Conference Championships Hub | Tuesday Recap
Tulane 3, UConn 1
No. 3 seed Tulane took on the sixth-seeded Huskies from UConn at Bright House Field in the second game of Day 2 at the American Athletic Conference Championship. Offense was at a premium in this matchup and the two home runs from Tulane's Lex Kaplan would be all the runs they would need for the 3-1 win. Kaplan went deep in the first and then again in the eighth to lead the way for the Green Wave. UConn's only run came via a sac fly by shortstop Bryan Daniello in the second inning. That was it for the bats in this game. Andrew Zapata from UConn went pitch-for-pitch against Tulane's Patrick Duester, but Kaplan and his two bombs were too much for the Huskies to overcome.
Notable Prospects
UConn
Vinny Siena: I didn't know much about Siena heading into this tournament, other than he was having a very strong season at the plate, but today I was able to get a glimpse how he was doing this. Siena jumps on mistakes and he likes to do it early in the count. If you're going to throw him fastballs early he's going to swing aggressively at them. There is some good bat speed in his swing and he gets good extension in his finish. The lower half really works well here and allows him to get on the ball and drive it. Defensively, it was a pretty quiet game for him, but he did show me clean and efficient actions at second base on the backend of a 6-4-3 doubleplay.
Tulane
Stephen Alemais: Alemais took a very solid pre-game infield. He has good arm strength and soft, quick hands when fielding the ball and routinely gets in good fielding position, with his hands out in front. He looks very comfortable fielding the ball when charging in and is able to maintain his strong arm and accuracy when on the move. He also plays short hops very well. At the plate, he was out on his front a lot with his bat dragging through the zone. While he employs a very aggressive approach, the contact was solid when he made it.
Jake Rogers: Rogers was fun to watch behind the plate. He is very quiet with the glove and was showing a good feel and ability to frame. His footwork was very good too. He drops quickly to block and can move laterally very well, and his arm is strong and he gets good carry on his throws. Rogers picked a kid off first from his knees and is a very hard worker behind the dish. The bat was pretty good too. He uses a high leg kick and his swing is short and compact. Rogers also showed an in-game ability to drive the ball opposite field, and overall I like what he showed me today.
East Carolina 4, UCF 3
Day 2 of the AAC was kicked off by a matchup between No. 2 seed ECU and No. 7 seed UCF. From start to finish it was about an evenly played game as you'll see. Both teams scored their first run in the second inning and then both put up zeros until the seventh. In the end, East Carolina was able to rebound from a base running blunder thanks to a double by leadoff hitter Hunter Allen, who had three base knocks, and a walkoff single from second baseman Charlie Yorgen.
UCF totaled nine hits and five of those came from Dylan Moore (2-for-4, 2 RBI) and Kyle Marsh (3-for-4). Zach Rodgers gave his team a chance to win by tossing 8 2/3 strong innings. While he gave up 11 hits, he was able to limit the damage for the most part by allowing just four runs, and it could have been much worse.
Notable Prospects:
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