Brett Bowen
Memphis posted its first three-game sweep since March 21-23, 2008 as it took three in a row over Valparaiso. On Saturday, Ryan Fraser struck out seven and scattered five hits in seven innings as the Tigers posted their first shutout since blanking Southeast Missouri on March 16, 2008. Brett Bowen hit .556 in the series with a home run and five RBI to lead Memphis at the plate.
Tulane took two-of-three from USC, a team that was nationally-ranked the first two weeks of the season. After a tough night at the plate in Friday night’s loss, the Green Wave put up seven runs on 11 hits in Saturday’s win, as Matt Petiton earned his second victory of the season. On Sunday, Josh Zeid earned his third win of the year in a solid start, as Nick Pepitone came in to finish it off, striking out six of the 10 batters that he faced.
Rice increased its win streak to four games by winning the first two games of the Academy Sports+Outdoors Classic with victories over Washington State, Notre Dame before falling to NCAA Regional regular Oral Roberts on Sunday. The Owls beat WSU in dramatic fashion on Friday, scoring a pair of runs with two outs in the bottom-of-the-ninth. On Saturday, Ryan Berry turned in his second straight complete-game two-hit shutout, striking out eight without walking a batter.
East Carolina earned wins over LeMoyne and Indiana at the Holiday Inn Eagle Invitational before falling on Sunday to the red-hot host Georgia Southern team.
UAB went 1-2 against a strong field at the QTI Baylor Classic in Waco, Texas. The Blazers fell to No. 5 UC Irvine in the opener, 13-5, although Blake Huddleston was impressive in relief, facing the minimum over five innings pitched. The Blazers bounced back with a solid win over in-state rival South Alabama on Saturday before dropping a close game against the Host and No. 6 ranked Baylor Bears on Sunday.
UCF took two-of-three games at home against Monmouth, while Houston and Marshall each went 1-2 on the weekend, with the Cougars earning a win over No. 17 Cal Poly and the Thundering Herd gaining one victory at South Florida. Southern Miss dropped all three games against No. 7 Cal State Fullerton.
