TicketsApril 9, 2007
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Tony Campana had a career-high four RBI and Cincinnati held off a late Marshall charge, leading the Bearcats to a 12-10 win over the Thundering Herd on Monday night at Marge Schott Stadium. The victory ups UC's record to 18-14 on the year and is the team's fifth win in its last seven outings.
Campana was the leader of a Bearcat offensive attack that totaled 12 hits with two hits and his 40th stolen base of the year. Josh Harrison and Jamel Scott each added two to the cause. John Baird carried the bulk of the load on the mound, grabbing his first career victory with a career-best 6.1 innings of work.
The Bearcats came out firing, scoring a pair of runs in each of the first three innings to stake an early 6-0 lead. Neall French got the fireworks started when he lifted his seventh home run of the year to left with a man on in the first. One inning later, the Bearcats went up 3-0 on a Cameron Satterwhite ground out just two hitters before Campana picked up his first RBI with a run-scoring single.
In the second, Harrison led the inning off with a walk and raced all the way around to score when Michael Earley yanked a double just inside the left field line. Earley would later score the game's sixth run, racing home on a passed ball.
Marshall (14-17) cut the deficit to 6-2 in the fourth, finally getting to Baird after the junior retired 10 of the first 11 hitters he faced. With one out, Brendan Murphy drove a home run to right for the Herd's first tally of the evening. Brandon Casamassima followed with a double and later scored on a Josh Valle RBI single.
The Bearcats continued to pour it on in the fifth going in front by a 9-2 score with all three runs coming on a single play. With the bases loaded and two out, Campana ripped a two-RBI single up the middle with the third run coming across when center fielder Mason Chapman's throw found its way into the Cincinnati dugout.
Marshall would respond with two runs in the top of the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Jeff Rowley and Nate Lape. On the latter, a throw from Brian Szarmach followed the same fate as Chapman's, rolling into the UC dugout for a two-base error and a second Herd run in the inning. Marshall clawed within 9-5 in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Casamassima.
The Bearcats showed they weren't finished scoring with two runs in the seventh and one more in the eighth. Inning number seven saw Campana reach on a bases loaded fielder's choice to score one run, with Harrison following with an RBI single. Dustin Alvey drove an eighth inning offering from Tyler Gatrell into left center field for an RBI single to round out the UC scoring.
Things got ugly for the Bearcats in the ninth as eight Herd batters faced relievers A.J. Upton and Billy Welsh. After an RBI double by Brit Vincent and a Rowley RBI single, Upton was lifted with two men on in favor of Welsh. Lape greeted UC's closer quite rudely, drilling his first home run of the season over the left center field wall. Welsh then settled down to retire the final two hitters and secure the Bearcat win.
Marshall got a big day from Lape who went 2-for-4 with four RBI. Chapman and Vincent pounded out three hits each, while two other Marshall players had two hits apiece. Starter Ryan Kiel (3-3) took the loss after yielding six runs and seven hits in three innings of work.
Cincinnati is back in action on Wednesday, hosting crosstown rival Xavier at 6:30 p.m. UC will be looking for revenge from a 1-0 defeat to the Muskies earlier this year.