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NATCHITOCHES, La. - The University of Cincinnati baseball team dropped a 3-2 decision to Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon in Natchitoches, Louisiana, to even the series at one apiece heading into Sunday's finale.
The Bearcats received quality pitching in the game, specifically from the bullpen, where junior Jarod Yoakam (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) and redshirt sophomore Tanner Schimmoeller (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) combined for just two hits, one walk, four strikeouts and no runs allowed over the final four innings.
// NOTABLES
- With the loss, Cincinnati moves to 1-1 on the season while Northwestern State improves to 1-1.
- Northwestern State's Devin Bear (1-0) earned the win while pitching just two outs of the game. Cincinnati junior starting pitcher J.T. Perez (Orrville, Ohio/Orrville) (0-1) was saddled with the loss after giving up three earned runs in four innings of work. The Demons' Nathan Aultman picked up his first save of the season.
- Cincinnati is now 1-2 all-time against the Demons. The first game of the series was played back on Feb. 22, 1997, a 10-9 Northwestern State victory.
- The Bearcats and Demons played to a 3-2 score line during the first two games of the series.
- Senior R.J. Thompson (Mason, Ohio/Mason), juniors Kyle Mottice (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson), Ryan Noda (Volo, Ill./Grant) and Joey Thomas (Mason, Ohio/Mason) and sophomore A.J. Bumpass (Rougemont, N.C./Northern) each recorded a hit for the Bearcats.
- Four of the Bearcats' five hits were of the extra-base variety with doubles hit by Noda and Thomas and triples by Mottice and Bumpass.
- Schimmoeller's entrance into the game in the seventh inning marked his first appearance in a Bearcats uniform since May 19, 2015. The right-handed pitcher sat out the 2016 season with an injury and is competing this season as a redshirt sophomore.
// KEY INNINGS
Bottom of the First
A pair of doubles by NSU came back to haunt the Bearcats in the opening frame with the second by Matthew Alford doing the most damage on a 2-out, 2-RBI swing down the left field line.
Top of the Second
UC got on the scoreboard in the second inning when Noda led off with a double and took third on a fly out. With two outs, Thompson grounded into a fielder's choice but an umpire's meeting determined that Noda scored before the tag was applied, cutting the NSU deficit to 2-1.
Top of the Fifth
Junior Treg Haberkorn (Leo, Ind./Leo) drew a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mottice before scoring on Bumpass' triple. The score again gput the Bearcats within a run at 3-2.
Bottom of the Seventh
Schimmoeller worked himself into a jam when he gave up a single and recorded a throwing error to place two men in scoring position with no outs. The redshirt sophomore composed himself and responded with a groundout, a strikeout and a flyout to strand the runners and keep his team in the hunt.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati and Northwestern State will play the rubber match of the series on Sunday, Feb. 19, with a Noon ET/11 a.m. CT first pitch. Evan Tidwell will get the start for the Demons while manager Ty Neal has yet to name a starter for the Bearcats. Follow along to the radio broadcast with the voice of the Bearcats, Matt Noonan, on GoBearcats.com.
// 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 24 home matches can be purchased for as little $15. For more information, visit GoBEARCATS.com/tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX.