STATISTICS
Sunday, May 5 Results:
Highlights:
Three teams captured a series, while No. 8 ECU and Houston completed weekend sweeps on Sunday. Memphis swept a doubleheader against USF, while UCF came out on top in its rubber game at Tulane. With only two weeks left of the regular season, ECU remains locked in first place to lead The American with a 16-2 conference record—five and a half games ahead of second-place Tulane (10-7 The American).
No. 8 ECU 6, Cincinnati 2
Tyler Smith struck out a career-high eight batters, while Spencer Brickhouse and Alec Burleson each collected three hits, helping No. 8 ECU to an American series sweep at Cincinnati, 6-2, Sunday afternoon. Trailing 2-0 in the fifth inning, ECU erupted for six runs on four hits, taking a 6-2 lead. Ryder Giles' sac fly scored Turner Brown for the first run. Lane Hoover (RBI single), Brickhouse (two-run RBI single) and Burleson (two-run home run) also drove in runs during that span.
Cincinnati jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Cole Murphy's RBI single in the second. Wyatt Stapp's RBI double extended the Bearcats' lead to 2-0 in the third frame. Offensively, the Pirates pounded out 11 hits improving to 23-1 when tallying double-digit base knocks in a game.
Houston 9, UNLV 2
Houston completed a nonconference series sweep of UNLV with a 9-2 victory. Jared Triolo went 5-for-5 with five RBIs, a double and a home run. With the win, Houston has won seven of its last 10. Ten Houston batters had at least one hit with four players registering multi-hit showings. Kobe Hyland went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and a double. Houston starter Clay Aguilar tossed 5.2 innings, fanning four while allowing two runs on six hits to earn the win. Sean Bretz (1.1 IP) and Fred Villarreal (2.0 IP) were lights out in relief, combining for the final 3.1 shutout innings, scattering only two walks and a hit.
Memphis 1, USF 0 | Memphis 9, USF 3
Memphis clinched its sixth series win of the season behind its fourth doubleheader sweep of the year against USF Sunday afternoon at FedExPark. The Tigers posted a 1-0 win in a seven-inning contest to start the day before sealing the series with a 9-3 victory in Game 2.
Chris Durham highlighted Game 1 of the day, surrendering just three hits across 6.2 shutout innings. The redshirt junior struck out seven USF hitters to move to 4-2 on the mound. Colton Neel sealed the win with his ninth save of the season. USF also saw a solid start from starter Collin Sullivan who went six innings with three strikeouts. Hunter Goodman broke the duel with a solo home run (his 10th long ball of the year) in the bottom of the fifth to provide the game's lone run.
Tied 3-3 in the eighth inning of Game 2, Memphis plated six runs in the frame to build a 9-3 advantage. Alec Trela highlighted the inning with a two-run home run to break the stalemate. At the dish, Nick Vaage and Goodman tallied four hits on the day. Goodman also added five RBIs, while Vaage and Trela combined to drive in five more runs. Jake Sullivan, Kyle Phillips, Tyler Dietrich and Julio Cortez all had two hits in the second game for the Bulls.
UCF 5, Tulane 2
A four-run eighth inning capped by Brandon Hernandez’s two-run RBI single lifted UCF to a 5-2 win at Tulane to clinch a key road series. The Knights saw a solid outing from starter Jordan Spicer who struck out nine in 6.0 innings of work. David Litchfield earned the win in relief after tossing a scoreless seventh inning, scattering only one walk. Garrett Westberg pitched the final 2.0 shutout innings for the knights and picked up his second save of the year with a pair of punch outs. Matthew Mika led a trio of UCF batters with multiple hits, going 3-for-4 with a double. Five different Knights scored a run, while seven had at least one base knock.
Tulane starter Chase Solesky also tossed a gem, striking out 10 in six innings, while surrendering only one run on six hits and two walks for the no decision. Tulane was held to eight hits with Luke Glancy going 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a double. Sal Gozzo plated the other run for the Green Wave with an RBI double in the seventh inning. UCF stranded 10 Tulane base runners, while the Green Wave’s defense stranded 11 Kngihts on base.