TicketsApril 21, 2012
CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati baseball team lost to St. John's University 9-4 Saturday afternoon at Marge Schott Stadium.
With the score tied 4-4, St. John's scored five runs off four hits and a UC fielding error in the top of the ninth to pull away from the Bearcats.
UC starting pitcher Zach Morris (Edgewater, Md./DeMatha Catholic) pitched well enough to keep the Bearcats in the ballgame. The 6-foot-6 left allowed three runs on five hits in five innings pitched, and was a no decision.
Cincinnati, which totaled 10 hits, had three players record multi-hit games. Sophomore right fielder Justin Glass (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and freshman third baseman Joey Bielek (Scottsdale, Ariz./Chapparal) each went 2 for 5 with a run scored, while senior second baseman Sam Vandenheuvel (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton/Mesa CC) hit 2 for 4 and added a run. Senior left fielder T.J. Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle) produced a game-high-tying two RBIs.
UC tied the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Sophomore designated hitter Matt Williams (Mason, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian) led off with a walk and advanced to third on a fielding error by SJU pitcher Stephen Rivera, who dropped the ball while trying to tag senior catcher Braden Kline (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community) up the first-base line after Kline sac bunted. Jackson drove in Williams with a sacrifice fly.
St. John's took advantage of three walks to add two runs in the top of the sixth inning and take a 4-3 lead. Morris walked the leadoff batter and was pulled in favor of freshman right-hander Art Warren (Stryker, Ohio/Napoleon), who walked the bases loaded after a sacrifice bunt. Junior lefty Thomas Gentile (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) relieved Warren and allowed a two-run single to SJU right fielder Pat Talbut before inducing a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Cincinnati recorded the game's first runs in the bottom of the second. Glass and Bielek each hit one-out singles before executing a double steal to put Bearcats on second and third. Jones drove in Glass and Bielek with a two-run single through the right side of the infield to give the Bearcats an early 2-0 advantage.
St. John's plated two runners in the top of the second to quickly tie the score 2-2. Red Storm left fielder Jeremy Baltz led off by reaching on a throwing error by Morris. Third baseman Sean O'Hare singled through the right side. A wild pitch advanced Baltz to third and O'Hare to second. After Morris retired the next two batters, SJU second baseman and No. 9 hitter Bret Dennis hit a two-run single up the middle.
UC regained the lead in the bottom of the second. Vandenheuvel led off with a double down the left-field line and advanced to third on Spence's sacrifice bunt. Junior outfielder Jake Proctor (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) drove in Vandenheuvel with a groundout to shortstop, making the score 3-2 Bearcats.
The Bearcats will try to salvage a win in their three-game conference series 1 p.m. Sunday at Marge Schott Stadium, which can be heard live on Real Talk 1160 WQRT-AM or RealTalk1160.com. Redshirt sophomore Christian McElroy (Milford, Ohio/Monroe/Sinclair CC) is slated to get the start for UC.