Williams Walkoff Steal Forces Second AAC Championship Semifinal

Saturday, May 25

Clearwater, Fla.

9:00 a.m.

East Carolina University

43-14

Wichita State

31-28

Wichita State

East Carolina

Williams Walkoff Steal Forces Second AAC Championship Semifinal

May 25, 2024 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

CLEARWATER, Fla. – With the bases loaded and the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Dixon Williams pulled off a heist of home plate to lift No. 1 seed East Carolina past No. 4 seed Wichita State to force a second semifinal game Saturday evening at the American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship inside BayCare Ballpark.

The Pirates (43-14) are now just a win away from a third-straight trip to the tournament title game. The Shockers fell to 31-28 with the setback.

Jacob Jenkins-Cowart and Ryan McCrystal ended the contest with two his apiece. Jenkins-Cowart added two runs scored while Justin Wilcoxen finished with a pair of RBI. Seth Stroh logged two hits, a run scored and a run driven in for Wichita State.

Danny Beal (7-2) earned the win, tossing 0.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Grant Adler (1-2) took the loss after surrendering three runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout in one inning of work.

Wichita State drew three walks in the top of the first inning and eventually cashed in when Mauricio Millan reached on a fielder's choice that plated leadoff batter Lane Haworth. Aaron Groller was able to limit the damage, however, inducing a fly ball to left that ended the frame and kept the deficit at one. East Carolina had a chance to respond in the bottom of the second when Bristol Carter and Justin Wilcoxen both singled with two outs, but Favors was able to muster up a strikeout to leave the runners stranded.

After the Shockers added a second run via a Camden Johnson RBI single in the top of the fourth, ECU was able to pull even in the bottom of the seventh. Jenkins-Cowart laced a leadoff double down the right field line before moving to third on a Bristol Carter sacrifice bunt. Wilcoxen then pushed him home with a groundout to slice the Wichita State lead to 2-1 and freshman pinch hitter Walker Barron connected on an 0-1 offering, belting it well into the left field seats for his first career home run and a brand new ball game.

The Shockers looked to have things under control, scoring lone runs in the eighth and ninth frames, before madness ensued in the home half of the final inning. Jenkins-Cowart led off with a double to left center and Luke Nowak delivered a pinch hit single to left to put runners at the corners. Wilcoxen kept things moving with a sac fly and Williams worked a 10-pitch at bat before stinging a ball through the right side.

Berini came up clutch in the Pirates' next at bat, delivering another sacrifice fly to knot the score at four. Johnson and Carter Cunningham loaded the bases with consecutive walks, putting Cam Clonch at the dish. With the senior down 0-2 in the count, Williams took matters into his own hands, catching the Wichita State catcher straying away from the plate. He dashed home and a throw from Adler sailed to the backstop to seal the walkoff victory.

2024 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship
Tuesday, May 21
Game 1: No. 4 Wichita State 8, No. 5 UAB 2
Game 2: No. 1 East Carolina 12, No. 8 Rice 4
Game 3: No. 7 Charlotte 9, No. 2 UTSA 5 (12 innings)
Game 4: No. 3 Tulane 14, No. 6 Florida Atlantic 2 (7 innings)

Wednesday, May 22
Game 5: Rice 9, UAB 0 (UAB Eliminated)
Game 6: Florida Atlantic 12, UTSA 5 (UTSA eliminated)

Thursday, May 23
Game 7: Wichita State 14, East Carolina 4
Game 8: Tulane 7, Charlotte 5

Friday, May 24
Game 9: East Carolina 8, Rice 7 (Rice Eliminated)
Game 10: Florida Atlantic 10, Charlotte 8 (Charlotte Eliminated)

Saturday, May 25
Game 11: East Carolina 5, Wichita State 4
Game 12: Tulane vs. Florida Atlantic | 47 minutes after Game 11 | ESPN+
Game 13: Wichita State vs. East Carolina | TBD | ESPN+
Game 14: Tulane vs. Winner of Game 12 (if necessary) | TBD | ESPN+

Sunday, May 26
Game 15: Semifinal Winners | Noon | ESPNEWS/ESPN+