Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston and South Florida all picked up wins in American Athletic Conference baseball action on Friday, May 12.

Friday, May 12
Cincinnati 13, UCF 3 (7 innings) - Box Score
East Carolina 10, Memphis 4 - Box Score
Houston 9, Tulane 3 - Box Score
South Florida 10, Wichita State 9 - Box Score

Cincinnati 13, UCF 3 (7 innings) - Box Score
CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team run-ruled UCF, 13-3, in seven innings on Friday afternoon inside UC Baseball Stadium. 
 
Cincinnati (22-27, 9-10 American) pounded out 13 hits and scored 13 runs to take the series opener. The Bearcats finished with double figures in the hit column for the 14th time this season. UCF fell to 27-23 and 8-11 in league play.
 
Redshirt junior Alec Jones, making his 100th career start, hit his first career grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning. He finished the day 1-for-2 with four RBI, two runs scored and a walk. 
 
Freshman Griffin Hugus went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two extra-base hits and two runs scored. He was a home run shy of the cycle. Kerrington Cross and Sean Springer each drove in two runs while Cross belted his fifth homer of the season. Ryan Nicholson tied his career-high two doubles to bring his season total to 13. 
 
The Bearcats' offense generated nine extra-base hits, including a season-high five doubles. Every spot in the Bearcats' lineup recorded a hit in the victory. 
 
Sophomore starter Garrett Harker (1-5) earned the win in five innings of work. He allowed three runs on four hits and struck out five batters with four walks. Freshman Chase Horst provided two shutout innings in relief with four strikeouts. 

East Carolina 10, Memphis 4 - Box Score
GREENVILLE, N.C. – A six-run first inning set the tone Friday evening as No. 14 East Carolina eased its way to a 10-4 victory over Memphis in the opener of an American Athletic Conference series at Lewis Field inside Clark-LeClair Stadium.
 
The Pirates (36-14, 13-6 American) kept pace with Houston at the top of the league standings, remaining a half game back of the Cougars with five American Conference outings to go in the regular season title race. The Tigers (26-23, 8-11) saw their five-game winning streak snapped with the setback.
 
Danny Beal (4-1) picked up the win in relief, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings with a walk and a strikeout. Seth Garner (1-4) failed to record an out, surrendering five runs (all earned) on four hits with no walks or strikeouts.
 
Carter Cunningham enjoyed quite the offensive performance, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored while Justin Wilcoxen and Alec Makarewicz each homered and registered three RBI apiece. Will Spears notched two hits for the visiting side.

Houston 9, Tulane 3 - Box Score
NEW ORLEANS – Juniors Zach Arnold and Justin Murray both tallied home runs in Houston's 9-3 win against the Green Wave on Friday night at Turchin Stadium.
 
Houston (29-20, 13-5 American) limited the Green Wave's (14-35, 7-12) batters to only three hits in the Friday night series opener as senior reliever Maddux Miller (3-1) tallied his third win of the season. The righty tossed 1.2 shutout innings while freshman Braedyn Cunningham secured his first career save working 3.0 hitless innings. The Houston pitching staff stranded every Green Wave runner in scoring position and held batters to a .100 clip with runners on. Tulane's Dylan Carmouche (3-7) pitched 3.1 innings allowing seven earned runs for the loss.

Houston wasted no time scoring its first runs. A lead-off double from senior outfielder Brandon Uhse followed immediately by a rocket of a home run from Arnold made the score 2-0 early. Junior utility player Justin Murray knocked a single into left center before sophomore outfielder Cameron Nickens laced a single into left field to bring home Murray for a 3-0 score.

After plating a run in the top of the second, the Cougars continued to score. Two singles put runners at third and second for sophomore infielder Brandon Burckel who shot a ball to the outfield to score junior catcher Anthony Tulimero. With two outs, senior shortstop Ian McMillan tallied his second-straight hit to right field bringing home Tulimero and Nickens for a 6-0 lead.
 
A two-run home run from Murray highlighted the fourth inning pushing the score to 9-0. Tulane broke up the Cougars four-inning shutout in the bottom of the fifth bringing across three runs to make the score 9-3.

South Florida 10, Wichita State 9 - Box Score
WICHITA, Kan. (May 12, 2023) – South Florida (19-31, 7-12 American) used timely hitting and got a gritty outing from sophomore Jack Cebert (Tampa) on Friday night in a 10-9 victory over Wichita State (27-21, 10-8) in the opener of a three-game weekends series at Eck Stadium.

Seven of South Florida's 10 runs in the ballgame came with two outs and were the product of rallies that began in innings with two outs and no runners on base.

Freshman Rafael Betancourt went 4-for-6 with a triple, three doubles and two RBI. Sophomore Bobby Boser hit his 15th home run of the season. Boser's home run total is tied for ninth all-time in program single-season history.

Down one pitcher in the starting rotation, and facing a doubleheader on Saturday, Cebert (4-3) ate up seven innings on the mound for the second consecutive outing and prevailed with the win. The right-hander allowed six runs on 11 hits and struck out four with zero walks over 7.0 IP.

The Shockers took the first and their only lead of the night with a run in the bottom of the first inning. USF put together its first two-out rally in the top of the second frame to claim a 3-1 advantage.

Marcus Brodil walked with two outs and later advanced on a wild pitch. Jackson Mayo followed with an RBI-single to tie the game. Boser was next with a run-scoring hit and Drew Brutcher (Lakeland) followed with an RBI-double. Brutcher was robbed by the left fielder of his 32nd career home run on the deep drive to left, but his hit gave the Bulls a 3-1 lead, nonetheless.

Wichita State cut its deficit in half, 3-2, in the bottom of the fourth, but an RBI-single by Joaquin Monque in the top of the fifth padded the USF lead back to 4-2.

The Shockers answered again with two runs in the bottom of the fifth only to see the Bulls respond with a four spot in the top of the sixth inning. The two-out rally in the sixth was sparked by a walk to Brutcher. Eric Snow followed with a single and both runners came around to score on a two-run triple by Betancourt. Monque capped the frame with a two-run double.

Boser's two-run homer came in the top of the seventh and was answered with a two-run blast by the Shockers in the bottom of the frame to make it a 10-6 affair.

Wichita State went on to plate three more runs in the eighth inning to make it a two-run ballgame before Riley Skeen entered and recorded the final six outs to nail down his sixth save of the season.