CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Caleb Reed tossed a season-high 6.2 innings with a season-high eight strikeouts, leading Wichita State to a 6-4 win over Memphis on Friday night/Saturday morning at BayCare Ballpark.
With the victory, Wichita State (30-28) advances to the semifinals of the American Conference Championship. The Shockers will battle UAB on Saturday afternoon, 47 minutes after the conclusion of the 9:00 am CT game between East Carolina and UTSA. If WSU defeats UAB, they will then play the loser of that earlier game for a spot in the championship on Sunday.
Reed (6-1) was the star for Wichita State, recording five more outs than his previous season high and three more strikeouts than his previous best. He threw 105 pitches, allowing three runs on five hits while walking three.
The Shockers gave Reed a lead almost immediately.
Jayson Jones cracked a solo home run with one out in the first inning for a 1-0 lead, then
Ethan Gonzalez matched Jones with a solo blast of his own to double the advantage to 2-0.
After Shane Cox slapped an RBI single in the bottom of the second to get Memphis (24-34) back within 2-1,
Kaleb Duncan delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single in the third that extended the lead to 4-1.
Jacob Gutierrez contributed a two-out RBI single of his own in the fifth, giving WSU a 5-1 advantage.
Wichita State had to survive several tense moments late in the game, stranding the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings as Memphis threatened to rally. After the Tigers finally chased Reed with two runs in the seventh,
Brady Owens left three Tigers aboard by inducing a fly out to left.
Dax Sharp did the same in the eighth, coaxing another fly out with the bases loaded and two outs. Sharp allowed a one-out solo home run to Marcus Smith in the bottom of the ninth but recovered to retire the next two hitters for his first save of the season.
Seth Impson (1-4) took the loss for Memphis, conceding two runs in just 1.1 innings.
All nine Shockers reached base at least once, while Jones was the only Shockers with a multi-hit game. In addition to his solo home run, Gonzalez threw out two Tigers base stealers as part of an error-less game from the Wichita State defense.
