TicketsMay 12, 2007
NEW YORK -- Starting pitcher Dan Osterbrock yielded three runs over seven innings of work and the University of Cincinnati offense engineered a five-run outburst in the top of the fourth inning to prove that anything can change in a New York minute to key Cincinnati's 5-4 victory at St. John's on Saturday afternoon at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
For Osterbrock (9-1) the performance marked his sixth consecutive win of the season. The sophomore southpaw allowed three runs on five hits, striking out two, walking one and hitting three batters.
Cincinnati's (27-24, 9-13 BIG EAST) victory melted away a six-game losing streak in BIG EAST Conference games.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning, the Bearcats broke free for five runs to take a 5-1 lead. Three back-to-back singles by Adam Yeager and Josh Harrison put runners on first and third and set the table for Neall French's single to bring home the first UC run of the weekend and knot the game, at 1-1. After a sacrifice bunt by Michael Obyc advanced Harrison and French to scoring position, Dustin Alvey hit a ground ball to third base, but Harrison was snuffed out from scoring at the plate.
With two outs, the bottom three hitters in the Bearcats' lineup went to work. Kevin Johnson's single through the right side scored French and put the Bearcats ahead 2-1. With Alvey and Johnson aboard, Ryan Baker doubled to left-center field, bringing home both Alvey and Johnson to make it a 4-1 Cincinnati lead. No. 9 hitter Cory Hodskins notched a bloop single to left-center field that plated Baker and put UC in front by a count of 5-1.
Holding a four-run cushion, Osterbrock immediately hit the first two Red Storm batters in the bottom half of the fourth inning. A ground out to the first baseman put both runners in scoring position for Jeff Grantham's sacrifice fly to right field. One batter later, Brian Kemp's infield single brought home the second run of the frame and trimmed the UC lead to two, at 5-3.
St. John's (35-14, 17-6 BIG EAST) replaced starting pitcher Matt Tosoni (5-4) with Ryan Cole before the start of the fifth inning. Cole quickly quieted the Cincinnati bats, giving up two hits over the final five innings.
Righthander Michael Hill earned his first save of the year by completing the final two innings. Hill entered the game in the eighth inning and worked a quick three outs. In the ninth, Hill found himself in a jam.
After retiring the first two batters in the inning, the junior gave up an infield single to Kemp and walked Joachim. After a double steal put runners on second and third, a wild pitch scored Kemp from third base to make it a 5-4 game. A walk to Sam DeLuca put runners on the corners for Zayas. With the count full, Zayas hit a sharp grounder to Harrison at second base who registered the afternoon's final out with a throw to first base.
St. John's started the scoring with in the third inning when a hard hit ball by Gil Zayas bounced over Cincinnati third baseman Cory Hodskins to allow Chris Joachim to score from second base. With one away, Joachim reached on an infield single and after a fly out, advanced to second on a stolen base.
The Bearcats continue their quest to have their tickets punched for the BIG EAST Conference Tournament on Sunday afternoon when they tangle with the Red Storm in the rubber match of this three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for noon.