TicketsFeb. 19, 2006
Game Two Box Score in PDF Format
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GREENSBORO, N.C.---Glen Simon pitched a three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts, helping Cincinnati clinch a doubleheader sweep over North Carolina A&T on Sunday at chilly War Memorial Stadium. The game two victory clinches UC's first series win of the year and improves the Bearcats' record to 2-4 on the year.
Simon was nearly unhittable in his second Cincinnati start, retiring the first 12 batters of the game. After a shaky start last weekend at Florida, Simon (1-1) dominated the Aggies, striking out at least one hitter in all seven innings, including all three hitters in the third.
The Bearcats got all the offense they would need with a single run in the first inning and two more in the third. LaFringe Hayes led the game off with an infield single and scampered to third on Josh Harrison's single to right. Logan Parker then lifted a sacrifice fly to right to plate Hayes for a 1-0 UC lead.
In the third, Adam Calez started the inning with a single, went to second on an error and to third on a passed ball. With Hayes on first and Calez on third, the Aggies caught Hayes in a rundown, but Calez raced home and all hands were safe as Hayes moved to second. After reaching on a fielder's choice, Harrison came around to score the final run of the afternoon on a Brian Szarmach RBI groundout.
That offense would be all Simon would need, as he ran into trouble in just the final two innings. With two outs in the sixth, Simon issued back-to-back walks, but struck out Charlie Gamble to thwart the threat. In the seventh, Patrick Oates led off with a double, but was erased at third on Joe McIntyre's bloop single down the left field line. From there, Simon struck out William Sunderland and got Raul Santiago to line out to first to end the game.
For North Carolina A&T (1-2), John Primus went the distance on the hill, allowing just the three runs on five base hits. The sophomore walked two and struck out four in the defeat.
In game one of the twinbill, Cincinnati turned a one-run game into a rout with a 10-run sixth inning explosion en route to a 19-4 win over the Aggies. The Bearcats got a season-high 14 hits at the plate and also benefited from a complete game by junior Kyle Rapp in just his second start as a Bearcat.
Despite being hurt by four errors, Rapp was outstanding on the hill, yielding just two earned runs on seven hits and striking out a career-high seven. The victory was his first of the year against one loss and marked the first complete game turned in by a UC hurler since Tony Maynard went all the way against Charlotte on April 15, 2005.
The day was full of offensive heroes for the Bearcats as five different players had two hits. Mark Muscenti led the RBI parade with three, while Hayes, Harrison, Parker and Szarmach all had two apiece. Muscenti and Parker each added a double for UC, while Hayes scored a total of five runs.
The 10-run sixth inning saw six different Aggie hurlers took a turn on the mound, as the Bearcats pounded out six hits and drew five walks. Cincinnati sent 15 batters to the plate in the biggest inning by the squad since erupting for 10 in the third inning of last season's contest with Kentucky State. The 19 total runs were the most by UC since a 21-8 rout of Xavier on April 29, 2003.
The game started with the Bearcats jumping on the board in the first, courtesy of a Harrison RBI single. Hayes drew a walk to lead-off the game and promptly swiped his first base of the year. After going to third on a passed ball, the senior trotted home on Harrison's hit to left.
North Carolina A&T answered back in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of a pair of Bearcat errors to take a 2-1 lead. Cincinnati would tie the game in the second when Jack Nelson raced home on a throwing error by Aggie catcher Neil Rosser. The home team would go in front again on a Gamble run scoring double in its half of the second, but UC responded once more when Muscenti drilled a two-run double into the left field corner to make it 4-3.
Cincinnati would add to its lead in the fourth when Hayes scored on a wild pitch, but lost its two-run advantage when Santiago drove home a run with an infield single in the last of the fifth.
That set the stage for Cincinnati's sixth inning explosion and came just prior to four more runs in the seventh. Hayes started the final outburst off with a run-scoring single then scored on an NCAT error. Parker put an exclamation point on the inning when he ripped an RBI double to right center.
A total of seven different pitchers threw for the Aggies, with starter Oates taking the loss. The sophomore allowed four runs on three hits, with six walks in two-plus innings of work.
Cincinnati returns to action and to the state of North Carolina next weekend, traveling to High Point for a three-game series which kicks off on Friday at 2 p.m.