AAC Baseball Weekend Recap

By Aaliyah Brown and Chandler Black

East Carolina University Pirates (23-7) (6-3 AAC)

Following their road victory against NC State, No.9 ranked East Carolina traveled to Florida to face FAU in a three-game conference series. The Pirates secured a 4-1 victory in the first game of the series against the Owls. FAU halted East Carolina’s six-game winning streak by edging out a 6-5 win in the second game. In the final game of the series on Sunday, East Carolina University emerged victorious with an 8-6 win to secure the series victory. The 9th-ranked Pirates are scheduled to play a single-game match against Elon at home on Tuesday, followed by a two-game series against Old Dominion on Wednesday. They will transition into conference play, hosting a three-game weekend series against AAC opponent Charlotte at home.

University of Memphis Tigers ( 17-17) (5-4 AAC)

The Tigers have reached a .500 record for the season and are currently on a four-game winning streak following their victory over Ole Miss. The team defeated the Rebels with a score of 9-4 at FedEx Fogelman Field before heading to Houston for a three-game series against Rice in the conference. This road sweep against conference opponents marks Memphis’ first since 2012 when they were part of C-USA and defeated Houston. Notably, there were no home runs hit by either team during the series. The Tigers clinched a hard-fought 4-3 victory on Friday night in a 15-inning game.  Next, they will travel to Conway, Arkansas, to take on Central Arkansas in a one-game matchup before returning home for a three-game weekend series against UTSA, who are currently ranked No.1 in the AAC with a (7-2) record and (19-13) overall. 

Florida Atlantic University Owls (18-11) (5-4 AAC) 

After securing a three-game series win on the road against Memphis, the Owls returned home on Tuesday to face the University of Miami, emerging victorious with a 3-0 score. They took on the formidable No. 9-ranked ECU in a challenging series. Despite ECU claiming victory in games one and three, the Owls managed to defeat them 6-5 on Saturday, ending ECU’s six-game winning streak. This weekend, the Owls achieved a 2-2 record and will now hit the road once more to rematch against Miami in a single-game showdown on Tuesday night. As conference play kicks off, FAU will travel to Wichita, Kan., for a three-game series against Wichita State.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte 49ers (14-18) (4-5 AAC) 

The 49ers ended the week with a 1-3 record. They played against Campbell, who has a .710 record (22-9), and lost 13-9 at home. In a three-game conference series on the road against UTSA, the 49ers won game one 10-5 on Friday night but then lost the next two games 4-14 and 1-13, bringing their AAC record to 4-5. Next, the 49ers will face North Carolina A&T at home on Tuesday. Following that, they will head to Greenville, N.C., for a three-game series against ECU later in the week.

University of South Florida Bulls (19-13) (6-3 AAC)

After a three-game losing streak following a 9-19 defeat to Stetson on Tuesday night, the Bulls turned the tide and swept Wichita State in a three-game conference series at home. They emerged victorious in game one with a score of 7-3 and clinched game two with a close 8-7 win. The final game of the series extended into 10 innings, resulting in a tight 3-2 victory for the Bulls as they sealed the sweep. This week, the Bulls have a single home game against Bethune-Cookman before heading to New Orleans, La., for a three-game series against Tulane, who currently hold a 17-15 overall record and a 3-6 AAC record.

Wichita State Shockers (19-13) (1-4 AAC)

The Shockers had a chance to make some big moves this week. They had two great home opponents and a conference road series over the weekend. The started off the week by dropping a game to the University of Oklahoma by a score of 2-11. They did bounce back however by beating the Kansas Jayhawks 7-6 the very next night. They did not have a good weekend, however. They were swept by the South Florida Bulls. They went just 1-4 for the week.

Rice Owls (9-23) (1-8 AAC)

Rice has had a disappointing season, and this week was no different. They visited a familiar foe on Tuesday when they battled the Houston Cougars. The Owls lost this matchup by a score of 3-4. They then hosted the Memphis Tigers over the weekend at Reckling Park. This series saw Memphis defeat Rice three straight times including a marathon 15 inning loss on Saturday night. Rice went 0-4 for the week and fell to 9-23 for the season.

Tulane Green Wave (17-15) (3-6 AAC)

Tulane went 2-2 this week. They did however manage to score a whooping 41 runs this week. They kicked off this week’s campaign by defeating Texas Southern 19-1 in just seven innings. They then traveled to Tulane where they lost a weekend series two games to one. The Green Wave now sit at 17-15.

UAB Blazers (14-17) (3-6 AAC)

UAB split their four games this week. On Wednesday, they traveled to face an in-state rival, the Auburn Tigers. The Blazers dropped this game by a margin of 10-4. They then hosted the Tulane Green Wave over the weekend. They won this series two games to one. Their loss came on Saturday where they did manage to cross the plate 13 times. They move to 14-17 for the season.

UTSA Roadrunners (19-13) (7-2 AAC)

The Roadrunners had a good week. They started off by traveling to an inner-city rival, the UIW Cardinals. They picked up a road win 7-4. UTSA then hosted the Charlotte 49ers. They won this series 2 games to win, tallying a total of 22 runs over the three games. They took care of Charlotte in just seven innings on Saturday and at Sunday’s rubber match. UTSA now finds themselves at 19-13 for the year.