STATISTICS
Saturday, April 20 Results:
No. 12 ECU 5, UConn 2 (7) | No. 12 ECU 9, UConn 7
No. 12 ECU completed a weekend series sweep of UConn after winning both games of a twin bill Saturday. The Pirates improved to 11-1 to lead The American, defeating the Huskies 5-2 in Game 1 before closing the set with a 9-7 victory.
Spencer Brickhouse hit a pair of home runs and drove in five, while Alec Burleson collected three hits. Down by two in the first game of the doubleheader, ECU rallied for three runs, using a pair of walks and a sac fly to take the lead. The Pirates added two runs in the sixth capping the scoring at 5-2. Burleson led ECU's seven-hit attack going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Trey Benton (4-0) got the win after tossing 1.2 scoreless frames where he allowed a hit and struck out one in relief.
Trailing 2-0 in the third inning of the second game, ECU scored three runs in the home half of the stanza, taking a 3-2 lead and never looked back. Brickhouse blasted a three-run home run to right field in the third inning, clearing the bases for his 10th round-tripper of the year. Brickhouse led the Pirates offensively going 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and five RBIs, while Jake Washer added two hits and scored a couple runs. John Toppa led the Huskies going 3-for-5 with a run scored.
Houston 8, Cincinnati 4
Houston won a Saturday rubber match 8-4, defeating Cincinnati to secure the weekend series. The Cougars have won seven of their last 10 games, as the weekend series pushed them into third place in American standings alongside Cincinnati with an 8-7 league record.
Jared Triolo led Houston’s offense with a 3-for-4 showing, three RBIs and a double. Tyler Bielamowicz added two hits and two RBIs, while Grayson Padgett chipped in with a pair of hits.
For a second-straight game, the Bearcats outhit the Cougars (11-8) in a loss. Cincinnati’s A.J. Bumpass hit his 14th-career triple to set an all-time American record. He ended the day with two hits, including his triple and a double, driving in two runs. Wyatt Stapp led three Bearcats with multiple hits, going 4-for-5. Devin Roedahl earned the win for the Cougars, pitching 1.2 innings in relief, striking out three batters. Sean Bretz tossed the final 0.2 innings to earn the save.
Wichita State 6, UCF 4
UCF completed an 11-3 win through the final three innings from Friday’s suspended game to even the series in the morning, but Wichita State battled back in the rubber match to clinch the set with a 6-4 series finale win. After playing seven innings on Friday, the second game of a three-game set was suspended to Saturday, due to an issue with Wichita State’s lighting system. The game was halted with UCF leading 10-2 after Matthew Mika’s seventh-inning grand slam. UCF’s Luis Ferrer took the mound to close things outs Saturday morning. The lefty gave the Knights a trio of quality innings to save the bullpen for the series finale. Dalton Wingo added a run in the eighth with a solo home run to left center.
In the second game of the day, eight different Shockers picked up at least one hit, with Alex Jackson leading the way, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jordan Boyer and Jack Sigrist each drove in two runs in the winning effort. Boyer, Paxton Wallace, Jacob Katzfey and Garrett Kocis all had a double in the game. All of UCF's runs in the second game were via home runs, with Mika hitting a solo shot in the first, Griffin Bernardo hitting a two-run home run in the second, and Dalton Wingo hitting a solo homer in the sixth.
Memphis 11, Tulane 8 (7) | Tulane 20 Memphis 5 (7)
Memphis and Tulane split a doubleheader Saturday in a pair of seven-inning games. The Tigers won the series opener 11-8 before Tulane exploded for 20 runs on 20 hits in a 20-5 runs-rule win in Game 2. The Green Wave’s 20 hits ties the most recorded in a game all season, as USF registered 20 hits against Florida Gulf Coast on April 2. Due to inclement weather, the two teams only played twice this weekend. Tulane held onto its second-place spot in American standings, ending the weekend with an 8-3 conference record.
Memphis rallied for seven runs in the second inning on the way to winning the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Kyle Ouellette, Jason Santana, Ben Brooks, Hunter Goodman and Cale Hennemann each drove in runs during the Tigers’ early surge. Nick Vaage’s two-run RBI single in the fourth inning ended up being the difference, as he brought home the game-winning runs. Vaage, Hennemann and Colton Neel all ended the game with a pair of hits and two RBIs. Neel also picked up his seventh save of the season, tossing a clean ninth inning with two punch outs. Hudson Haskin led Tulane at the plate in Game 1 with three hits and two RBIs. Kody Hoese hit his nation-leading 20th home run of the season, becoming the first player in conference history to hit 20 homers in a year.
Tulane’s offense answered in Game 2, erupting for 20 runs on 20 hits. The Green Wave has had double-digit runs in 14 games this season and double-digit hits 23 times. It marked the third time on the season Tulane has scored 20 or more runs. Eight Tulane batters had multiple hits, including Trevor Jensen, Hoese, Haskin and Grant Mathews who each registered a trio of hits. Hoese and Jensen both added three RBIs, while Mathews hit two long balls and drove home six runs. Nine of the Green Wave’s 20 hits went for extra bases. Tulane scored at least once in six of the seven innings, including nine runs in the fifth and six in the sixth frame. Neel continued to have a solid day at the dish for Memphis, finishing the game with a 2-for-4 performance, two RBIs, a home run and a double.
USF 7, The Citadel 2 | USF 12, The Citadel 9
USF totaled 19 runs on 22 hits to sweep Saturday's doubleheader and complete the weekend sweep over The Citadel, winning 7-2 and 12-9. USF has swept three series this season. The Bulls tallied 12 hits in Game 1 and 10 in Game 2, reaching double-digit hits 14 times this season. Six Bulls had a multi-hit day between the two games. Senior Joe Genord tallied nine RBIs on the day and 12 throughout the week.
The Bulls trailed the Bulldogs in the first game, 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third. USF got one back, then erupted for six runs on six hits in the fourth, capped by a three-run homer from Genord.
In the second game, USF faced a pair of six-run deficits. The Citadel plated six in the first. USF got a pair back in the bottom half, but the Bulldogs answered with two more in the third. Trailing, 8-3, the Bulls again scored six in the fourth to take a 9-8 edge. Genord matched a career high with six RBIs in the second game. He went 3-for-5 with two doubles. Kyle Phillips scored a career-best four runs