TicketsMay 13, 2007
NEW YORK---The University of Cincinnati baseball team found itself behind early and could not overcome St. John's starting pitcher George Brown to mount a challenge, falling 15-0 in its final BIG EAST Conference road tilt of the season. At the end of the weekend, UC clings to eighth place in the BIG EAST stadings at 9-14 with an overall mark of 27-25.
Wanting to keep a firm grasp on first place in the BIG EAST standings St. John's (36-14, 18-6 BIG EAST) came out of the gates with the bats working.
Junior righthander, John Baird allowed the fi rst four Red Storm batters of the afternoon to reach base. After six base hits through the first eight hitters in the order gave the home team a 4-0 lead, a two-run triple by Jeff Grantham made it an early 6-0 St. John's advantage.
The six-run rally was more than enough for Brown, who pitched five innings of shutout baseball. The third lefthanded starter of the weekend for St. John's, he yielded one hit and one walk while striking out five to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Trailing 6-0 after two innings, Baird, who moved to 2-3 with the decision, allowed the fi rst three batters of the third inning to reach base before giving way to reliever Brian Garman. A fielding error and a sacrifice fly made thre score 14-0 after three frames.
Cincinnati's (27-25, 9-14 BIG EAST) best opportunity to put a marker on the scoreboard came in the seventh inning. With runners on first and third and one out, a line drive doubleplay to the shortstop Grantham stopped the UC threat.
Josh Harrison carded two of the Bearcats' five hits on the day. He halted Brown's no-hit bid with a single to right field in the fourth inning and knocked a single to left field in the sixth. Harrison finished the day 2-for-3 and hit .429 (3-for-7) for the weekend.
Cincinnati used eight pitchers in the game. The combination of Evan Sanford, Nick Buscemi, Jake Geglein, A.J. Upton, Adam Calez and Robb Thompson allowed one run on six hits over the fi nal five and two-thirds innings.
The Bearcats return to action on Wednesday, when they travel to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami University. UC's final non-league test on the schedule for is set for a 7 p.m. first pitch.