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The city of Houston broke out the brooms this weekend, as Rice and Houston both swept Conference USA series. The two schools are now 1-2 in the C-USA standings. Marshall also broke into the league win column in convincing fashion over the weekend.
Houston at No. 24 Tulane
Quality pitching was this weekend’s story for Houston, as well. Aaron Brown set the tone with seven shutout innings in Friday’s 7-0 win. The Cougars received a quality effort from Wes Musick (one run on five hits with eight strikeouts) on Saturday, but it was Bryan Pounds two-RBI single in the top of the ninth that gave UH a 2-1 win. Freshman John Touchton was solid in Sunday’s 6-4 win, allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings.
UCF at No. 6 Rice
Rice’s three wins in a row over UCF marked the 36th consecutive home series that the Owls have won, including sweeps in 23 of those. Solid pitching was the key to this series victory, as Rice allowed just three runs in three games. Joe Savery finished off the sweep with his best pitching effort of the season in Sunday’s 8-0 win, allowing on hit over a season-long seven innings.
Marshall at Memphis
Memphis posted a 5-3 victory over Marshall on Friday night before that series took a dramatic turn. The Thundering Herd scored a season-high 21 runs in a 21-7 win on Saturday and then posted their first-ever shutout in C-USA play, defeating the Tigers, 11-0. Marshall scored 32 runs on 34 hits in the final two games of the series and were aided by seven Memphis errors. The wins snapped a 16-game losing streak for the Herd, which moved into eighth place in the league standings.
UAB at Southern Miss
UAB opened its series at Southern Miss with a 6-1 win, as Ben Styes earned the victory with 5.2 shutout innings. But, the Golden Eagles rebounded to take the final two games of the series, 6-4 and 8-4. David Clark tied a career high with eight strikeouts in Sunday’s win.
Savannah State at East Carolina
East Carolina stepped out of league play this weekend and posted three consecutive victories over Savannah State, outscoring them 34-7. The Pirates are now 28-12 on the season.
C-USA Players of the week
After setting the tone for a three-game sweep at No. 23 Tulane, Houston junior righthander Aaron Brown has been named Conference USA Pitcher of the Week for the period of April 16-22. Hitter of the Week honors went to Marshall junior C Tommy Johnson, whose career-best weekend helped the Thundering Herd to a series win at Memphis.
