TicketsMarch 25, 2011
QUEENS, N.Y. - In its BIG EAST conference opener, the University of Cincinnati baseball team lost to St. John's University 3-2 in a pitchers' duel Friday at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
Cincinnati senior RHP Dan Jensen (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) pitched seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and striking out four. Jensen's counterpart, St. John's RHP Kyle Hansen, threw seven innings, allowing one hit and one run while striking out a season-high 10 batters.
UC sophomore outfielder Jake Proctor (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) showcased his athleticism to put UC on the board in the top of the first inning. After drawing a leadoff walk to start the game, Proctor stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then stole home plate to give the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead. Proctor is now 10-for-10 in stolen-base attempts for the season.
St. John's first baseman Jeremy Baltz drove in the Red Storm's first run with an RBI-double in the bottom of the third inning. SJU scored another run in the third on a wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead.
Junior outfielder Braden Kline (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community) clubbed a double to center field off Hansen in the fourth inning, giving Cincinnati its first hit of the game. Kline has now hit safely in all 11 games he's appeared in this year and owns a 12-game hitting streak, dating back to last season.
The Red Storm tacked on a third run in the fifth inning due to a pair of Cincinnati fielding miscues. SJU outfielder Pat Talbut reached second base on an infield error by UC, then scored from third on another wild pitch to give St. John's a 3-1 lead.
Cincinnati (10-9, 0-1 BIG EAST) had opportunities to tie the game in its final two at-bats. In the eighth with a bases-loaded, one-out situation, Kline grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Bearcats were down to their final at-bat in the ninth inning trailing 3-1. Junior T.J. Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) hit a sacrifice fly to score catcher Jake Saylor (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) from third base to bring UC to within a 3-2 margin with two outs. Proctor struck out in the next at-bat for the third out of the inning to end Cincinnati's comeback attempt.
Cincinnati plays St. John's in Game 2 of its three-game series at 1 p.m. ET Saturday at Jack Kaiser Stadium.