Houston and Memphis' offenses were out in full force in American Athletic Conference baseball action on Friday, Feb. 25.

Friday, February 25
Houston 11, Texas Southern 4 - Box Score
Memphis 8, Brown 1 - Box Score
UCF 5, Georgia Southern 1 - Box Score
South Florida 3, Stony Brook 2 - Box Score
North Carolina 7, East Carolina 4 - Box Score
North Alabama 5, Cincinnati 2 - Box Score
Louisiana Tech 6, Tulane 1 - Box Score
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 5, Wichita State 3 - Box Score

Houston 11, Texas Southern 4 - Box Score
HOUSTON – Houston Baseball scored nine runs between the fifth and eighth innings, including four in the eighth en route to an 11-4 home-opening victory against Texas Southern on Friday night from Sanders Field at Schroeder Park. 
 
The Cougars (2-3) produced a season-high 12 hits with four players registered double-digit hits. Houston batted .429 (6-for-14), .400 with runners in scoring position (6-for-15) and .389 (7-for-18) with runners aboard.
 
In the seventh, Ian McMillan (3-for-4) produced an infield RBI-single before Brandon Uhse (1-for-2) added a a two-run double, breaking open a game that was deadlocked at two entering the fifth inning.
 
Reliever Colby Casey (1-0) earned the win in relief behind 2.0 hitless frames. Jaycob Deese locked up the save, tossing the final 4.0 frames, permitting two hits and two runs (one earned) with a career-high nine strikeouts.
 
The loss was the second of the day, and season for Texas Southern (6-2) who fell to UTRGV in the day's opener. The Tigers were limited to a .125 tilt (1-for-8) with runners in scoring position and managed just six hits on the night.
 
Starter Josiah Castro (1-1) drew the loss, permitting four runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. Houston batters taxed the Tigers for seven walks and produced a hit in six of eight innings.

Memphis 8, Brown 1 - Box Score
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – With first pitch temperatures hovering around freezing, the Memphis Tigers (3-1) defeated the Brown Bears (0-1) in Brown's first game in more than 700 days. RHP Connor Shamblin (W, 2-0) and RHP Landon Gartman (SV, 1) combined for 17 strikeouts, tied for the fourth most in a single game in program history, two shy of the program record 19, set vs. Evansville in 1999. Brown hadn't played an official game since March 8, 2020, as the Ivy League didn't play in 2021 due to Covid-19.
 
Memphis couldn't take advantage early against LHP Zach Fogell (L, 0-1), as the Tigers left the bases loaded in the first inning and failed to score with runners on second and third and no outs in the second frame. For the second straight outing, Shamblin gave up a first inning single but held the opposition hitless over the next five innings. The righty struck out 12 over his second straight six-shutout inning victory.

The Tigers got on the board in the third on an RBI double by 1B Jacob Compton, who later scored on a base hit by C Taylor Howell. An inning later, Compton connected on a massive three-run home run to right field, which put Memphis in front 6-0

UCF 5, Georgia Southern 1 - Box Score
STATESBORO, Ga. – David Litchfield pitched seven innings of four-hit baseball on Friday night in Statesboro, as the Knights defeated Georgia Southern 5-1 to improve to 5-0 on the year. Litchfield improves to 2-0 on the season, striking out four batters and allowing one run.
 
Georgia Southern opened the scoring in the first as Noah Ledford grounded out to shortstop to score Christian Avant. In the fifth, Gephry Pena would single to left field, scoring Lex Boedicker from third. Alex Freeland would ground out to first base to give UCF its first lead. 
 
Gephry Pena struck again, singling to right field to score Trent Taylor. Nick Romano was hit by a pitch later in the inning with the bases loaded to extend the Knights lead to 4-1, before Ben McCabe flied out to right field to score Pena. 
 
William Saxton entered the ballgame in the eighth and worked 1.1 innings in relief. He fanned two batters, before giving way to Ben Vespi in the ninth. Vespi recorded the final two outs, including striking out Corey Dowdell to end it. 

South Florida 3, Stony Brook 2 - Box Score
TAMPA – The University of South Florida Bulls (2-2) plated a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Friday night to complete a 3-2 comeback victory over Stony Brook University (1-3) at USF Baseball Stadium.

Trailing 2-1, Drew Brutcher and Ben Rozenblum recorded back-to-back singles to open the eighth and spark the South Florida rally. Carmine Lane walked to load the bases, but two straight strikeouts had the Seawolves on the verge of escaping the jam.

Keanu Jacobs-Guishard showed a patient eye in his two-out at-bat and drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game. Nelson Rivera followed suit with another free pass to push across the go-ahead run. Orion Kerkering entered in the top of the ninth and set the Seawolves down in order to record his first save of the season.

Jack Jasiak turned in his second quality start of the season – and 16th of his young career. The redshirt sophomore allowed two runs (one earned) on just three hits over 6.0 IP while striking out a season-high eight batters. Jasiak retired 13 straight Stony Brook batters from the end of the first through the fifth inning.

The Seawolves got to Jasiak for an unearned run in the top of the first, despite the right-hander striking out the side. Stony Brook tallied its second and final run in the top of the sixth inning to take a 2-0 lead.

The Bulls cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI-single by Lane. Brutcher and Rozenblum also singled in the inning ahead of the run-scoring hit. Joseph Sanchez picked up the win with a pair of stellar innings in relief. The senior southpaw struck out three batters and allowed just one hit over 2.0 IP.

North Carolina 7, East Carolina 4 - Box Score
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Mac Horvath and Alberto Osuna each drove in two runs giving North Carolina to a 7-4 series opening win over No. 25 East Carolina Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium. With the win the Tar Heels improve to 5-0 while the Pirates fell to 1-4.
 
UNC jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through three innings and held off late rallies by ECU for their fifth-straight win to open the 2022 campaign. Vance Honeycutt's leadoff home run in the first got the Tar Heels off to an early 1-0 lead. Osuna's solo blast to left field in the second added to their lead before they scored three more in the third. Osuna had a sac fly and with one out, Reece Holbrook plating Tomas Frick. They would add another run on an ECU wild pitch for the early five-run lead.
 
Brandon Schaeffer (2-0) earned the win surrendering one run (earned) on four hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Caden O'Brien notched his first save of the season getting one out in the ninth (strikeout) leaving Pirates stranded on the corners. In all, the Tar Heels used three arms to bridge the gap to O'Brien getting outings from Gage Gillian (1.1 IP, 1 R, 3 Ks), Kyle Mott (1.2 IP, 1 R, 4 Ks) and Shawn Rapp (0.2 IP, 1 R, 1 K).
 
Garrett Saylor (0-2) took the loss giving up four runs (all earned) on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 2.1 innings. ECU would use five arms in relief in Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman (0.2 IP, 1 H), Bradley Wilson (3.0 IP, 2 Ks), Merritt Beeker (0.1 IP, 1 R), Skylar Brooks (0.2 IP, 1 R) and Ben Terwilliger (1.0 IP, 2 Ks).
 
Bryson Worrell's first home run of the season, a two-run shot to straight away centerfield, put the Pirates on the board in the sixth cutting the lead to 5-2. Lane Hoover, who tallied a team-best four hits, reached for the third time in the game starting the stanza and chasing Schaeffer from the contest. On Gillian's first pitch offering with Hoover standing on first, Worrell crushed his 21st career home run.

North Alabama 5, Cincinnati 2 - Box Score
FLORENCE, Ala. -- Graduate pitcher Tristan Weaver had everything working on Friday, fanning nine North Alabama hitters over 4.1 innings of work, but it was not enough as the Bearcats fell to the Lions, 5-2.

In addition to his nine strikeouts, Weaver (1-1) threw 4.1 innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and walking one for Cincinnati (2-3).

Redshirt sophomore catcher Joe Powell led the way offensively for the Bearcats, going 1-for-2 in the ballgame with a double and two walks. Redshirt sophomore outfielder JP Sponseller furnished a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 0-for-2 with three walks and an RBI. Redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek also contributed, going 1-for-3 for Cincinnati with two walks.

The Bearcats were trailing 5-0 in the eighth inning when they first put runs on the board. Redshirt freshman infielder Kerrington Cross' run-scoring single highlighted a two-run inning for Cincinnati. The Bearcats were unable to get any closer, as neither team scored again in the ballgame.

Louisiana Tech 6, Tulane 1 - Box Score
RUSTON, La. -- Tulane dropped the first game of a 3-game series at Louisiana Tech, 6-1, Friday night.

Jonathan Fincher (2-0) earned the win for La Tech (5-0), throwing 6.0 innings with eight strikeouts while only allowing one Green Wave (4-1) run. Tyler Hoffman (0-1) took the loss for Tulane, giving up two runs in 5.0 innings with four strikeouts.

The Green Wave's lone run came in the top of the fourth when Jackson Linn drove home Chase Engelhard.

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 5, Wichita State 3 - Box Score
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi scored three times in the sixth and twice in the eighth to erase a 3-0 deficit, rallying past Wichita State for a 5-3 win on Friday night at Whataburger Field. 
 
Shortstop Tyler Linneweber delivered a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to break a 3-3 tie and produce the eventual winning runs. The Shockers (0-6) threatened in the top of the ninth, putting runners at first and second with one out, but Islanders closer Daniel Nelson induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the game and secure his second save.

Wichita State broke the ice in the top of the fourth courtesy of a two-out infield single from Chuck Ingram, and then added two more runs in the sixth on a pair of solo homers from Sawyre Thornhill and Couper Cornblum for a 3-0 lead. Starter Jace Kaminska had allowed just two singles through five scoreless innings, but ran into trouble in the top of the sixth when the first four Islanders reached on three singles and a walk to cut the lead to 3-1. After a strikeout, Max Puls drew a bases-loaded walk that sliced the deficit to 3-2 and forced a call to the bullpen.

Justin Taylor greeted new pitcher Cameron Bye with a game-tying RBI single to knot the game at 3-3, though Bye bounced back by retiring the next two to keep the game deadlocked. Bye and Caden Favors (0-1) combined for a scoreless seventh before Texas A&M-Corpus Christi struck for a pair in the eighth.

Ingram paced Wichita State with three hits, the first three-hit game of the season for a Shocker.

Clay Westbrook (1-0) picked up the win for the Islanders with 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.