Tigers fall in extra-inning bout in AAC Championship

Wednesday, May 22

Clearwater, Fla.

6 p.m.

University of Memphis

UCF

Photo by: Travis Pendergrass

Tigers fall in extra-inning bout in AAC Championship

May 22, 2019 | Baseball

Box Score

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Memphis baseball closed its postseason after an 8-7 extra-inning setback against UCF on Wednesday night at Spectrum Field.

The Tigers held a 7-4 lead halfway through the game, but UCF responded with four unanswered runs to advance.

Catcher Jason Santana turned in a strong effort at the dish and behind the plate. The senior went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. Defensively, he threw out three base runners.

Alec Trela and Nick Vaage collected two hits apiece. Trela and Ben Brooks also homered in the Tigers' eighth multi-home run game of the season. Eight of the nine Memphis starters collected a hit.

For the second consecutive day, Memphis struck first early in the contest. The Tigers plated two runs in the second inning after Trela scored on an error and a sacrifice bunt scored Vaage.

UCF responded with a run in the home half, while a two-run home run in the bottom of the third gave the Knights a 3-2 lead.

Memphis used a pair of home runs in the fourth inning to reclaim the lead. After Cale Hennemann singled and Vaage walked to start a rally, Santana sent a three-run dinger into the Tiger bullpen to put Memphis back in front. Two batters later, Brooks sailed his first career homer over the left field wall to push the lead to 6-3.

After UCF closed the gap with a run in the bottom of the fourth, Trela's solo shot made it a 7-4 game in the fifth.

Despite the lead, the Knights continued to chip away, scoring one run in the fifth and sixth. The Knights then tied the contest in the bottom of the eighth before an RBI single in the bottom of the 10^th inning set the final.