TicketsBearcats Toppled By Southern Miss, 11-3
UC loses rain-delayed marathon
Contact: Shawn Sell
3/26/2005
Brian Szarmach hit his third homer of the year at Southern Miss. |
HATTIESBURG, Miss.---In a game that featured two rain delays that covered nearly three hours, Southern Miss prevailed by an 11-3 score over Cincinnati in game two of a Conference USA series at Pete Taylor Park on Saturday.
Southern Miss (17-5, 3-2 C-USA) scored five runs in the third and four more in the sixth to hand UC its fifth straight conference loss. The Bearcats stand at 9-11 overall and 0-5 in league play.
For the second time in as many days, Southern Miss used a crushing third inning to take control of the game. UC starter Sean Munninghoff worked out a first inning, bases loaded jam and retired three of four batters in the second before running into big trouble. After a third inning, lead-off walk, Brad Wilcutt blasted a two-run homer to center to spark what would prove to be a five-run Golden Eagle attack. Southern Miss then pieced together three straight singles to get one run, before Munninghoff recorded two outs. But Chris Matesich chased Munninghoff from the game with a two-run double to left center.
At the end of the third inning, the first rain delay covering two hours and 27 minutes came as a storm moved into the area. The second delay, which covered 22 minutes came in the last of the fifth, leading to a four-run sixth inning for Southern Miss. Beau Griffin started the scoring with a sacrifice fly and Kevin Coker put an explanation point on the outburst with a three-run homer off of A.J. Upton.
Cincinnati managed its first two runs with one each in the fifth and sixth innings. Brian Szarmach led the fifth off with his third home run of the season and Jon DeLuca plated Mark Haske with an RBI single in the sixth.
Southern Miss got its final two runs of the night with single runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings, drawing bases loaded walks against Mike Foley. UC?s final marker came in the eighth when Jack Nelson raced home on a Southern Miss error.
Matt Caire (3-1) picked up the victory for Southern Miss in his first start of the season. The southpaw worked 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Munninghoff took the loss, falling to 2-3 for the Bearcats. Despite a career-high five strikeouts, Munninghoff was tagged for five runs on six hits with four walks.
Szarmach provided the offensive highlight for the Bearcats with his homer, while DeLuca collected two of Cincinnati?s six hits. A total of four Southern Miss players had two hits, while four Golden Eagles drove in two runs each.
UC will be out to snap its C-USA skid when it returns to Pete Taylor Park on Easter Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Kevin Schrader will draw the start on the mound for the Bearcats, taking on preseason C-USA Pitcher of the Year Patrick Ezell.