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Game 1 PDF Box Score
Game 2 PDF Box Score
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati baseball team took two wins over crosstown rival Xavier University on Friday afternoon, winning 4-0 and 9-2 at Marge Schott Stadium. The wins were the ninth and 10th in a row for the Bearcats, marking the longest winning streak in the last 26 seasons.
Sophomore Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) was a collective 5-for-7 on the day with two doubles and two homeruns for six RBIs and two runs scored.
On the mound, Cincinnati was led by both starting pitchers, junior Andrew Zellner (Farmersville, Ohio/Valley View) and sophomore J.T. Perez (Orrville, Ohio/Orrville), to hold the Musketeers to just two runs in 18 innings.
// Notables
- Cincinnati improves to 11-11 on the year while Xavier falls to 7-15 after the two losses.
- Zellner (3-1) earned the win in the opening game while XU's Zac Lowther (2-3) took the loss. In the second game, Perez (2-1) picked up the victory while Xavier starter Greg Jacknewitz (0-4) was saddled with the loss.
- The win is the 10th in a row for the Bearcats, which is the longest winning streak for the team since also winning 10 straight April 8-21, 1990.
- This year's 10-0 record at Marge Schott Stadium ties a school record for the best start at home in a single season. The team finished the season a perfect 10-0 at home in 1961.
- Redshirt sophomore Connor McVey (Mason, Ohio/Mason) had a hit in each game, including his second homerun of the season in game No. 1, to increase his hitting streak to 18 straight games.
- The Bearcats turned one double play on the day and have 26 double plays through 22 games this season. The mark ranks fourth in the NCAA and first in the American Athletic Conference.
- Noda hit two homeruns in the second game and is the second time this season a UC player has had a pair of homeruns in a single game (Haberkorn vs. Canisius, March 11).
- Senior Woody Wallace (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) hit a solo homerun in the first inning of the second game to give UC a 3-0 lead. It was his fourth long ball of the season which is double what he has produced in any other season of his college career.
- Wallace's homerun came immediately following Noda's first homerun of the day. It is the first time that two UC players have hit back-to-back homeruns since Neall French and Brian Szarmach did so on April 14, 2007, vs. West Virginia.
- Zellner tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts in the first game.
- Sophomore Jarod Yoakam (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) pitched 2.0 innings in each game, giving up two hits (one in each game) with no walks.
- It is the third doubleheader sweep of the season for the Bearcats. UC also swept a pair of doubleheaders over Canisius on March 11 and 12.
- It is the second shutout for UC this season. The Bearcats topped Northwestern 1-0 on March 19 behind a complete-game effort from Zellner.
// Key Innings - Game 1
Top of the Second
Zellner struck out the side in the second inning with three swinging Ks en route to his 11 on the day.
Bottom of the Fifth
After scoring the game's first run in the fourth inning, Cincinnati added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth inning. Junior R.J. Thompson (Mason, Ohio/Mason) reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo). He advanced to third on a bloop hit by freshman Vince Augustine (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and finally came home to score on a single by sophomore Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson). Augustine scored the second run on a double by sophomore Manny Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./Calvert Hall) to give UC a 3-0 cushion.
Bottom of the Sixth
UC's final run of the game came via homerun from McVey who led off the inning with a blast to left field.
// Key Innings - Game 2
Bottom of the First
Rodriguez led off the inning with a single and scored on Noda's first homerun three batters later. Wallace then stepped to the plate and launched his fourth homerun of the season to produce UC's first back-to-back homerun performance since 2007.
Bottom of the Sixth
Xavier cut the UC lead to 5-2 in the top of the sixth inning before the Bearcats put the game out of reach for the Musketeers in the bottom half of the inning. Thompson led off the frame with a single and Haberkorn was walked to put two runners on. The first run scored on a single by Mottice and the second on a single by freshman Cam Alldred (Batavia, Ohio/Cincinnati Country Day) to increase the lead to 7-2. Mottice later scored on a wild pitch for an 8-2 Cincinnati advantage.
// Up Next
Cincinnati will go for the series sweep over Xavier on Saturday, March 26. The game will be played at Xavier's Hayden Field with a first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
// 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 (@GoBearcatsBASE) and Coach Neal (@Ty_Neal_UC) on twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Facebook.
// Ticket Information
Season tickets for all 25 home matches can be purchased for as little $15. For more information, visit GoBEARCATS.com/tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX.