STATISTICS
Tuesday, May 14 Results:
Highlights:
American Athletic Conference baseball teams combined for a 6-1 record Tuesday night to close the conference’s midweek regular season slate. UCF, Cincinnati, UConn, No. 6 ECU, Tulane and Wichita State each defeated nonconference opponents to start the final week of the regular season on a high note. The American improved to 169-103 against nonconference opponents this season, as teams will play their final conference series this weekend.
Cincinnati 6, Northern Kentucky 5
Cincinnati defeated Northern Kentucky 6-5 on Tuesday in front of a record crowd of 3,860 fans. Cincinnati starter Garrett Schoenle earned the win after 5.0 innings with four runs, five hits, two walks and nine strikeouts. Closer Korren Thompson earned his 10th save of the season in the ninth. Mason DeAnna went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Griffin Merritt and Jace Mercer both chipped in with doubles. The Bearcats jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the third inning. After Northern Kentucky tied it in the fifth, Cincinnati rallied for a run in the bottom half of the fifth and sixth frames to take the lead for good. Cincinnati finishes the regular season with a three-game series against Xavier. The two teams will wrap up the series at Great American Ball Park Saturday night after the Reds take on the Dodgers.
UConn 5, Rhode Island 4
UConn held off Rhode Island, 5-4, to move to 31-21 on the season and finish 9-1 in Northeast midweek games. The victory was the 556th of head coach Jim Penders’ career, tying him with Andy Baylock for most all-time at UConn. The Huskies jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the strength of four hits in the top of the first. Pat Winkel opened the scoring with an RBI double. The Fedko brothers, Christian and Kyler, added RBI singles to extend the lead to three. John Toppa converted a key two-out RBI single in the sixth that ended up being the deciding run in the ballgame.
On the mound, Jimmy Wang logged 2.1 scoreless inning of work with one hit allowed and collected three strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. Jake Wallace converted his 13th save of the season with 1.1 scoreless frames for the Huskies. Up next, UConn heads into a critical American series this weekend in New Orleans against Tulane.
No. 6 ECU 4, Campbell 3
Tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Brady Lloyd’s squeeze bunt brought in the game-winning run, as No. 6 ECU walked off against Campbell, 4-3 Tuesday night. With the win, ECU became the fifth team in NCAA baseball to reach 40 wins this season. Chandler Jenkins' two-run homer in the sixth tied the game at 3-3. He led the Pirates’ offense with two hits. Bryson Worrell also homered, going yard in the third frame. Evan Voliva tossed the final 0.2 innings in relief and earned the win after Ryder Giles went 2.1 scoreless innings into the ninth. ECU plays its final American series against Memphis this weekend.
UCF 13, Florida Atlantic 10
Dalton Wingo tied an American record with three home runs, as UCF held off Florida Atlantic in a 13-10 win Tuesday night. UCF caps its midweek regular season slate with a 14-1 record, including wins over No. 3 Florida, No. 14 Florida State, No. 17 Miami (Fla.) and now Florida Atlantic (RV). Wingo ended the night 4-for-5 with six RBIs and three runs scored. He led five UCF batters with multiple hits, as the Knights pounded-out 17 on the night. The first five batters in the lineup combined for 13 hits, 13 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Eight of the Knights’ 13 hits went for extra bases, including five homers. Wingo, Dallas Beaver and Tyler Osik each hit a long ball. Garrett Westberg tossed the final 2.2 scoreless innings in relief, fanning three to earn the save. Osik’s three-run homer in the sixth inning lifted the Knights past the Owls for good. UCF welcomes Houston to John Euliano Park this weekend for its final regular season series of the season starting Thursday.
Wichita State 4, Oral Roberts 2
Alex Jackson and Ross Cadena both went 2-for-4, as Wichita State defeated Oral Roberts 4-2 on the road Tuesday night. Noah Croft brought home two in the second inning before the Shockers pushed another pair of runs across in the sixth with RBIs from Croft and Brady Slavens. The Shockers used eight arms from their pitching staff, as starter Tommy Barnhouse tossed three shutout innings, striking out three batters looking. Wichita State heads to Tampa, Fla., for its final American series at USF this weekend. The winner will earn the final bid to The American Baseball Championship.
Tulane 11, South Alabama 1 (7)
Tulane held South Alabama to two hits in an 11-1 seven-inning win in New Orleans Tuesday night. The Green Wave scored eight runs in the first three innings and pounded out 13 hits in the victory. All nine Tulane batters in the lineup had a hit, as Frankie Niemann went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and three runs to lead the conference’s top offense. Kobi Owen hit two home runs, driving in three runs, as six of the Green Wave’s 13 hits went for extra bases. Four players drove in multiple runs. Justin Campbell struck out five in 3.1 shutout innings, scattering a hit and a walk. Ryan Green earned the win in relief after striking out four through the final 2.0 clean innings. Tulane hosts UConn in its regular season series finale this weekend.
Rice 2, Houston 1
Rice scored a run in the third and fourth inning, as Houston took a 2-1 loss at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas, Tuesday night. Derrick Cherry went 3-for-3 and drew a pair of walks to lead the Cougars at the plate. Tyler Bielamowicz drove in the only run for Houston with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Brayson Hurdsman, Nolan Bond and Devon Roedahl combined for six shutout innings and four strikeouts, scattering two walks and two hits. Houston led 6-3 in hits and left 14 base runners stranded. The Cougars look to bounce back on the road in their final American series of the season at UCF this weekend.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 16
Houston at UCF - 6 p.m.*
Xavier at Cincinnati - 6 p.m.
Memphis at ECU - 6:30 p.m.*
Wichita State at USF - 7 p.m.*
UConn at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.*
Friday, May 17
Houston at UCF - 6 p.m.*
Xavier at Cincinnati - 6 p.m.
Memphis at ECU - 6:30 p.m.*
Wichita State at USF - 7 p.m.*
UConn at Tulane - 7:30 p.m.*
Saturday, May 18
Memphis at ECU - 1 p.m.*
Wichita State at USF - 1 p.m.*
UConn at Tulane - 2 p.m.*
Houston at UCF - 6 p.m.*
Cincinnati at Xavier - 7:30 p.m.
All times Eastern and are subject to change
* Denotes conference game