TicketsFeb. 22, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. - The University of Cincinnati baseball team battled back-and-forth with Ohio State, but the Bearcats were unable to come out on top as they fell to the Buckeyes 6-5 Sunday afternoon at Red McEwen Field on the USF campus. Cincinnati (0-3) out-hit Ohio State (3-0) 11-10, but a fifth-inning sacrifice fly for Ohio State proved to be the difference.
UC scored one run apiece in the first two innings to jump out to a 2-0 lead. In the first inning, senior Cameron Satterwhite (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) lifted a two-out double down the left field line, putting himself in scoring position. Senior Mike Spina (Newberry, Fla./Newberry) plated Satterwhite on a single into left field, placing the Bearcats in front, 1-0.
In the second frame, sophomore Justin Riddell (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic) led things off with a single up the middle and scored during the next at bat on a double down the left field line by junior Kevin Johnson (Willard, Ohio/Willard), upping the UC margin to 2-0.
In the bottom half of the inning, Ohio State used a three-run home run off the bat of Brian DeLucia to take its first lead of the day, 3-2.
The Bearcats did not waste much time getting back in front as Riddell blasted a two-run opposite-field home run in the third inning to bring home junior Lance Durham (Forest Park, Ohio/Roger Bacon), lifting UC to a 4-3 lead. In the bottom half of the frame, the Buckeyes knocked two extra-base hits into left-center field, resulting in a run and tying the contest at four.
Ohio State jumped back in top in the fourth inning when DeLucia hit his second home run of the day, a solo shot, sending Ohio State back in front, 5-4.
Satterwhite followed with a solo home run of his own, his first of the season, knotting the game at five.
However, a UC error came back to hurt the Bearcats in the bottom of the fifth inning. Michael Stephens reached on a fielding error, before advancing to second base on a balk. A sacrifice bunt followed by a sacrifice fly plated Stephens, sending the Buckeyes back in front, 6-5.
Sophomore Brian Sand (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) and junior Andrew Burkett (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) came out of the bullpen and gave up two hits and struck out five in 3.0 innings of work to keep the Bearcats within striking distance.
Cincinnati had runners in scoring position in both the eighth and ninth innings, but UC could not get the run across home plate as the Bearcats fell to Ohio State, 6-5.
Satterwhite, Spina, Durham, and Riddell each recorded two hits, while Riddell drove in two runs to lead the team.
The Bearcats travel to Davidson, N.C., to play Davidson, Georgetown, and Penn Feb. 27-March 1 at Wilson Field.