STATISTICS
Saturday, May 18 Results:
Highlights:
UCF and Wichita State came out on top in Saturday rubber matches, as The American’s baseball teams closed the regular season. Memphis and Tulane joined the Knights and Shockers in winning their series finales. Up next, The American will host its baseball championship from May 21-26 in Clearwater, Fla. For more information, visit the conference’s
Championship Central page.
Memphis 10, No. 6 ECU 9
In its regular-season finale, Memphis held off No. 6 ECU 10-9 on Saturday afternoon at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Saturday's 10-9 victory captured the Tigers' highest-ranked win since defeating No. 4 Rice in the 2012 Conference USA Tournament. On the mound, Hunter Smith notched his fifth win of the season after throwing five innings and registering four strikeouts. Colton Neel earned his 10th save of the season in 1.2 innings of work. A pair of three-run home runs from Alec Trela and Hunter Goodman helped pace the Tigers offensively. Along with the duo's three-RBI efforts, Cale Hennemann added a multi-RBI day with two runs driven in on a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. ECU rallied to plate four unanswered runs across the final five frames, but the Tigers closed the door in the ninth with two aboard to seal the win. Memphis and ECU will return to action on Tuesday in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship.
Wichita State 7, USF 3
Wichita State took two of three in their final conference series against USF on the road to earn the conference’s last bid to the tournament. Tied at 3-3 in the top of the ninth, the Shockers pushed four runs across on the way to punching a ticket to Clearwater next week. The Shockers will face top-seeded and sixth-ranked ECU in the opening round of the tournament Tuesday. Senior Luke Ritter went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI, while classmate Mason O'Brien drove in two runs on his fourth home run of the season. Reliever Jacob Lindemann (1-0) earned the win on the mound for Wichita State after throwing two hitless innings and posting a career-high five strikeouts with just one walk. Jordan Santos went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, pacing the Bulls at the plate.
Tulane 8, UConn 6
Tulane got a seven-inning gem from Chase Solesky on the mound, while belting four home runs as a team in an 8-6 win over the UConn in the series finale. The Green Wave scored five runs over the course of the first three innings, getting three more in the sixth. UConn plated six runs over the final two innings. The Green Wave produced 11 hits in the win, paced by Grant Mathews who went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and a run scored. Hudson Haskin was 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Anthony Prato and David Langer each had two hits for the Huskies. Tulane will face UCF as the No. 3 seed, while UConn takes on Houston as the No. 4 seed to start The American tournament in Clearwater Tuesday.
UCF 11, Houston 10 (11)
Brandon Hernandez drove in the game-winning run in the 11th inning, as UCF walked off against Houston 11-10 to take the series in Saturday’s rubber match. Nine UCF batters had a hit with Hernandez ending the night with four RBIs. Dallas Beaver went 4-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Anthony George also had a multi-hit performance with a trio of hits. UCF scored seven runs in the first three innings. Luis Ferrer earned his second win of the year after tossing the final two scoreless innings. Both teams reached double-digit hits with the Knights leading 17-14. Jared Triolo, Brad Burckel and Grayson Padgett each had three hits for the Cougars.
Xavier 10, Cincinnati 2
Cincinnati dropped a 10-2 decision in a series finale against Xavier at Great American Ball Park in the last game of the regular season. Six Bearcats had a hit, as Eric Santiago and Cole Murphy each drove in a run. Cincinnati will be the No. 2 seed in The American Championship next week.
2019 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship
Spectrum Field · Clearwater, Fla.
Tuesday, May 21 | American Digital Network
Game 1: No. 5 seed Houston vs. No. 4 UConn seed | 9 a.m. ET
Game 2: No. 8 seed Wichita State vs. No. 1 seed ECU | 47 minutes following Game 1
Game 3: No. 7 seed Memphis vs. No. 2 seed Cincinnati | 4 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 6 seed UCF vs. No. 3 seed Tulane | 47 minutes following Game 3
Wednesday, May 22 | American Digital Network
Game 5: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 | 3 p.m. ET
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 | 47 minutes following Game 5
Thursday, May 23 | American Digital Network
Game 7: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 | 3 p.m. ET
Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 | 47 minutes following Game 7
Friday, May 24 | American Digital Network
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 5 | 3 p.m. ET
Game 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6 | 47 minutes following Game 9
Saturday, May 25 | American Digital Network
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 | 10 a.m. ET
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 47 minutes following Game 11
Game 13: Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 **if necessary | TBD
Game 14: Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 **if necessary | TBD
Sunday, May 26 | Championship | ESPNews
Game 15: Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner | Noon ET