TicketsParker Leads UC Win Over Toledo
Junior hits fifth homer of the year
Contact: Shawn Sell
3/23/2005
Logan Parker had four hits, including a home run, in UC's win over Toledo. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio?Logan Parker recorded four hits, including his team-best fifth home run of the season, leading Cincinnati to a 10-4 win over Toledo in non-conference baseball action at the UC Baseball Stadium. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Bearcats and evens the team?s record at 9-9.
Nick Buscemi (1-0) was sharp in his first start in nearly two years, allowing three runs in 4.2 innings of work. Four Bearcat relievers took over from there, yielding just one unearned run and one hit in the final 5.1 innings of work.
Parker was outstanding at the plate, recording two doubles, a single and a home run, while scoring twice and driving in two runs. LaFringe Hayes continued his tear of late with two hits and two runs, while Brian Szarmach also tallied two hits and two RBI.
Cincinnati fell behind early as Toledo scratched the scoreboard with a first-inning RBI groundout by Jason Watson. The deficit didn?t last long as a three-run first inning spelled the end of the day for Rocket starter and losing pitcher J.R. Duffey (1-4). Hayes led the inning off with a walk and a stolen base and three batters later scored on a Jack Nelson RBI single. Parker made it 2-1 with a run-scoring single and Szarmach put UC up two with a sacrifice fly.
Toledo cut its deficit to one in the second on an RBI double by Drew Hoisington, but then saw Buscemi retire the next seven batters through the end of the fourth.
UC extended its lead with two runs in the third and added a sixth run with one in the fourth. In the third, the Bearcats did their damage with two outs, starting with Parker?s blast to deep right center. Szarmach followed with a single up the middle and came all the way around to score when Brian Beltz looped a very high single into center and raced to second on the throw to the plate. UC made it a 6-2 score in the fourth when Mark Muscenti raced home on a wild pitch.
The Rockets got one of the runs back in the fifth inning when Jake Swint scored on an error by Beltz. The bottom of the fifth proved to be the frame that put the game out of reach for Toledo as UC plated four runs. Parker and Szarmach started the inning with back-to-back doubles that scored one run and a bases loaded walk to Mark Haske made it 8-3. With the bases still loaded, Jon DeLuca ripped a single up the middle that scored Muscenti and Hayes, but the UC junior was gunned out trying to advance to second.
Toledo got its final run of the night in the ninth, as Joel Visser came in on a fielding error by Szarmach.
?It?s good for us to get back in the winning mode,? said Bearcat head coach Brian Cleary. ?Today was a step in the right direction for us, but we still need to continue to improve. I thought Logan Parker really did a nice job and gave us a lift offensively.?
Duffey took the loss for UT, yielding three runs and two hits in just one inning of work. Hoisington led the Toledo offense with two hits.
The Bearcats will now prepare for a return to Conference USA action this weekend at Southern Miss. The series gets underway in Hattiesburg at 6:30 p.m. CT on Friday and continues with afternoon contests on Saturday and Sunday.