TicketsApril 20, 2007
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Three home runs and a late comeback weren't enough as Cincinnati dropped its series opener to Connecticut by a 6-4 score on Friday night at Marge Schott Stadium. The game, played before a season-best home crowd of 658, drops UC's record to 19-17 overall and 5-7 in the BIG EAST.
For much of the game, the story was Connecticut starting pitcher Mike Tarsi who kept the Bearcats guessing for the first eight innings. Despite yielding a two-run home run to Cameron Satterwhite in the ninth, the UConn lefty finished with a complete game, improving to 3-3 on the year. Connecticut evens its record to 18-18 overall, while running its league mark to 5-8.
Cincinnati's undoing proved to be a four-run fourth inning outburst by the Huskies that started innocently enough with a Dale Brannon single. After Steve Blevins (5-6) got two ground ball outs, Matt Karl knocked a base hit back up the middle to even the score at 1-1. Consecutive walks came back to haunt Blevins as Pat Mahoney delivered the game's biggest blow, ripping a bases clearing double up the left center field alley to put the Huskies in front to stay.
The Bearcats jumped into an early lead as the second as Neall French led the frame off with his ninth home run of the year. After a Dennis Donovan fifth inning RBI single, the Bearcats got back within 5-2 as Ryan Baker led the fifth inning off with his first career home run.
Connecticut would add an insurance run in the sixth inning as a Brannon single plated Matt Burnett.
Meanwhile, Tarsi was shutting the Bearcats down. After a one out Tony Campana single in the fifth, Tarsi retired the next 11 batters in a row through the end of the eighth inning. In the ninth, UC brought the tying run to the plate after Satterwhite hit his fourth homer in the last two games with a man on. After Tarsi got the second out, the hosts tried to keep the rally going as Baker smashed a double to right center. The comeback was not to be, however as Tarsi fielded a Jamel Scott grounder and flipped to first for the game's final out.
Mahoney was the big hero for Connecticut, finishing with two hits and three RBI. Burnett went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs, while three other Huskies added two hits each. Tarsi's final line showed four runs allowed on seven hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Cincinnati will look to even the series at one during game two tomorrow at 3 p.m. The Bearcats' Dan Osterbrock will be looking for his seventh win of the year, taking on the Huskies' Dusty Odenbach.