It was the opening weekend of league play in Conference USA and two teams went unscathed. Two-time defending champion Rice ran its winning streak to nine games by taking three straight from Marshall in Charleston. The Owls pitching staff was impressive in the series opener and finale, allowing just one run in each outing. In-between, Rice slugged out a 13-9 victory.
Memphis has been swinging the bat better the last 10 days and on Friday it opened its series with UAB by posting a 10-5 win as Scott McGregor earned his first win of the year. Three Tiger pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts as U o M downed the Blazers on Saturday, 5-2. On Sunday, Memphis completed the sweep with a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning to win, 7-6.
UCF faced a big test in Hattiesburg as the No. 16 Knights faced Southern Miss in its first road series of the season. Barry Bowden struck out a league season-high 14 batters in Friday night’s 8-4 win. After UCF’s bats exploded in a 15-4 victory on Saturday, Southern Miss answered with a 10-6 win on getaway day to take the series.
Houston snapped East Carolina’s 13-game winning streak when the Cougars exploded for a 14-2 win on Friday night in Greenville. Wes Musick improved to 5-0 for UH, as the Coogs had seven players record multiple hits. The Pirates bats answered on Saturday as Corey Kemp homered three times in a 15-4 ECU win. But, Houston would bounce back to take the series on Sunday, 8-5.
Tulane was the lone C-USA team to play out of conference, sweeping a series from Sacred Heart. Included were shutouts on Friday and Sunday, giving the Green Wave five blankings in their last seven games.
