South Florida and Florida Atlantic lived to fight another day in Wednesday’s initial do-or-die round of the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship in Clearwater, FL.
The Bulls lost Tuesday, the opening day of the tournament, to No. 6 East Carolina, while the Shockers fell to No. 2 Charlotte, but both kept their seasons alive at the expense of Wichita State and Rice, respectively. The tournament is structured in a double-elimination format.
Matt Rose’s solo home run in the eighth inning lifted No. 3 seed USF to a 4-3 win over No. 7 Wichita State in the day’s first elimination game. The Shockers tied the game at 3-3 with back-to-back homers in the eighth, but Rose’s blast secured the victory.
USF (30-24) advances to face the loser of Thursday’s Charlotte-East Carolina game on Friday, while Wichita State ends the season at 20-36.
Austin Newton earned the win in relief, and Aaron Arnold took the loss for the Shockers.
No. 4 Florida Atlantic hit four home runs on the way to an 8-6 win over No. 8 Rice in the day’s second elimination game.
With the win, FAU (37-20) will play the loser of Thursday’s contest between Tulane and regular season champion Texas-San Antonio on Friday. Rice concludes the season 17-40.
John Schroeder hit his 16th and 17th home runs of the season, the second giving the Owls the lead in the sixth inning, 5-4. Carter Brady hit a solo home run in the seventh to push the FAU lead to two at 6-4.
Rice tied the game in the top of the eighth with a 2-run single by Max Johnson, but Brando Leroux stepped up in the bottom of the frame and hit a 2-run home run to left to give Florida Atlantic the lead for good.
M.J. Bollinger (3-3) earned the win for FAU, tossing the final 1.2 innings without a run allowed. Jack Ben-Shoshan (3-4) took the loss for Rice, allowing two runs in 1+ innings of work.
2025 American Baseball Championship presented by Regions
BayCare Ballpark | Clearwater, FL
Tuesday, May 20
Game 1: No. 5 Tulane 6, No. 4 Florida Atlantic 3
Game 2: No. 1 UTSA 4, No. 8 Rice 2 | Box Score
Game 3: No. 2 Charlotte 7, No. 7 Wichita State 1
Game 4: No. 6 East Carolina 9, No. 3 South Florida 4
Wednesday, May 21
Game 5: No. 4 Florida Atlantic 8, No. 8 Rice 6
Game 6: No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 3 South Florida
Thursday, May 22
Game 7: No. 5 Tulane vs. No. 1 UTSA | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 8: No. 6 East Carolina vs. No. 2 Charlotte | ESPN+
Friday, May 23
Game 9: Loser of Game 7 vs. No. 4 Florida Atlantic | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 6 | 47 minutes after Game 9 | ESPN+
Saturday, May 24
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9 | 9 a.m. | ESPN+
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10 | 47 minutes after Game 11 | ESPN+
Game 13: Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11 | TBD (if necessary) | ESPN+
Game 14: Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12 | TBD (if necessary) | ESPN+
Sunday, May 25
Game 15: Semifinal Winners | Noon | ESPNEWS
All times listed are Eastern.
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