Championship Central
 
CLEARWATER, Florida – Houston defeated Tulane, 11-8, at the 2023 American Baseball Championship presented by Visit St. Pete Clearwater Saturday, May 27 at BayCare Ballpark.
 
With the win, the two teams will face off later on Saturday at approximately 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ with a spot in the Championship final on the line. The winner will face the winner between East Carolina and South Florida. 
 
Each time the Green Wave (16-40) scored, the Cougars (36-22) responded with at least one run and took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning on a Zach Arnold solo home run and a Tulane fielding error that scored Justin Murray.
 
In the sixth, Drew Bianco homered and Murray added an RBI single to push the lead to three. Brennan Lambert hit a 2-run home run in the seventh to pull Tulane within one, but that was as close as the Green wave would get, as Brendan O’Donnell came on for a 7-out save.
 
Brandon Uhse recorded three hits and scored three times for the Cougars, while Lambert had three hits and drove in three for Tulane.
 
Kyle Ayers (4-1) took the win for the Cougars, while Ricky Castro (4-6) suffered the defeat for the Green Wave.
 
2023 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship presented by Visit St. Pete Clearwater
BayCare Ballpark | Clearwater, Fla.
All Times Eastern
 
Tuesday, May 23
Game 1: No. 4 UCF 4, No. 5 Cincinnati 3
Game 2: No. 8 South Florida 12, No. 1 East Carolina 11 (11 innings)
Game 3: No. 7 Tulane 10, No. 2 Houston 8
Game 4: No. 6 Memphis 10, No. 3 Wichita State 6
 
Wednesday, May 24
Game 5: No. 1 East Carolina 9, No. 5 Cincinnati 6
 
Thursday, May 25
Game 6: No. 2 Houston 4, No. 3 Wichita State 3
Game 7: No. 8 South Florida 15, No. 4 UCF 4 (8 innings)
Game 8: No. 7 Tulane 12, No. 6 Memphis 2 (8 innings)
 
Friday, May 26
Game 9: No. 1 East Carolina 7, No. 4 UCF (13 innings)
Game 10: No. 2 Houston 6, No. 6 Memphis 5
 
Saturday, May 27
Game 11: No. 1 East Carolina 3, No. 8 South Florida 1
Game 12: No. 2 Houston 11, No. 7 Tulane 8
Game 13: No. 8 South Florida vs. No. 1 East Carolina | 4:10 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 14: No. 7 Tulane vs. No. 2 Houston | 47 minutes after game 13 | ESPN+
 
Sunday, May 28
Game 15: Semifinal Winners | Noon | ESPNEWS and ESPN+