Clearwater, Fla. — Third-seeded UConn advanced to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference baseball tournament with a 7-5 victory over No. 7 Memphis in an elimination game on Friday afternoon.

The Huskies (33-24) also improved their chances for an at-large bid into the NCAA Division I tournament as well. The play No. 2 Houston on Saturday at 10 a.m. and would have to beat the Cougars twice to reach Sunday's championship game.

The AAC tourney champion earns an automatic bid into the national tourney. UConn is the defending champion.

The Huskies trailed Memphis 5-2 in the seventh inning when they scored three times to tie the game before taking the lead with two more in the eighth.

Keith Kruger singled home a run to make it 5-3 in the seventh, John Toppa's sacrifice fly scored ex-Fitch star Aaron Hill (he walked earlier in the inning) to make it 5-4 and Anthony Prato tied the game with a two-out single, his seventh RBI in three tournament games.

In the eighth, Chris Winkel's two-out triple scored Isaac Feldstein to give the Huskies the lead.

Former Avery Point pitcher John Russell earned the win. The UConn closer pitched a career-high 3.1 innings and didn't allow a run, allowing two hits, striking out five and working out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth.

In other college baseball news:

• Avery Point begins play in the NJCAA Division II World Series on Saturday in Enid, Okla. The Pointers, making their second trip in three years — and first under coach Mike Aldrich — played Kankakee (Ill.) Community College at 5 p.m. in the 10-team, double-elimination event. Avery Point qualified by sweeping three games to win the Northeast District tournament last weekend in Valhalla, N.Y.

• Mitchell College second baseman Kyle Hartenstein earned honorable mention recognition on the D3baseball.com All-American team. Hartenstein, a junior from Maloney High in Meriden, batted .422 with 43 RBI and a team-high 51 runs. He also set Mitchell single-season records with 70 hits and 19 doubles. He is the third Mitchell player to receive All-American status, joining John Apostolo (2011) and Jeremy Chapman (2010). Both were also honorable mention picks.

H.S. boys' lacrosse

• Riley Jordan scored seven goals as No. 23 Fitch beat No. 10 Norwich Tech/Windham Tech 17-5 in the Class M tournament qualifying round. Fitch plays at No. 2 Pomperaug in the first round at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Noah Reuling had two goals and eight assists, Bray Wilson scored five times and Jon Russack Baker, Zach Letellier and Jack Meyer had a goal each for Fitch (8-9). Norwich Tech/Windham Tech finishes at 7-5.  

H.S. baseball

• The Shoreline Conference tournament championship game between second-seeded Old Lyme and No. 4 Cromwell was postponed due to wet field conditions at the Indian River Complex in Clinton. The game has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Haddam-Killingworth. Old Lyme defeated Cromwell 9-1 during the regular season.