TicketsApril 16, 2010
CINCINNATI - Behind timely hitting and good outings from junior Dan Jensen and senior Brian Garman, the University of Cincinnati baseball team captured its third consecutive victory with a 4-2 win over St. John's University in the opener of a three-game BIG EAST Conference series Friday evening at Marge Schott Stadium.
Both Jensen and the Red Storms' Bruce Kern kept the opposition scoreless until the Bearcats put a pair of runs on the board in the fourth and fifth innings, which proved to be enough run support for Jensen.
St. John's got to Jensen in the fifth inning, scoring two runs, but Jensen finished the day giving up those two runs on five hits in 5.0 innings to pick up the win and improve to 4-1 on the season.
Neither team advanced a runner past second base through three and a half innings until Cincinnati (18-14; 4-6 BIG EAST) put together a rally in the fourth inning. With one out, sophomore Kendal Coleman singled up the middle to start things off before moving into scoring position by stealing second base. With Coleman in scoring position, senior Jimmy Jacquot worked a full count and then doubled down the left field line to score Coleman and break the scoreless tie. Two batters later, a junior Mikel Huston single plated Jacquot to widen the lead to 2-0.
A two-out, two-run home run by the St. John's (19-12; 5-5 BIG EAST) shortstop, Joe Panik, in the top of the fifth quickly evened the score at two, but UC bounced right back in the bottom of the fifth.
For the second time in as many innings, the rally began on a one-out single, this time by senior Jamel Scott. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, a double by sophomore T.J. Jones in the gap in left-center field allowed Scott to score from first, placing Cincinnati back in front, 3-2. With two outs and runners on the corners, junior Chris Peters delivered a clutch RBI single to left field to extend the advantage to 4-2.
Senior Brian Garman came out of the UC bullpen in relief in the sixth and was in trouble in both the sixth and the eighth innings, but Garman used a strike out and a double play to end both threats, leaving the score at 4-2 entering the ninth.
In the ninth, the STJ was set down in order by senior Andrew Burkett as Cincinnati captured the opening game of the series, 4-2.
Burkett picked up his eighth save on the season moving him into fifth place on UC's single-season saves chart.
The Red Storm and Bearcats resume their series on Saturday, April 17, at 4 p.m. at Marge Schott Stadium.