Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston and Wichita State all earned wins in American Athletic Conference baseball action on Friday, May 13.

Friday, May 13
Cincinnati 6, Memphis 3 - Box Score
East Carolina 7, South Florida 2 - Box Score
Wichita State 2, Tulane 0 - Box Score
Houston 9, UCF 6 - Box Score

Cincinnati 6, Memphis 3 - Box Score
CINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati baseball team opened up its last home series of the year with a win over Memphis Friday by the score of 6-3 at UC Baseball Stadium. The win improves Cincinnati's record to 21-25 and 10-9 in the AAC.

Senior pitcher Beau Keathley was the star of the game, throwing his second career nine-inning complete game. He gave up three runs on eight hits, but struck out seven batters and worked efficiently all game. After giving up a run in the sixth, Keathley shut-out the Tigers for the last three innings. 

Offensively, redshirt freshman infielder Kerrington Cross was a double short of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a triple and a single while driving in three runs. Redshirt sophomore infielder Ryan Nicholson also had three hits, including a double, with two runs scored. Redshirt sophomore JP Sponseller also homered, going 1-for-4 and two RBIs on the night.

East Carolina 7, South Florida 2 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Zach Agnos collected three hits and drive in a pair of runs, while Bryson Worrell plated a pair helping No. 25 East Carolina to a 7-2 American Athletic Conference series opening win over South Florida Friday night at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the victory, the Pirates extended their win streak to a season-high eight games and improved to 32-18 overall and 15-4 in league play, while the Bulls dropped to 26-23 and 6-13.
 
ECU's offense plated at least one run in six of their eight innings including one each in the first five frames and never looked back. Agnos led the club with three hits including a two-run homer in the seventh, while Lane Hoover added two hits and Worrell drove in a pair. In all, the Pirates tallied eight hits getting at least one from five different players.
 
C.J. Mayhue (4-1) picked up the win allowing just one run (unearned) on three hits with a walk and six strikeouts over his six frames. In his last two starts, Mayhue has surrendered just one run on three hits with two walks and 15 strikeouts in 15.0 innings. Garrett Saylor notched his fourth save of the year giving up a run (earned) on five hits with four punch outs in three innings.
 
Ethan Brown (3-2) took the loss after he was touched for five runs (all earned) on five hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts in six innings. Devin Hemenway allowed a pair of runs (earned) on three this with a strikeout in one inning, while Caleb Pundsack tossed a clean eighth stanza.

Wichita State 2, Tulane 0 - Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. – Three Wichita State pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout as the Shockers opened the final home series of the season with a 2-0 win over Tulane on Friday night at Eck Stadium.

The Shockers (17-32) deployed a new pitching strategy in the opener, starting reliever Caden Favors in lieu of regular Friday night starter Jace Kaminska. Favors responded with three excellent innings, blanking the Green Wave while recording four strikeouts.

Wichita State got all the offense they would need in the first four hitters of the game. Brock Rodden reached on a one-out infield single, and Sawyre Thornhill drove him home with a triple that banged high off the left field fence. Jordan Rogers followed with a ringing double to the gap in left-center, plating Thornhill for the final run of the evening.

Favors handed the ball off to Kaminska in the fourth, who cruised through the next three innings before running into trouble in the seventh. Tulane got a leadoff single and a one-out walk to put men at first and second with one out, but Kaminska (3-7) silenced the threat on a fly out and a strikeout to preserve the 2-0 lead.

In the eighth, Tulane (30-20-1) threatened with two outs, as Bennett Lee doubled and Brady Marget coaxed a walk. Kaminska once again had the answer, inducing a fly out from Jackson Linn to escape the inning. Kaminska returned to the mound for the ninth, retiring the first hitter on strikes before issuing another walk that ended his evening. Closer Connor Holden made quick work of the next two Green Wave hitters, fanning Trevor Minder and getting Brennan Lambert on a bouncer back to the mound to nail down his fifth save.

Houston 9, UCF 6 - Box Score
HOUSTON – University of Houston started its senior weekend celebration with a bang as senior Ryan Hernandez crushed two home runs and graduate Santiago Garcia walloped a three-run homer as Cougars captured the series opener 9-6 Friday night from Sanders Field at Schroeder Park.
 
Hernandez smacked his second home run of the game and fifth in the last five games to put Houston (34-16, 13-6 American) ahead 5-4 with a three-run shot in the fourth inning. The first baseman, who will be among three seniors honored Sunday, clubbed a two-run homer in the second inning.
 
UCF (28-20, 11-7 American) jumped ahead with a four-run first inning, but junior Cougar starter Jaycob Deese bounced back to put up zeroes over the next three innings. The right-hander allowed five runs with four of his seven hits permitted coming in the first inning. 
 
Houston junior closer Ben Sears locked up his American-best 12th save, allowing just a solo home run in the ninth. Sears fanned two in 2.0 innings as part of a Cougar bullpen that held the Knights to three hits over the last 5.0 innings.
 
Making his 15th appearance of the season, Garcia smacked his first home run with the Cougars, clubbing a three-run long ball for insurance in the ninth inning. Offensively, the Cougars extended their season-long streak of double-digit hit games to eight straight.