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CINCINNATI - Sophomore Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo) had five hits and scored the winning run as the University of Cincinnati baseball team walked off with a 3-2 win over UConn in the 13th inning on Friday night at Marge Schott Stadium. It was the second walk off for the Bearcats in the last week after also topping USF to on Sunday, April 3, to win the series vs. the Bulls.
Haberkorn broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with his third homerun of the season and produced a career-high five hits on the night. His fifth and final hit put him in a position to score the winning run when the UConn catcher dropped the ball on a bases-loaded fielder's choice hit by freshman Vince Augustine (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley).
On the mound, junior Andrew Zellner (Farmersville, Ohio/Valley View) and freshman A.J. Kullman combined for 12 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts.
// Notables
- Cincinnati evens its record at 15-15 on the year and moves to 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference. UConn falls to 13-14 and 1-2.
- Kullman (3-2) earned the victory after pitching 5.0 innings from the bullpen. He also earned the win against USF five days prior with another 5.0 innings in a 14-inning game.
- Junior R.J. Thompson (Mason, Ohio/Mason) recorded one hit and improves his hitting streak to nine straight games.
- The five hits for Haberkorn surpass his previous career-high mark of three hits.
- Senior Devin Wenzel (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood Area) tied a career high with three hits.
- Senior Woody Wallace (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) and sophomore Manny Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./Calvert Hall) each added two hits for UC.
- Sophomore Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) was walked three times, one shy of his career high.
- The team's 3-1 mark in the league is the best start to a conference season for UC since opening the slate at 7-1 against BIG EAST competition in 2008.
- It was the fifth extra-inning game of the season for the Bearcats who improve to 3-2 in those games.
- the game lasted four hours and 29 minutes, marking the longest game for UC since playing a 4:55 game vs. Florida Atlantic on Feb. 10, 2007.
- The UC defense stranded 20 UConn baserunners in the game, beating out the previous season high of 15 vs. Georgia on Feb. 27.
// Key Innings
Bottom of the Fifth
Haberkorn led off the inning with a solo homerun that sailed well over the fence in right field. The blast was his third of the season and gave UC a 1-0 lead.
Top of the Sixth
Zellner surrendered a pair of walks in the inning but struck out three batters to shut the door on the Huskies' rally.
Bottom of the Eighth
The Bearcats pressured for an insurance run in the eighth inning and got a runner on board when sophomore Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) led off the inning with a single. He moved to second on a groundout by redshirt sophomore Connor McVey (Mason, Ohio/Mason) and to third on a wild pitch. With the bases loaded, another wild pitch scored Mottice to give UC a 2-0- cushion.
Top of the Ninth
The Huskies answered in the top of the ninth, sending eight batters to the plate and tying the score at 2-2. A pair of leadoff walks put two runners on before a single and a groundout got UConn within 2-1. The second run came on a sacrifice fly by Joe DeRoche-Duffin but the Huskies wanted more. With the bases loaded and two outs, Kullman struck out Zac Susi to keep the game tied.
Bottom of the 11th
Noda and Wallace each singled to lead off the inning to put two runners on. Haberkorn then laid down a perfect bunt and beat out the throw to load the bases with no outs for Cincinnati. The Bearcats couldn't score, however, as UConn used a strikeout, foul out and flyout to stay alive in the game.
Bottom of the 13th
Again it was Haberkorn who got the ball rolling for the Bearcats, reaching on a single before Thompson was hit and Wenzel singled to load the bases with no outs. Augustine stepped to the plate and fouled off a few pitches before finally putting one in play. The UConn third baseman fielded the ball and threw home but the catcher dropped it to allow Haberkorn to score and give UC the 3-2 victory in walk off fashion.
// Up Next
UC and UConn continue the series on Saturday, April 9, at 6 p.m. at Marge Schott Stadium. The game represents Josh Harrison Day as the team welcomes back its Hall of Famer to MSS after his Pittsburgh Pirates play the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
// 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.