Cincinnati scored a conference season-high 22 runs in American Athletic Conference baseball action on Saturday, March 20.

March 20, 2021
UCF 12, Jacksonville 9 - Box Score
Cincinnati 22, Xavier 7 - Box Score
No. 9 East Carolina 11, Illinois State 5 - Box Score
Wichita State 11, Stetson 8 - Box Score
USF 4, Florida Atlantic 0 - Box Score
Middle Tennessee 8, Memphis 2 (Game 1) - Box Score
Memphis 1, Middle Tennessee 0 (Game 2) - Box Score
Oklahoma 19, Houston 1 - Box Score
Louisiana Tech 4, Tulane 0 - Box Score

UCF 12, Jacksonville 9 - Box Score
Jacksonville, Fla. – In game two of the weekend series with Jacksonville, the Knights picked up their eighth win of the year as they topped the Dolphins on Saturday, 12-9.
 
The Knights jumped out to an early lead in the second, plating the first run of the game on an error. Jacksonville gained the lead in the bottom half of the inning with three runs of their own to make the game 3-1; but it would be the last lead of the night for the Dolphins.
 
Jordan Rathbone hit a two-run home run to bring the Knights even with Jacksonville, 3-3 in the third inning, before smacking a bases loaded triple in the fourth to put UCF on top, 6-3. Connor Allen picked up the big hit in the fifth with his second home run of the year, this time a three-run shot.

Cincinnati 22, Xavier 7 - Box Score
CINCINNATI – A day after it mustered only three hits, the University of Cincinnati baseball team responded by pelting Xavier for 22 runs on 20 hits in a 22-7 win at Hayden Field.
 
The Bearcats (7-8) belted a season-high five home runs while drawing a season high 11 walks. Cole Harting (2), Tanner Holen (1), Paul Komistek (1) and Jace Mercer (1) all hit round trippers on the day.
 
Harting had the best day of his young career as the freshman went 6-for-6 with two home runs, five RBIs and a double. He tied the school record for hits in a game, the sixth player in program history to accomplish the feat and the first since Logan Parker had six against West Virginia on May 13, 2006.
 
Xavier fell to 4-7 on the year as UC evened the four-game series at one win apiece.
 
Cincinnati broke open a 3-3 game with four runs in the fourth, two in the fifth, six in the sixth, five in the seventh and two in the eighth. It was UC's first 20-run game since scoring 22 against UConn on May 26, 2019 in the American Athletic Conference Championship and first game with 20 or more hits since 21 against Northwestern on March 21, 2016.

No. 9 East Carolina 11, Illinois State 5 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Garrett Saylor tossed a career-high four scoreless innings and the No. 9 East Carolina offense pounded out 11 hits in an 11-5 series-clinching win over Illinois State Saturday at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the win the Pirates improve to 15-3 overall, while the Redbirds fall to 5-11.
 
Trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, ECU scored three runs to take its first lead of the game, 6-5, and would go on and scoring three more in the seventh and two in the eighth. Thomas Francisco and Josh Moylan drew consecutive walks to start the stanza and moved up on a wild pitch. Alec Makarewicz plated them both with his second hit of the day, a two-run double to right-center tying the game at five-all. With two away in the frame, Zach Agnos laced a single to center plating Makarewicz for the go-ahead run.
 
Saylor (1-0) allowed just one base runner to reach via a walk and struck out five getting a pair in the sixth and eighth frames. Starter Jake Kuchmaner gave up five runs (three earned) on nine hits with a walk in five-plus innings.

Wichita State 11, Stetson 8 - Box Score
DELAND, Fla. – The Wichita State baseball team outscored Stetson 6-0 in the final three innings to erase an early five-run deficit and down the Hatters, 11-8, on a rainy Saturday, March 20, at Melching Field.
 
Garrett Kocis continued his red-hot performance at the plate, going a blistering 4-for-5 with a double and triple and drove in two runs to lead the Shockers.
 
Ross Cadena added a trio of hits, including a double, while Corrigan Bartlett batted in three runs, and freshman Chuck Ingram belted his first collegiate home run.
 
Reliever Ryan Stuempfig (3-0) earned the victory on the mound for WSU after giving up three runs – two earned – on two hits in 2 1/3 innings, and Aaron Haase secured his fourth save of 2021 after throwing 1 2/3 hitless and scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts.

USF 4, Florida Atlantic 0 - Box Score
TAMPA – The USF Bulls (8-8) returned to the win column Saturday night with a 4-0 victory over Florida Atlantic (10-7) thanks to a stellar starting pitching performance by redshirt senior Dylan Burns.
 
Burns and Baron Stuart combined on a two-hit shutout against the Owls. Carmine Lane launched a first inning home run which proved to be plenty of offense in the ballgame for USF.
 
In his first start of the season, Burns (1-2) allowed just two hits and walked two batters while striking out six over 7.0 IP. The right-hander retired the first 11 batters he faced on the night before issuing a walk in the fourth inning. FAU broke up Burns' no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the fifth, but the veteran pitcher navigated the frame without allowing a run.
 
Lane gave Burns all the offensive cushion he would need in the bottom of the first, launching a two-out two-run homer into left field for his second longball of the season.

Middle Tennessee 8, Memphis 2 (Game 1) - Box Score
Memphis 1, Middle Tennessee 0 (Game 2) - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – For the second consecutive day, the Memphis Tigers picked up a 1-0 shutout victory over the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. The Tigers (8-8) earned a split in Saturday's doubleheader with the shutout win after they fell 8-2 to the Blue Raiders in the first game of the day.
 
Memphis' dominance in Friday night's series opener didn't carry into the first game on Saturday. After a 1-0 shutout win for Memphis that opened the series, the Blue Raiders (11-7) got on the board in the first frame against Jackson Cothren (L, 1-2). JT Mabry drew a one-out walk while Cole Escher followed with a single. After a failed pickoff attempt put runners at second and third with one out, DJ Wright gave the Blue Raiders the 1-0 lead with an RBI groundout.
 
Cothren ran into trouble in the third, as eight Blue Raiders came to the plate. Fausto Lopez led off the inning with a home run, while Mabry and Escher followed with hits. Jake Hagenow's sacrifice fly made it 3-0, while Bryce Symlar followed with an RBI single that gave the Blue Raiders a 4-0 lead. Brett Coker then connected with a home run, Middle Tennessee State's long ball of the inning, which made it 6-0. Cothren allowed six runs, but only two earned, as the Tigers committed a pair of early errors.
 
After the Blue Raiders pushed the lead to 8-0 with two runs in the fourth against Reed Harding, Memphis managed to crack the scoreboard against Peyton Wigginton (W, 2-1) in the bottom of the fourth. Alec Trela drew a two-out walk, while Taylor Howell followed with a two-run home run. The next two Memphis batters reached base, but Wigginton escaped without any further damage. The Blue Raiders led 8-2 after four innings, the eventual final.
 
The back half of the doubleheader went nearly to the script of Friday night's victory for the Tigers. A dominant starting pitching performance from Chris Durham (W, 1-1) paired with a solo home run from Hunter Goodman earned the Tigers the doubleheader split. Durham allowed five hits and struck out six over 6.1 innings, while Goodman's first inning home run off of Zach Keenan (L, 2-1) ended up as the decisive swing.
 
Keenan faced just three over the minimum in the complete game loss, while Bailey Wimberley (SV, 3) entered for Durham and the Tigers with two on and one out in the seventh. Wimberley caught both Josh Baker and Brian Dillingham looking, as he secured Memphis' 1-0 win.

Oklahoma 19, Houston 1 - Box Score
NORMAN, Okla. – Houston Baseball had no answer for Oklahoma's offensive explosion, dropping Saturday's middle game, 19-1 from L. Dale Mitchell Park.
 
The Sooners (11-7) scored in four consecutive frames including sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six runs in the fifth. All nine Oklahoma starters recorded at least one hit and three Sooners produced four RBIs, sending Houston to the series loss.
 
Houston starting pitchers have lasted less than 5.0 innings in six consecutive games not started by Robert Gasser. Cameron Prayer (0-2) permitted seven runs on eight hits while walking a pair and striking out another in 3.1 innings.

Louisiana Tech 4, Tulane 0 - Box Score
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University baseball team (9-9) lost 4-0 to Louisiana Tech (12-5) on Saturday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium.
 
Tulane pitchers kept the game close, but for the second game in a row, the bats were silenced by Louisiana Tech's arms.
 
Senior righty Trent Johnson (1-2) started for the Green Wave for the second time this season and allowed one run on two hits and struck out three over four innings.
 
Junior right-hander Ryan Jennings (2-1) took the mound for the Bulldogs and tossed a two-hit shutout. Jennings struck out six and walked two.