STATISTICS
Thursday, May 16 Results:
Highlights:
Houston senior first baseman Joe Davis and ECU junior lefthander Jake Agnos each set an American record Thursday night, as the conference’s baseball teams began their final weekend series of the regular season. UCF, UConn, No. 6 ECU, and Wichita State each opened their series with a win. The action continues Friday night.
UCF 8, Houston 0
UCF blanked Houston 8-0 in Game 1 of the two teams’ American series finale behind an eight-inning performance from starter Grant Schuermann. Schermann scattered two walks and four hits and fanned five in his scoreless outing. Luis Ferrer preserved the shutout, striking out the side in a clean ninth. UCF pushed three runs across in the second inning and two in the sixth before Dallas Beaver capped the scoring with a three-run shot in the seventh. Tyler Osik led the Knights with two hits. Houston was plagued by four errors on the night.
The Cougars were led by Joe Davis at the plate with a pair of hits, including his 52nd-career double, setting an American career record. He owns the league’s all-time career records in hits, RBIs, home runs, doubles, total bases and RBIs per game. Lael Lockhart Jr. struck out seven through 5.1 innings but gave up two earned runs and took the loss. Game 2 is set for Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
No. 6 ECU 19, Memphis 10
No. 6 ECU tied an American Athletic Conference record, securing 19 wins in conference play, in a 19-10 win over Memphis. The Pirates will look to set the league’s wins record and seal all eight American series this season Friday night. Starter Jake Agnos struck out 10 through the first five shutout innings and set a conference single-season record with 124 strikeouts on the year. The southpaw surrendered three hits and three walks in and earned his eighth win of the season. ECU scored 13 runs in the first three innings, capped by a nine-run third inning. Memphis struck for 10 runs in the final four frames, as the Pirates held off the Tiger’s late rally. Ten ECU batters had a hit, as Turner Brown, Alec Burleson, Jake Washer and Thomas Francisco all had multi-hit showings, combining for nine hits, nine runs and 11 RBIs. Six of the Pirates’ 15 hits went for extra bases.
Four Tigers had multi-hit outings, as Payton Marshall and Ben Brooks each totaled three hits, combining to drive in six runs. Cale Hennemann went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Wichita State 7, USF 6
Wichita State held on for a 7-6 win, as the Shockers took Game 1 of a key series at USF on the road. Wichita State is a win away from securing the final bid to The American Baseball Championship in Clearwater, Fla., from May 21-26. After three scoreless innings, Wichita State tallied seven runs through the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Senior starter Clayton McGinness tied a career-high with eight strikeouts in seven innings, scattering two earned runs. Mitchell Walters struck out three in the final 1.1 scoreless innings and earned the win. Jordan Boyer went 4-for-6 out of the leadoff spot for the Shockers, while Paxton Wallace hit a grand slam in the fifth inning.
Kyle Phillips drove in three, while Tyler Dietrich went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored to lead USF at the dish. The Bulls rallied for four runs in the eighth but left nine base runners stranded on the night. Game 2 of this critical series will be played at 7 p.m. ET in Tampa, Fla., on Friday.
UConn 8, Tulane 5
UConn freshman Pat Winkel drove in seven runs and registered four hits, as the Huskies rallied past Tulane on the road in Game 1 Thursday night. The UConn rookie added a double and a homer to his line to end the night. John Toppa had three hits out of the leadoff spot, while UConn starter Mason Feole recorded six punch outs through the first 6.0 frames to earn his third win of the season. Jacob Wallace closed the door, striking out two in the final 1.1 innings, collecting his conference-leading 14th save of the year. Seven Huskies scored a run in the victory. UConn tallied three in the fifth and pushed four more across in the seventh.
Four different Tulane batters drove in a run, as Grant Mathews had three hits to lead the Green Wave’s offense. Tulane’s bullpen was touched for seven runs on eight hits. The series continues Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Xavier 11, Cincinnati 2
Cincinnati dropped its series opener against crosstown rival Xavier 11-2. Wyatt Stapp, Joey Bellini and A.J. Bumpass each had two hits for the Bearcats. Nick Murray went 4.0 innings in relief with one run on three hits, no walks and five strikeouts. The Musketeers had back-to-back four-run innings to start the game and refused to look back from there. First pitch of Game 2 is set for 7 p.m. ET at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
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