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CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The University of Cincinnati baseball team rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning but could not hold the advantage, falling to top-seed and 14th-ranked Houston 8-4 on Tuesday night during the opening game of the American Athletic Conference Championship in Clearwater, Florida.
Freshman Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) hit his first-career homerun and made some impressive defensive plays to lead the Bearcats. Additionally, American Player of the Year Ian Happ (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and sophomore R.J. Thompson (Mason, Ohio/Mason) both finished with a pair of hits for the Bearcats.
// NOTABLES
- Relief pitcher Tanner Schimmoeller (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) (1-3) took the loss despite not allowing a hit in 2.2 innings of work. Houston's Aaron Fletcher earned the victory from the bullpen.
- Freshman Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) hit his first-career homerun to lead off the fifth inning and tie the score at 3-3.
- Happ recorded his 20th multi-hit game of the season while Thompson delivered his 12th.
- Freshman Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo) extended his hitting streak to a team-high five games.
- Cincinnati was a perfect three-for-three in stolen bases with Happ, Thompson and Haberkorn all swiping a bag.
- Head coach Ty Neal penciled five freshmen into the starting lineup and has started at least four youngsters in each game this season. Freshman Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) has started every game for UC.
- After taking a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning, the Bearcats went hitless for the remainder of the game.
- Starting pitcher Mitch Patishall (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) recorded a season-high three strikeouts while Schimmoeller tied a career high with three of his own.
- The Bearcats are playing in their first postseason game since 2011 when they finished as the runner-up in the BIG EAST Championship.
// KEY INNINGS
Bottom of the First
Houston took an early lead in the first inning when cleanup hitter Jacob Campbell hit a 2-RBI double down the left field line. The two runners were on base after a leadoff error and an intentional walk.
Top of the Second
Thompson singled and junior Devin Wenzel (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood Area) doubled before a groundout by freshman Chris Klenk (Portage, Ind./Portage) scored the first run of the game for the Bearcats.
Top of the Third
Haberkorn ran himself into scoring position by beating out an infield single and stealing second base. Two batters later, Thompson singled through the left side to bring him home and tie the game at 2-2.
Bottom of the Third
Houston's Kyle Survance wasted no time regaining the lead for Houston with a solo homerun on the second pitch of the frame.
Top of the Fifth
Mottice went yard for the first time in his career to lead off the fifth inning. The homerun sailed over the fence in right field to re-tie the game at 3-3. Two batters later, Happ singled, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a Houston throwing error to give Cincinnati its first lead at 4-3.
Bottom of the Fifth
Schimmoeller walked the leadoff batter but was bailed out by an intelligent play by Mottice at second base. With one out, the freshman let a liner drop and then turned the 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and preserve the lead for Cincinnati.
Bottom of the Sixth
Houston took control in the sixth on a few tough plays for the Bearcats. After back-to-back 1-out walks by Schimmoeller, freshman David Orndorff (Pasadena, Calif./Pasadena Polytechnic) entered to pitch for Cincinnati. He recorded one out before Houston's Ashford Fulmer launched a triple into the right-center gap to bring home both runners and put the Cougars ahead 5-4. The next batter hit a grounder to Mottice that induced a close play at first, but the umpire called him safe, scoring another run for Houston.
// UP NEXT
The Bearcats will face No. 5 Memphis in an elimination game on Wednesday, May 20 at 7 p.m. at Bright House Field. The Tigers dropped a 10-6 decision earlier in the day to fouth-seeded USF. The winner of the game will have a day off before playing again on Friday, May 22, while the loser will be eliminated from the championship. Cincinnati has a 4-2 record against Memphis this season.
// 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.
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