TicketsBearcats Rout Vikings For Series Sweep
UC pushes win streak to four with 14-2 win
Contact: Shawn Sell
3/6/2005
LaFringe Hayes recorded his fourth triple of the series in Sunday's win over Cleveland State. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Cincinnati concluded its weekend domination of Cleveland State with a 14-2 rout of the Vikings in non-conference baseball action at the UC Baseball Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The win improves the Bearcats record to 7-5 on the year and gives UC its second series sweep of the young season.
The Bearcats pounded out a season-high 16 hits, seven going for extra bases, while scoring at least one run in all but two innings on the day. UC has now stretched its winning streak to four, the longest for the program since a pair of four-game streaks early in 2002.
LaFringe Hayes once again sparked the offense, concluding the best series of his short Cincinnati career. The former University of Oklahoma transfer went 3-for-5 on Sunday, including his fourth triple of the weekend, while driving in two. Brian Szarmach added his first career three-hit day, while driving in two. Four other Bearcats added two hits apiece, while five players had two RBI.
Freshman Sean Munninghoff was once again outstanding on the mound, earning his second win of the season. Munninghoff allowed just one earned run on four hits in five innings with one walk and four strikeouts. A trio of relievers preserved the win with four shutout innings.
?We pitched well once again and I was really pleased all weekend with our effort on the mound,? said Bearcat head coach Brian Cleary. ?Again we played good defense and we finally got back into our team offensive approach. Any time you swing the bat well, pitch and play good defense, its hard not to win. I think its great to open our home schedule with a sweep.?
UC actually fell behind in the top of the first inning as Cleveland State (0-3) got a run on a sacrifice fly by Dominic Erney. The Bearcats didn?t trail long as an RBI double by Logan Parker and a run-scoring single by Szarmach highlighted a three-run first inning for the Bearcats.
The Bearcats got two more in the second inning, the first coming on back-to-back triples by Hayes and Mark Haske. Jon DeLuca?s RBI groundout pushed the UC lead to 5-1. The Vikings then scored their second run of the day on Erney?s second sacrifice fly of the afternoon.
Cincinnati got three more in the third, ultimately chasing Viking starter and losing pitcher Mike Ochwat (0-1). Szarmach got the scoring started when he banged a double off the right field wall to score Neall French. One out later, Mark Muscenti drove Szarmach home with an RBI double of his own.
In the fourth inning, the home team expanded its lead to 10-2 with a pair of runs. French started the inning by picking up the first RBI of his UC career on a run-scoring double. Muscenti kept the runs coming with an RBI single that plated French.
After going scoreless in the fifth, UC got another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Hayes. The Bearcats posted their final three runs of the afternoon in the eighth inning to open the final 12-run margin. Haske started the scoring with an RBI single that scored Brian Beltz and when left fielder Anthony Hurley?s throw bounced into the UC dugout, Muscenti was awarded home plate and Haske took third. DeLuca put an exclamation point on the day with a single up the middle that brought home Haske.
In addition to Munninghoff?s solid pitching, UC also got shutout performances from Nick Buscemi, Justin Minges and Josh Kay. Minges made his first appearance of the season a good one, as he struck out two hitters in one inning of work.
Cleveland State recorded eight hits on the day, with Jeff Katlen picking up three. Ochwat yielded seven runs (four earned) on five hits in two-plus innings of work.
The Bearcats will be out to build on its current win streak when they continue a nine-game homestand next weekend. UC will play host to Western Michigan for a three-game series that gets underway with a 4 p.m. first pitch on Friday (March 11).