TicketsMay 13, 2006
CINCINNATI, Ohio---A long day ended in disappointment as Cincinnati dropped both games of a doubleheader to West Virginia by scores of 9-1 and 13-12 on Saturday at soggy UC Baseball Stadium. The series, which has been plagued by rain all weekend, saw the finale delayed for 90 minutes prior to the start because of rain showers.
Logan Parker turned in a huge game two performance, as he matched the school records for hits in a game with six and doubles with three. He also drove in six runs, as did Brian Szarmach. The duo's collective outbursts weren't enough to overcome a 17-hit attack turned in by West Virginia (32-18, 12-11 BIG EAST). The Mountaineers combined for 32 hits in the two games.
The defeats were crushing for the Bearcats (30-21, 11-12 BIG EAST) who entered the weekend tied for fourth in the BIG EAST as UC slides to seventh, pending the outcome of Saturday's Rutgers-Georgetown contest. The setbacks also pushed the Bearcats' losing streak to four, matching a season-long.
Game one saw West Virginia, ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in nearly every offensive category, jump on UC pitching ace Steve Blevins. Blevins was hit for nine runs and 14 hits during his six inning stint on the mound, including five runs in the first three frames. The Bearcats actually scored first, as Jack Nelson poked an RBI single through the left side that scored Mark Muscenti in the first.
West Virginia matched the run as David Carpenter lifted a one out home run to right center in the second. Things got bad in the third as WVU put together a two-out rally to open a 5-1 lead. Cincinnati native Kyle Matuszek got it started with a two-run single, setting the stage for a Casey Bowling home run to left.
The visitors continued to pour it on, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth and ending Blevins' day with two more in the sixth. Doug Nelms had an RBI single in the fourth, while Carpenter's double in the fifth made it 7-1. West Virginia rounded out the scoring with a two-run single off the bat of Stan Posluszny in the sixth.
Lost in the high-octane hitting in game one for WVU was the pitching of Matt Yurish. Just a sophomore, Yurish (5-2) stymied the Bearcats' bats, allowing just one run and four hits in eight innings of work. He also walked four, but struck out eight.
Nelms and Posluszny each collected three hits in game one for West Virginia, while four different players drove in two runs each.
Offensive fireworks were on display early on in game two after the rain delay. Both teams showed it was going to be a high scoring affair as the scoreboard showed an 8-5 WVU lead after just two innings of play. Cincinnati once again took the early lead as a Parker RBI double and a two-run single by Szarmach staked the home team to a 3-0 lead.
No one could have expected what happened next as West Virginia responded with an eight-run outburst in the second inning. The Mountaineers used six doubles in the frame among its eight hits to chase UC starter Kyle Rapp and also batter reliever Nick Buscemi. UC again had an answer in its half of the second as Parker's two-run single cut the Bearcat deficit to three.
Cincinnati would briefly retake the lead in the fourth, loading the bases with no one out against Dan Leatherman. After a Nelson pop out, Szarmach again came up big, lining his third grand slam and seventh homer of the year, deep over the right field wall to put the Bearcats in control 9-8.
The twists and turns of the game continued in the top of the fifth as three West Virginia runs quickly made it an 11-9 Mountaineer lead. The runs came with one swing of the bat as lead-off hitter Tyler Kuhn hit a deep home run to right center off of Buscemi with two men on. The drama continued in the bottom of the inning, with the long ball again coming into play. With one out, Mark Muscenti doubled and Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch. Parker kept the dramatic home run theme going as he drove his team-leading 10th homer over the left field fence to put the Bearcats back in front, 12-11.
The see-saw battle would take its final turn in the top of the sixth as WVU took advantage of a rare wild stretch by UC closer A.J. Upton. Upton allowed three straight singles to open the inning, with Matuszek's tying the game at 12. After a walk to Bowling, Evan Sanford relieved Upton with the bases loaded. Sanford did his job, getting Carpenter to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, but Posluszny trotted home with the winning run on the play.
Cincinnati threatened in each of the last three innings, but ended up leaving six men on base in the frames. In the seventh, UC had runners on second and third with one out, but couldn't capitalize. In the eighth, UC loaded the bases with two outs, but left the sacks packed. Parker led off the ninth with his third double of the day, but was still standing there when winning pitcher Ryan Hill (1-1), retired LaFringe Hayes for the final out.
West Virginia saw eight of its nine hitters gather at least two hits in the game, with Kuhn collecting three along with four RBI. Parker went 6 for 6 with three runs scored and six RBI in the defeat, while Szarmach also drove in six.
The offensive contest saw the team's combine for 32 hits, including 15 doubles and three home runs.
The two teams will wrap up the series on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. first pitch. Dan Osterbrock will look for his fourth straight win for UC, while WVU is expected to start Marty Fagler.