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ORLANDO - The University of Cincinnati baseball team held a 5-3 lead at the seventh-inning stretch but gave up five runs in the bottom of the seventh to fall 8-5 to UCF in the first game of a three-game American Athletic Conference series in Orlando, Florida, on Friday evening. Sophomore Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo) paced the UC offense with two hits and two runs scored.
// Notables
- Cincinnati falls to 21-24-1 on the year and 9-6-1 in the American Athletic Conference while UCF improves to 22-24 and 7-9.
- UC starter Andrew Zellner (Farmersville, Ohio/Valley View) (6-3) took his first loss since April 1 while UCF reliever Harrison Hukari (2-2) earned the victory and Trent Thompson picked up his third save of the season.
- Haberkorn was hit with a pitch in the fourth inning and has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games.
- Sophomore Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) drew a walk in the fourth inning to extend his on-base streak to 13 games.
- Haberkorn, Mottice and redshirt sophomore Connor McVey (Mason, Ohio/Mason) all scored a pair of runs for the Bearcats while sophomore Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) scored the other.
- Senior Woody Wallace (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) recorded a career-high two sacrifice flies in the game after hitting just four sac flies throughout the rest of his career.
- Wallace threw out a runner stealing in the second inning for his league-leading 17th caught stealing of the season.
- Zellner gave up six earned runs in the game, the first earned runs he has allowed since April 1 vs. USF. It also breaks a streak of 17.2 innings of scoreless baseball dating back to April 15.
- Cincinnati and UCF, which were tied with a league-fewest 44 errors heading into the game, combined for five errors in the game.
// Key Innings
Bottom of the Third
The Knights broke the scoreless tie in the third inning, grabbing a 2-0 lead before the Bearcats could even record an out. A leadoff single to Sam Tolleson put a runner on before Logan Heiser launched a long homerun over the fence in left field to give UCF the lead. A UC fielding error and another single put two runners on base but a flyout to Haberkorn in center field ended the inning to strand a pair.
Top of the Fourth
The Bearcats responded immediately in the fourth when a walk to Mottice, a hit by pitch to Haberkorn and a walk to redshirt sophomore Connor McVey (Mason, Ohio/Mason) loaded the bases with no outs. Sophomore Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) then drew another walk and UC was able to score a run without putting the ball in play. The next batter, Wallace, hit a sacrifice fly to shallow centerfield to score Haberkorn and tie the game at 2-2. With two outs and sophomore Manny Rodriguez (Brooklyn, N.Y./Calvert Hall) at bat, a throwing error by the UCF pitcher allowed McVey to score to give UC a 3-2 lead without recording a hit in the frame.
Top of the Fifth
Mottice laid down a bunt to record the first hit of the day for the Bearcats and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Haberkorn. With Noda at bat, a UCF fielding error scored Mottice from second to give the Bearcats a 4-2 advantage.
Bottom of the Fifth
It was the Knights' turn to answer with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Luke Hamblin hit a 2-out single and stole second to put himself in scoring position. Brennan Bozeman then singled through the right side to bring home a UCF run. An error advanced Bozeman to second and the Knights eventually loaded the bases before Zellner induced a flyout to Haberkorn to end the inning.
Top of the Seventh
UC added an insurance run in the seventh when Wallace smoked a ball right under the third baseman all the way down to the left field corner to score Noda from first base.
Bottom of the Seventh
After two quick outs by Zellner, a single and a pair of wild pitches put a runner on third base for the Knights. The next batter drew a walk before a single by Gellinger scored the first run of the inning for the Knights. Freshman A.J. Kullman (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) entered on the mound for the Bearcats and walked a batter to load the bases before a grand slam by Sam Tolleson gave the Knights an 8-5 lead.
Top of the Ninth
The Bearcats attempted a comeback in the ninth inning, getting singles by Haberkorn and McVey to lead off the inning before a wild pitch moved them over and a sacrifice fly by Wallace scored a UC run. A single by sophomore Joey Thomas (Mason, Ohio/Mason) scored another UC run to get the Bearcats within 8-7 but a flyout finally ended the game.
// Up Next
The Bearcats and the Knights will continue their American series on Saturday, May 7. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Jay Bergman Field.
// 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.