TicketsMay 4, 2010
CINCINNATI - In the opener of a home-and-home mid-week series between Wright State University and the University and Cincinnati baseball team, Wright State scored five runs in the final two innings to secure a 9-3 win over Cincinnati Tuesday evening at Marge Schott Stadium. The loss snapped UC's four-game winning streak and dropped the Bearcats to 23-21 overall, while the Raiders improved to 24-17.
Cincinnati, who scored two runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Raiders, 6-5, in the first meeting between the schools this season on April 13, fell behind early as the Raiders scored three runs in the first two innings, two of which coming in the second inning on a two-run homer by Gerald Ogrinc, to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
With Wright State starter Cody Kopilchack struggling to find the strike zone early in the second inning, junior Justin Riddell got the Bearcats on the board when he deposited a three balls, one strike pitch over the fence in left-center field, cutting the UC deficit to 3-1. The home run was Riddell's second of the season.
After the Raiders manufactured a run in the fifth to re-establish a three-run lead, 4-1, a brief two-out surge in the bottom of the fifth helped the Bearcats claw back within one run, 4-3. With two outs, junior Chris Peters drew a five-pitch walk and then scored on a line-drive home run off the bat of sophomore T.J. Jones, his fourth round-tripper of the season.
Two scoreless innings ensued before a pair of two-out, two-RBI singles from the Raiders opened up a five-run lead, 8-3. WSU tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning that extended the lead to 9-3 and Wright State's Greg Robinson retired the Bearcats in the eighth and ninth innings to close out the 9-3 Raider triumph.
WSU's Cory Kopilchack moved to 3-1 on the season after giving up five hits and three earned runs in 5.0 innings. UC freshman Zach Isler dropped to 0-2 on the season after yielding six hits and four runs in 4.1 innings of work.
The Bearcats and Raiders conclude their mid-week home-and-home series on Wednesday, May 5, at 6:30 p.m. on Wright State's home field, Nischwitz Stadium.