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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It took 10 innings for the second time in the series, but the University of Cincinnati baseball team beat Memphis 4-3 on Saturday afternoon in Memphis to close out the regular season. Freshman relief pitcher A.J. Kullman (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) pitched the final 3.1 innings with three strikeouts to earn the victory.
The win locks the Bearcats into fourth place in the final American Athletic Conference standings. They will play fifth-seeded Houston in the opening game of The American Championship on Tuesday, May 24, in Clearwater, Florida.
// Notables
- With the win, Cincinnati ends the regular season with a 26-28-1 record and a 13-10-1 mark in league play. Memphis fell to 19-37 and 9-15.
- Kullman (4-2) earned the victory after a strong relief outing. The Tigers' Nolan Blackwood (2-4) took the loss.
- Sophomore Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) recorded two hits and scored a run in the game. Since April 13, he is batting .371 with 33 hits in 22 games and has only failed to record a hit on three occasions.
- Kullman earned the win two days after picking up his third-career save in the 4-2 10-inning victory over the Tigers on May 19. The freshman has an ERA of on the year.
- Redshirt sophomore Connor McVey (Mason, Ohio/Mason) recorded a game-high three hits.
- Sophomore Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) recorded his fourth triple of the year to tie teammate Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo) for the conference lead.
// Key Innings
Bottom of the First
The Tigers put runners on the corners with no outs before Orndorff settled in with a strikeout to Jake Little. UM did manage to score a run on a sacrifice fly but a flyout to center field ended the damage with a 1-0 Memphis lead.
Top of the Second
The Bearcats immediately responded when freshman A.J. Bumpass (Rougemont, N.C./Northern) was walked, stole second base and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior Devin Wenzel (Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood Area). He then came home on a single by freshman Cam Alldred (Batavia, Ohio/Cincinnati Country Day) to tie the game at 1-1.
Bottom of the Second
Back-to-back singles put runners on first and third before a safety squeeze by Damo DeMatteo sent the Tigers back into the lead at 2-1.
Top of the Third
The back-and-forth game continued in the third when Mottice scored from second base on a single by Haberkorn to tie it at 2-2.
Bottom of the Fourth
A leadoff walk and a throwing error allowed the Tigers to put a runner on second base before a sacrifice bunt moved him to third. DeMatteo then stepped to the plate and laid down his second squeeze bunt of the game to score the go-ahead run for a 3-2 Memphis lead.
Top of the Sixth
Alldred drew a two-out walk prompting a Memphis pitching change with Noda at bat. The sophomore took a ball for a 1-0 count before lining a triple into center field to tie the score at 3-3.
Top of the 10th
The Bearcats broke through for the winning run in the top of the 10th innings. McVey singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a balk and got to third when Bumpass reached on a Memphis error. Wenzel then hit into a fielder's choice and beat out the double play attempt to score McVey and put Cincinnati in the lead at 4-3.
// Up Next
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Bearcats will travel to Clearwater, Florida, for the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship. UC is the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 seed Houston in the opening game of the tournament at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24. The game will be played at Bright House Field and will be aired live on the CBS Sports Network. The game's loser will play Wednesday against the loser of a game between the first and eighth seeds while the winner will play again on Thursday.
// 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.