It was a good weekend to be on the road in Conference USA, as three of the four league series were claimed by the visiting team. The weekend included a series between the two highest-ranked schools in the league, the first conference win by one team and the first conference loss by another.
No. 8 Rice at No. 22 East Carolina
The most-anticipated matchup of the weekend in C-USA, as the defending champion Owls got an early look at the new location of the site of the upcoming conference tournament. Rice headed back to the Lone Star State with a surprising road sweep of the Pirates. Freshman righthander Ryan Berry set the tone early, racking up 12 strikeouts in a 4-0 victory Friday. Berry’s performance earned him C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors. Rice then battled for a pair of wins – 9-6 on Saturday and 8-6 on Sunday – to complete the sweep.
Rice recaps
East Carolina recaps
Memphis at No. 24 Tulane
The Tigers had only won once on the road – at then-No. 6 Clemson – before heading to New Orleans to take on the Green Wave. That lack of success did not show, as Memphis opened the series in strong fashion, taking a 14-5 win Friday at Zephyr Field, Tulane’s temporary home. The Tigers clinched the series with a 5-3 victory on Saturday behind the six-hit, seven-inning performance of starter Scott McGregor. Tulane avoided the sweep with a 9-5 decision on Sunday, aided by 11 walks from Tiger pitchers. Michael Murray of Memphis went 9-for-11 on the weekend to earn C-USA Hitter of the Week honors.
Southern Miss at UCF
Central Florida picked up its first conference victory of the season on Friday, when a three-run throwing error by the visiting Golden Eagles in the ninth inning allowed the Knights to tie things up and earn a 5-4 decision after 10 innings. Southern Miss ended its seven-game losing streak with an 8-3 Saturday win and claimed the series on Sunday, thanks to David Clark’s seven-inning complete game effort, in a 10-0 game called by the league’s Sunday 10-run rule.
Southern Miss recaps
UCF recaps
UAB at Houston
The Blazers arrived in Houston as the only undefeated team in league play, and continued that streak with a 10-5 Friday win. The Cougars bounced back to become the only home team to claim a league series over the weekend with a 10-4 Saturday victory and a 10-3 Sunday win.
Marshall at Liberty
The Thundering Herd was the only school in non-conference action over the weekend. It was not a good weekend to be a Marshall baseball fan, as the homestanding Flames won 8-6 on Friday and took a Saturday doubleheader 10-4, 11-7 to sweep the series and extend the Herd’s losing streak to 11 games.
