STATISTICS
Saturday, April 27 Results:
Highlights:
No. 11 ECU and Cincinnati both jumped out to early leads on the way to clinching American series, while UConn, Houston and Memphis also posted Saturday wins to force a trio of Sunday rubber matches. Sunday’s action begins at Noon ET.
Cincinnati 11, Wichita State 9
Cincinnati outlasted Wichita State 11-9 to clinch its fourth American series of the season. After the game was delayed an hour and 45 minutes due to rain, the teams combined for 16 runs in the first two frames. Cincinnati’s Clayton Colvin earned the win after 3.2 innings in relief with two earned runs, four hits, one walk and a career-high seven strikeouts. Korren Thompson earned his seventh save with one hit and one strikeout in the ninth. Joey Wiemer and Eric Santiago both went 3-for-5 for the Bearcats in the contest. Santiago hit a double with two runs scored and an RBI, while Wiemer drove in a pair of runs. A.J. Bumpass led the team with three RBIs on a home run and finished 2-for-4 at the plate.
Jordan Boyer belted two home runs to lead Wichita State at the dish. He finished the game with three hits, four RBIs and two runs scored, while Paxton Wallace hit a solo homer to left-center in the top of the fifth. The series finale is set for Noon ET Sunday.
UConn 9, Sam Houston State 4
UConn evened its series at Sam Houston State with a 9-4 victory on Saturday afternoon at Don Sanders Stadium. Anthony Prato (1-1) reached five times with a single and four walks while also adding a pair of stolen bases. Kyler Fedko (2-4), John Toppa (2-4) and Mike Woodworth (2-5) each collected multi-hit efforts and Christian Fedko (1-3) drove in a pair of runs for the Huskies. CJ Dandeneau and Caleb Wurster locked down the 26th victory of the year with four combined shutout innings. Starter Jeff Kersten set the tone for the Huskies with five solid innings of work. The Huskies forced a rubber game on Sunday at Noon ET.
No. 11 ECU 8, Tulane 2
Jake Kuchmaner allowed two runs over 8.1 innings, while Seth Caddell and Bryant Packard each registered three hit as No. 11 ECU clinched an American series win over Tulane, 8-2, Saturday afternoon inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win, the Pirates improve to 33-10 on the season and 13-1 in league play, while extending their current winning streak to eight games and its home streak to 14 contests. ECU struck for six runs over the first three innings before Tulane got on the board in the fourth.
Packard extended his on-base streak to 22 games leading off the contest with a single. Kuchmaner (4-1) allowed two runs on six hits while walking a pair and fanning six. The lefty struck out at least one batter in five frames and tallied a pair of punch outs in the eighth inning. ECU pounded out 11 hits. Spencer Brickhouse drove in two runs. Kody Hoese (three) and Jonathon Artigues (two) combined for five of the Green Wave’s seven hits in the game. The two clubs meet for the series finale Sunday at Noon.
Memphis 12, UCF 7
Memphis used a late 10-run offensive burst on the way to evening its weekend series at UCF behind a 12-7 victory Saturday night at John Euliano Park. Tied 2-2 through the sixth inning, Memphis plated six runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to force a rubber match on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The Tigers collected a season-high 18 hits. All seven hitters who recorded a hit had multiple-hit nights. All four Tigers who tallied an RBI each recorded at least a pair. Kyle Ouellette was 3-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored. Entering the month of April with a .203 average, Ouellette has raised his average to .318. Ben Brooks, Colton Neel and Alec Trela each went 3-for-5 at the dish. Trela also added three RBIs—his second multi-RBI effort of the weekend. Memphis starter Chris Durham registered his fourth quality start of the season, fanning five UCF batters in six innings.
UCF starter Chris Williams dealt a season-high eight strikeouts through six innings without allowing a walk. Anthony George went 3-for-4 with a homer and two runs scored to lead the Knights’ offense. Dallas Beaver went 3-for-5 with a run scored.
Houston 7, USF 1
Houston avenged its series-opening loss with a 7-1 victory over USF on Saturday night at USF Baseball Stadium. The Cougars tallied four runs through the first five frames, keeping the Bulls off the board until the sixth inning. Brad Burckel led all players, finishing a single shy of the cycle in a 3-for-4 effort with three RBIs and three runs scored. Southpaw Clay Aguilar picked up his fifth win of the season after holding the Bulls to one run on four hits across 6.2 innings. He walked three and struck out five. Closer Fred Villarreal tossed the final 2.1 innings, scattering two hits and recording one strikeout. Joe Genord and Chris Chatfield each registered two hits to lead USF. Sunday’s rubber game is set for a 1 p.m. ET first pitch in Tampa.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Sunday, April 28
Wichita State at Cincinnati* - Noon
UConn at Sam Houston State - Noon
Tulane at ECU* - 1 p.m.
Houston at USF* - 1 p.m.
Memphis at UCF* - 1 p.m.
All times Eastern and subject to change
*Denotes conference game