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STARKVILLE, Miss. - The University of Cincinnati baseball team put up a good fight, but ultimately lost 6-2 to No. 14 Mississippi State University in the second game of an opening-day doubleheader at Dudy Noble Field.
After surrendering to an early 6-2 deficit in the third inning, the Bearcats and senior pitcher Ryan Atkinson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for the final five innings to keep themselves in the game but could not produce any offense to cut into the Bulldog lead.
// Notables
- With the loss, the Bearcats fall to 1-1 on the season while Mississippi State starts 1-0 on the year.
- Freshmen Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo), Dalton Lehnen (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North), Joey Thomas (Mason, Ohio/Mason) and Jarod Yoakam (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) made their collegiate debuts in the game.
- Cincinnati started six freshmen in the game, including Haberkorn, Lehnen, Thomas, Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson), Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) and Manny Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./Calvert Hall).
- Sophomore Connor McVey (Mason, Ohio/Mason) hit his second career homerun to lead off the second inning. His only other homerun came in grand slam fashion against Toledo on May 7, 2014.
- Cincinnati has hit a home in each of the first two games in 2015 after failing to record a homerun until the ninth game of 2014.
- Haberkorn, Mottice, Noda and Thomas each recorded their first career hits in the game.
- UC pitchers only surrendered 10 hits in the game, four of which went to MSU shortstop and leadoff hitter Seth Heck.
- Cincinnati struck out a season-high 13 times against Mississippi State.
// Neal's Notes
"I think we showed a little bit of our inexperience tonight," said head coach Ty Neal. "We got a little ebit overwhelmed playing a storied program in their home yard. We didn't get a very good start on the mound. There are a couple plays in the field that you hope to make, but we gave them some runs early. They pitched well enough out of their bullpen and we put too much pressure on our offense to come back. But the good news is that we get to do it again tomorrow."
// Key Innings
Bottom of the First
Mississippi State's Seth Heck led off the inning with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. The Bulldogs looks to be in business when a sacrifice fly scored Heck, but Lehnen produced back-to-back popups to get out of the inning with minimal damage.
Top of the Second
Sophomore Connor McVey led off the inning with his second career homerun to left field to tie the ballgame at 1-1. Junior Devin Wenzel was walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a groundout. Thomas stepped to the plate for his first career at-bat and looped a single into shallow right field where the Mississippi State outfielder was unable to make a play. Wenzel scored to give UC a 2-1 lead on Thomas' first career hit and RBI.
Bottom of the Second
The Bulldogs connected for three runs on four hits in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead, but Lehnen buckled down for back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
Bottom of the Seventh
Atkinson and the Bearcats put together several strong defensive innings, keeping the Bulldogs scoreless for five straight frames. In the bottom of the seventh, Mottice, Rodriguez and McVey combined to turn a double-play to end the inning. It was the first double play turned for Cincinnati this season.
Bottom of the Eighth
After surrendering a leadoff triple, Atkinson again locked down, inducing to groundouts and a flyout to end the Mississippi State threat.
// Up Next
Cincinnati is back in action against the No. 14 Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 14, in Starkville, Mississippi. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT first pitch and can be seen live on the SEC Network+.
// Follow the Bearcats
For all of the latest information on Cincinnati baseball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up to the minute updates, follow Cincinnati baseball (@UCincyBaseball) and Coach Neal (@Ty_Neal_UC) on twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Facebook.
// Ticket Information
Season tickets for all 23 home matches can be purchased for as little $10. For more information, visit GoBEARCATS.com/tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX.
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