CLEARWATER, FL — No. 7 seed Wichita State and No. 5 Memphis lived to fight another day on the opening day of the American Baseball Championship Wednesday, advancing to the double-elimination phase of the tournament.

The Shockers (29-27) rallied in the ninth inning, scoring two runs to defeat No. 6 seed Florida Atlantic 3-2 in the opening game of the tourney while the Tigers (23-32) erupted for 13 runs and held off a late Charlotte rally to earn a 13-9 victory in the nightcap.

The competition at BayCare Ballpark will continue Thursday with Wichita State challenging No. 3 Rice (1 p.m., ESPN+) and the Tigers going up against No. 4 Alabama-Birmingham 47 minutes following the day’s first game. Both contest will be telecast on ESPN+.

Top seed Texas-San Antonio and No. 2 East Carolina, each of which earned double byes, will not see their first action until Friday. The Pirates will face the winner of the Rice-Wichita State matchup at 9 a.m. while the Roadrunners will take on the winner of the UAB-Memphis game45 minutes after the opener. Both of those games will also be on ESPN+.

Compiled from an American Conference releases