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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team put on a defensive show in a 5-0 shutout victory over Indiana University on Tuesday night in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the second straight win over the Hoosiers in Bloomington for UC since head coach Ty Neal took over the reins of the program. Neal was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at IU for eight seasons before taking the head job in Cincinnati.
On the mound, sophomores A.J. Olasz (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin Area) and Jarod Yoakam (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) and redshirt junior Colton Cleary (Nicholasville, Ky./Lexington Catholic) combined for the shutout with nine strikeouts and just one walk.
Redshirt sophomore Connor McVey (Mason, Ohio, Mason), junior R.J. Thompson (Mason, Ohio/Mason) and senior Devin Wenzel (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood Area) each recorded a pair of hits to lead the offense but it was the defense that stole the show on the night. Infielders Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) and Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) and Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo) and Thompson each made highlight reel plays to preserve the UC shutout.
// Notables
- Cincinnati improves to 12-12 on the year while Indiana falls to 12-11.
- Olasz earned the victory to improve to 1-2 on the year and IU starter Pail Milto (1-1) took the loss.
- A single by McVey in the third inning extended hitting streak to 20 straight games.
- The Bearcats turned one double play in the game and have 28 double plays through 24 games this season. The mark ranks fourth in the NCAA and first in the American Athletic Conference.
- Sophomore A.J. Olasz (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin Area) pitched 5.0 innings and finished with a career-high six strikeouts, no walks and just three hits.
- Olasz's six strikeouts were a career high for the sophomore.
- It was the third shutout of the season for the Bearcats. They beat Northwestern 1-0 on March 19 behind the complete-game effort by pitcher Andrew Zellner and took a 4-0 decision over Xavier on March 25.
- The first three UC runs were unearned as the Bearcats took advantage of three Indiana errors in the first five innings.
- The Bearcats and Hoosiers will meet again in a little over a week's time when Indiana travels to Cincinnati for a 6 p.m. game on Wednesday, April 6.
// Key Innings
Top of the Second
When a throwing error by the IU pitcher sailed past the first baseman, Haberkorn raced all the way to third base to put a UC runner 90 feet away. The next batter, Thompson, singled up the middle to score Haberkorn and score the game's first run.
Top of the Third
The Bearcats added to the lead in the third after a single by freshman Cam Alldred (Batavia, Ohio/Cincinnati Country Day) and a failed pickoff by the Indiana pitcher put a runner on second base with two outs. McVey then singled past the third baseman to score Alldred and give UC a 2-0 advantage.
Top of the Fifth
Senior Woody Wallace (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) reached on the Hoosier's third error of the day and advanced to third after a flyout by sophomore Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant). With McVey on first, the Bearcats orchestrated a perfect double steal with McVey occupying the defense long enough for Wallace to score and put Cincinnati ahead 3-0.
Bottom of the Seventh
The Hoosiers put two runners on with no outs in the seventh before the UC defense worked its magic to get out of the jam. A fielder's choice eliminated one runner before Wallace's league-leading 12th caught stealing of the season got rid of another. With a runner on third base, Yoakam tossed his first strikeout of the day to end the inning and keep Indiana scoreless.
Top of the Eighth
Noda singled and immediately came around to score on a double by Haberkorn. Haberkorn then scored on a single by Wenzel after getting the better of a collision with the catcher at home plate.
Bottom of the Ninth
Cleary walked a batter to lead off the inning but any hope of a Hoosier comeback was squashed when a strikeout and a flyout brought IU to its final out. Brian Wilhite looked to produce a bloop single into no man's land in shallow left field but shortstop Kyle Mottice sprinted backwards and made a leaping over the shoulder catch to end the game.
// Up Next
The Bearcats return to Marge Schott Stadium for the start of the 2016 American Athletic Conference season when they host USF for a three-game series April 1-3. UC and the Bulls will kick off the series at 6 p.m. on Friday with the second game at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The finale will be played at noon on Sunday, moved up from its original start time of 1 p.m. to accommodate the USF departure time.
// 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.