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CINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati baseball team held a 6-0 advantage entering the sixth inning but could not maintain the lead, falling 8-6 to Tulane on Saturday evening at Marge Schott Stadium.
Junior Woody Wallace (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) led the Bearcats with three hits, a walk and a run scored. Freshman Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) also helped the UC cause with a pair of hits and three RBIs.
//NOTABLES
- With the loss, Cincinnati falls to 13-29 and 4-10 in the American Athletic Conference while Tulane improves to 26-16 and 7-7.
- Sophomore Andrew Zellner (Farmersville, Ohio/Valley View) (2-2) was handed the loss and Patrick Duester (5-4) picked up the win.
- Head coach Ty Neal penciled five freshmen into the starting lineup and has started at least four youngsters in each game this season. Freshmen Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) and Manny Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./Calvert Hall) have started every game for UC.
- Junior Ian Happ (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt Lebanon) was walked twice, giving him 119 career free bases, good for fourth all time. The Pittsburgh native has totaled 40 walks in 42 games this season to lead the American Athletic Conference and rank 3rd nationally.
- Freshman starting pitcher David Orndorff (Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena Polytechnic) recorded a career-high three strikeouts against the Green Wave.
- Mottice's three RBIs are a new career high for the freshman.
- Wallace collected his fourth three-hit game of the year.
- In addition to Wallace's three hits, Mottice, Noda, junior Devin Wenzel (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood Area) and sophomore R.J. Thompson (Mason, Ohio/Mason) each tallied a pair of hits in the game.
- The loss secured the first home series loss of the season for the Bearcats. Cincinnati entered the weekend having won four straight series at Marge Schott Stadium including Niagara, Toledo, No. 6 UCF and Memphis.
// KEY INNINGS
Bottom of the First
Cincinnati was first to get on board when a 2-out RBI-single by Noda scored Happ to put the Bearcats ahead 1-0.
Bottom of the Third
With runners on corners, freshman Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo) singled into left field to score Wenzel while a Tulane fielding error scored Noda. Four batters later with the bases loaded, Kyle Mottice reached on an infield single that scored Wallace, upping the Bearcats' lead to 5-0.
Top of the Seventh
The Bearcats held a 6-2 lead entering the seventh inning, but the UC pitchers could not keep Tulane off the board. Freshman Jarod Yoakam (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) walked two of the first three batters he faced before being lifted for Zellner. The usually-steady sophomore gave up a pair RBI-singles and a 2-RBI double to tie the score at 6-6 before finally getting out of the inning with a groundout.
Top of the Ninth
Lex Kaplan led the inning with a triple to center field and scored immediately on a sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Tyler Wilson. Tulane added an insurance run with an RBI-triple from Richard Carthon that put the game out of reach for Cincinnati.
//UP NEXT
Cincinnati will try to avoid the series sweep on Sunday when it faces Tulane at Noon at Marge Schott Stadium. The game will represent the Bearcats' Vs. Cancer day. All season the team has been raising money for the Vs. Cancer Foundation to fight childhood cancer and all players will shave their heads following the game in support of the organization. The Bearcats are close to reaching their goal of $10,000 raised and fans can contribute to the cause by donating here.
//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/ticketsor call 1-877-CATS-TIX.
-GoBEARCATS.com-