TicketsMarch 1, 2006
LEXINGTON, Ky.---Cincinnati survived a ninth-inning Kentucky rally to eek out a 10-9 win over the Wildcats in a non-conference thriller on Wednesday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The win evens UC's record at 5-5 on the year and is the Bearcats second straight over the Wildcats.
A.J. Upton worked out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth to preserve the Bearcat victory and earn his second save of the season. Sean Munninghoff, the third of seven UC hurlers on the day, got his first win of the season.
Cincinnati pounded out 18 hits on the afternoon, led by Josh Harrison with four. Jack Nelson added three hits, while Mark Muscenti had two hits and three RBI.
Upton, UC's top arm out of the bullpen early in 2006, actually had to escape trouble in each of the last two innings to stave off Kentucky's (6-2) comeback. In the eighth, Collin Cowgill doubled with two outs and Upton followed by hitting Sean Coughlin with a pitch. Freshman right fielder Adam Yeager came to the rescue though, as he crashed into the wall, but hung on on a fly ball hit by Ryan Strieby.
The ninth inning provided more excitement than the Bearcat faithful cared for as Kentucky nearly pulled off the winning rally. Michael Bertram walked to lead off the inning and went to second on a passed ball. One out later, Upton walked Billy Grace and allowed a single to Ryan Wilkes that loaded the bases for pinch hitter Brian Hastings. Hastings lifted a sacrifice fly to right that cut the score to 10-9, but also put UK down to its final out. Antone DeJesus, a plus-.400 hitter entering the game, ripped a hard ground ball up the middle, but Upton was able to field the screamer and flip to first for the final out of the game.
Cincinnati showed it had brought its high powered offense early on as the Bearcats accounted for eight runs on 13 hits through the first four innings. Logan Parker's sacrifice fly in the first got the Bearcats on the board first, but Kentucky would tie it in the second on Strieby lead-off, solo home run. The Wildcats had a good scoring chance in the first with runners on first and third and one out, before a bizarre play took them out of the inning. UC starting pitcher Kevin Schrader uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Coughlin to take second. DeJesus, on third at the time, stumbled between third and home and was tagged out by UC catcher Nick Maragas. During the rundown, Coughlin tried to take third, but was trapped and tagged out for the unusual double play.
The Bearcats broke out to a 4-1 lead with a three-run third that saw the visitors nearly bat around. Jon DeLuca provided the big hit of the frame with a two-run single, while Maragas also added an RBI single. Kentucky assumed the lead in the last of the third, chasing reliever Dan Osterbrock in favor of Munninghoff. Coughlin and Strieby both came up large in the frame with two RBI doubles.
Cincinnati wouldn't stay down long, however, jumping back in front by an 8-5 count, courtesy of a four-run fifth inning explosion. Brian Szarmach got the ball rolling with an RBI groundout, setting the stage for a two-run single by the hot hitting Muscenti. One out later, Nelson ripped an RBI double up the left centerfield ally, but the rally was thwarted when the senior tried to leg the hit into a triple. Kentucky got within 8-6 on Bertram's RBI double in the fifth, but saw the deficit back at three after LaFringe Hayes' run-scoring hit in the seventh. The Wildcats stayed alive with two runs in the seventh to make it 9-8, with one coming on a Bertram RBI groundout and the other coming when Coughlin scampered home on a Bearcat error. Cincinnati would score a much needed insurance run in the eighth when Szarmach raced home on a Muscenti single.
Kentucky, which collected just seven hits despite scoring nine runs, got a double, a homer and three RBI from Strieby to lead the charge. Coughlin added two RBI and three runs, while Bertram had a pair of RBI. Troy Ragle was hit with the loss after allowing three earned runs in the fourth inning.
Munninghoff proved to be the most effective of the Bearcat hurlers on the afternoon, allowing just one run and two hits in three innings of relief. The UC offense, which saw all nine of its hitters collect at least one hit, totaled 18 hits for the second time this year. Hayes tacked on three hits, while DeLuca also had two.
The Bearcats will seek to get above .500 when they open the 2006 home schedule and a 10-game homestand this weekend. UC will welcome Niagara of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this weekend with game one set for Friday at 4 p.m.