CLEARWATER, Fla. – The No. 5 seed Memphis Tigers capitalized on miscues to defeat No. 4 UAB 7-3 in the 2026 American Baseball Championship at BayCare Ballpark on Thursday night.
 
The Tigers (24-32) advance to face No. 1 UTSA on Friday, May 22, following the conclusion of the East Carolina-Rice game scheduled for 9 a.m. ET. UAB (31-25) will await the loser of East Carolina and Rice in the elimination bracket with a scheduled first pitch of 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 22.
 
Brady Waugh put the Blazers on the board first with a two-run single up the middle, but the Tigers answered emphatically in the top of the second. With two runners in scoring position, Tyler Harrington plated Memphis’ first run with an RBI groundout to second before Marcus Smith and Freddy Rodriguez connected on back-to-back home runs to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead.
 
Waugh led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and later scored on an RBI double by Andrew Hunt.
 
Memphis capitalized on a mistake-filled seventh inning by UAB. A fielder’s choice from James Smith IV led to two runs scoring following an errant throw by the shortstop, and Shane Cox followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop to extend the Tigers’ lead to 7-3.
 
David Case (W, 6-8) pitched an efficient 8.0 innings in the start, allowing three runs on seven hits. Carson Fair tossed the final inning in relief.
 
Bredan Conner (L, 4-3) took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits across 5.2 innings. Chase Ingram threw 3.1 innings of relief.