TicketsApril 14, 2010
OXFORD, Ohio - Five University of Cincinnati pitchers combined to give up eight hits and two runs, and strike out eight batters to lead Cincinnati past Miami University, 3-2, to win the Joe Nuxhall Classic Wednesday evening at McKie Field at Hayden Park on the campus of Miami University.
Freshman Zach Isler went 4.2 innings and gave up four hits, one run, and struck out four in his first collegiate start, and sophomore Sam Slavik took home the win after pitching 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Sophomore Chris Peters, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, was 2-for-4 at the plate against the RedHawks and hit .444 (4-of-9) with two RBI and three stolen bases for the tournament.
The Bearcats earned their first Joe Nuxhall Championship trophy after dropping both of their games at Marge Schott Stadium last season. UC is now 2-2 all-time in the tournament that honors the Ol' Lefthander.
For the second game in a row, the Bearcats used a two-out rally to strike in the first inning. Senior Jimmy Jacquot began the two-out surge by drawing a four-pitch walk and then moved to second on a walk to senior Kevin Johnson. On the first pitch of his at-bat, junior Chris Peters lined a single into right field that fell just in front of Miami's right fielder Adam Eaton, allowing Jacquot to cross the plate and put UC in front, 1-0.
After leaving the bases loaded in the second inning and leaving two on in the third inning, UC was able to add a run to its lead in the fourth inning. Junior Justin Riddell started things off with a single to center field before moving to second base on a single to left field by senior Jamel Scott. Two batters later with the bases loaded and one out, Johnson drilled a fly ball to deep center field that was deep enough to score Riddell, upping the lead to 2-0.
UC continued to push its lead in the fifth on some help from the RedHawks. Junior Nick Rohlfs reached first base to lead off the inning when he was hit by a pitch and then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch advanced Rohlfs to third base and two batters later, an infield single by Riddell scored Rohlfs and widened the Bearcats margin to 3-0.
Miami got on the board in the fifth inning courtesy of a solo home run by Ryan Kaup, cutting the Bearcats deficit to 3-1.
UC held the RedHawks scoreless in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, and senior Andrew Burkett came in the game in the ninth inning and gave up one unearned run, but forced Miami's Jon Edgington to ground out to Peters to end the game, preserving the 3-2 win.
In addition to Peters, Scott and Riddell collected a pair of hits to lead the Bearcats. Burkett picked up his seventh save of the season, moving him into a tie for sixth on UC's single-season saves chart.
The Bearcats begin a three-game BIG EAST Conference series on Friday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. against St. John's University. Game 2 of the series is set to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, while the series finale will be played on Sunday, April 18, at 1 p.m.