, the Bearcats were plagued by five Wolverine runs in the sixth and four more in the fourth.
Santiago and Mercer ended the night with multi-hit performances. Santiago increased his on-base streak to 22-straight games after going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Mercer went 3-for-3 with two runs scored.
For a second-straight night, Michigan received a strong performance from its starting pitcher. Jeff Criswell (7-1) went 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts, scattering three earned runs on eight hits. Cincinnati’s Nick Murray (3-2) gave up two runs in the sixth and was tabbed with the loss. Starter David Orndorff pitched 5.0 innings surrendering three earned runs on six hits.
ECU Recap | Box Score
WP: Enns (8-5)
LP: Voliva (5-4)
Highlights
Quinnipiac’s Liam Scafariello hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie, as ECU dropped a narrow 5-4 decision to Quinnipiac in the Pirates’ NCAA tournament opener in the Greenville Regional. The Pirates will host NC State in an elimination game Sunday at Noon ET.
After Quinnipiac took a 3-2 lead in the second inning, ECU tied the game with an RBI single from Thomas Francisco in the bottom of the fourth. The Bobcats looked to break the tie in the top of the sixth, but outfielder Alec Burleson snagged a fly ball in shallow right field and fired a strike to the plate to prevent a run. Quinnipiac pulled ahead for good in the top of the seventh with Scafariello making it a 5-3 game with his shot to left field.
The Bobcats got the bases loaded in the eighth before Burleson took the mound after playing the first seven innings in right field and struck out the side to strand three Quinnipiac base runners. ECU then took the momentum and made it a one-run game in the bottom of the eighth with Bryson Worrell sending a no-doubter over the left field wall. With two down in the top of the ninth, ECU’s Bryant Packard made a catch at the wall to prevent a big Bobcat hit. The Pirates got runners on in the bottom half of the final frame but couldn’t find the equalizer.
Packard went 3-for-5 to lead the Pirates at the plate, while Burleson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. On the mound, Burleson (2.0 IP) struck out four and scattered one hit. Evan Voliva (5-4) was tagged with the loss as he gave up two runs on one hit in an inning pitched. Quinnipiac’s Chris Enns (7-5) recorded the victory on the mound, working 6.2 strong innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits with a walk and six strikeouts.
2019 NCAA Baseball Championship
Greenville Regional | Greenville, N.C.
Friday, May 31
Game 1: No. 3 Campbell vs. No. 2 NC State.................Postponed
Game 2: No. 4 Quinnipiac at No. 1 ECU..........................Postponed
Saturday, June 1
Game 1: No. 3 Campbell 5, No. 2 NC State 4
Game 2: No. 4 Quinnipiac 5, No. 1 ECU 4
Sunday, June 2
Game 3: No. 2 NC State at No. 1 ECU..........................Noon
Game 4: No. 4 Quinnipiac vs. No. 3 Campbell..........................4 p.m.
Game 5: Elimination Game.....................8 p.m.
Monday, June 3
Game 6: Regional Final..................... TBD
Game 7: If Necessary Game..................... TBD
Corvallis Regional | Corvallis, Ore.
Friday, May 31
Game 1: No. 3 Michigan 6, No. 2 Creighton 0
Game 2: No. 4 Cincinnati 7, No. 1 Oregon State 6
Saturday, June 1
Game 3: No. 2 Creighton 4, No.1 Oregon State 1 (Oregon State Eliminated)
Game 4: No. 3 Michigan 10, No. 4 Cincinnati 4
Sunday, June 2
Game 5: No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 2 Creighton.....................3 p.m.
Game 6: Cincinnati/Creighton vs. No. 3 Michigan..................... 9 p.m.
Monday, June 3
Game 7: If Necessary Game..................... 10 p.m.
Oklahoma City Regional | Oklahoma City, Okla.
Friday, May 31
Game 1: No. 3 Nebraska 8, No. 2 UConn 5
Game 2: No. 1 Oklahoma State 2, Harvard 0
Saturday, June 1
Game 3: No. 2 UConn 10, No. 4 Harvard 2 (Harvard eliminated)
Game 4: No. 1 Oklahoma State 6, No. 3 Nebraska 5
Sunday, June 2
Game 5: No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Nebraska.....................1 p.m.
Game 6: UConn/Nebraska at No. 1 Oklahoma State..................... 6 p.m.
Monday, June 3
Game 7: If Necessary Game..................... 7 p.m.
All times Eastern