TicketsBearcats Drop 5-2 Decision To East Carolina
Borsa tosses third complete game in defeat
Contact: Shawn Sell
3/28/2003
Brad Dorrmann went 3 for 4 Friday night to raise his season average to .250. |
GREENVILLE, N.C.---B.J. Borsa threw his third complete game in his last four starts and Brad Dorrmann went 3 for 4 but it wasn?t enough as Cincinnati fell to East Carolina 5-2 in the opener of a Conference USA series at Harrington Field.
The Bearcats left eight runners on base in the contest, including five in scoring position, in falling to 7-16 on the season and 1-6 in Conference USA. The Pirates improve to 17-9-1 and 5-2 in league play.
Both Borsa (2-4) and his counterpart Davey Penny (3-2) went the distance on the mound in what shaped into a classic pitchers dual. Both of the runs Penny surrendered were unearned, while he allowed seven hits and two walks, while picking up seven strikeouts. Borsa was also solid as he yielded nine hits and a walk, while striking out two.
?We had chances to score early on, but we couldn?t cash in,? said Bearcat head coach Brian Cleary. ?I thought both pitchers threw well, but East Carolina came up with the big hits they needed and just hit more timely.?
The Pirates jumped on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the third inning when John Poppert took a Borsa offering over the short porch in left field for his first home run of the season.
Cincinnati came back with both of its runs in the sixth inning, beginning the frame with Brad Schutz reaching on an error. After Dorrmann blooped a single to center, Jon DeLuca bunted both runners over. Jake Smith plated the first run with an RBI groundout and Drew Saylor followed with an RBI single down the right field line.
East Carolina wasted little time regaining the lead as Darryl Lawhorn homered in the bottom of the inning with a runner on to put the Pirates back ahead, 3-2. The Pirates got two more runs in the next inning on Jamie Paige?s two-run double.
The Bearcats had golden scoring opportunities in three of the first four innings, but Penny was sharp and held UC scoreless. In the first inning, Mark Muscenti walked and Justin Niefer singled, but a strikeout-throw out double play thwarted the rally. An inning later, Smith walked with one out and Josh Romero singled an out later. But Erik Eitel grounded out to end that rally. The Bearcats best chance came in the fourth, when Dorrmann lined a single to right center and DeLuca doubled up the left center ally. But Penny got Smith to groundout, Saylor to strikeout and Romero to ground out to end the inning.
Dorrmann was the Bearcats offensive star with three of Cincinnati?s seven hits, while Smith and Saylor each had RBI. Niefer?s first inning single improved his hitting streak to seven straight games.
The schedule for the remainder of the weekend series has been altered, with a day-night doubleheader now scheduled for Saturday. Game one will begin at noon, with game two set to start at 6 p.m. Kyle Markle and Nate Bouldin will start on the mound for Cincinnati, against two Pirate pitchers to be named.