TicketsCORVALLIS, Ore. – University of Cincinnati baseball, playing its first NCAA Regional game in 45 years, took down national host and defending national champion Oregon State in an absolute thriller Friday night, 7-6.
The Bearcats went ahead early, but the Beavers showed resiliency and took their first lead of the night in the seventh. However, UC did not back down, tying the game in the eighth before postseason hero A.J. Bumpass tripled home the game-winning run in the ninth.
The victory was number 400 in Head Coach Scott Googins' storied career. UC will now face No. 3 seed Michigan on Saturday night at 10 pm EST. That game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
// NOTABLES
• UC continued to climb and now sits at 31-29 on the season
• Bumpass continued to be absolutely relentless at the plate. He finished the night 5-for-5 with a homerun, triple, three RBI and a run scored
• Jace Mercer also continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored
• Eric Santiago, Wyatt Stapp and Joey Wiemer all added in two hits each
• Both of Wiemer's hits were doubles and he had a huge run-saving, diving catch early in the game playing left field
• Santiago, Joey Bellini and Stapp all had a double
• The Bearcats tied their season-high in doubles with five on the night
• While the offense stayed hot, the Bearcats pitching staff did what they needed to put the team in line for the win
• Clayton Colvin had one of the best games of his career, going 6.0 solid innings in the start with two runs, six hits, two walks and two strikeouts
• Both runs were solo homeruns with the Bearcats in the lead
• A.J. Kullman followed with 0.2 innings of relief before Nathan Moore entered and threw two pitches to work out of a jam
• Moore earned the win to move to 4-0 on the season after he threw 1.1 frames with no hits, no walks and one strikeout
• Korren Thompson grabbed his 13th save of the season with a light's-out ninth. He needed just seven pitches to retire the Beavers in order
// POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
// KEY INNINGS
Top of the 2nd
• The Bearcats were the first on the board. Wiemer started off the second with a double and came in to score after a Bumpass base hit
Top of the 3rd
• UC added two more in the third to get off to a 3-0 start. This time Bellini, Stapp and Wiemer had three consecutive doubles to score one, as there was a play at the plate to record an out during the rally. With two outs, Mercer singled to score another
Bottom of the 3rd
• The Beavers were able to score on a solo homerun to right field to start the bottom half of the frame
Bottom of the 5th
• Another solo homerun allowed Oregon State to make it a one-run game
Top of the 6th
• Bumpass quickly got a run back when he blasted a homerun out to right field. UC put the lead back at three runs, 5-2, when Johnson walked and Santiago doubled him home
Bottom of the 7th
• The Beavers were able to come back and take their only lead of the night after a four-run seventh. A hit batter, walk and single loaded the bases with no outs. With the national player of the year at the plate, UC intentionally walked in a run to make it 5-3. The next batter was retired via strikeout on three pitches to record the first out. Then, a two-RBI single, fly out and another base hit put Oregon State ahead 6-5. Moore came in and got a fly out to end the threat
Top of the 8th
• A one-run deficit was no bother for the Bearcats as their bats continued to find a way. Mason DeAnna led off the next inning by being hit by a pitch. Jeremy Johnson was able to successfully sacrifice DeAnna over to third. Santiago followed by reaching on an error to put runners on the corners with one out. Bellini stepped up and hit into what looked to be a double-play, but a gritty head-first slide into first base allowed DeAnna to make it home safely to tie the game at six
Top of the 9th
• After Moore hurled a one-two-three inning, Mercer led off the top of the ninth with a bloop base hit and came in to score when Bumpass hit one against the left center wall for a triple, clinching the 7-6 victory
// UP NEXT
• UC will face Michigan Saturday night at 10 pm EST
• The Wolverines entered the winner's bracket with a 6-0 victory over No. 2 Creighton on Friday
• The loser of Saturday night's game will play on Sunday at 3 pm EST while the winner remains in the later slot, playing at 9 pm Sunday evening
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Bearcats went ahead early, but the Beavers showed resiliency and took their first lead of the night in the seventh. However, UC did not back down, tying the game in the eighth before postseason hero A.J. Bumpass tripled home the game-winning run in the ninth.
The victory was number 400 in Head Coach Scott Googins' storied career. UC will now face No. 3 seed Michigan on Saturday night at 10 pm EST. That game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
// NOTABLES
• UC continued to climb and now sits at 31-29 on the season
• Bumpass continued to be absolutely relentless at the plate. He finished the night 5-for-5 with a homerun, triple, three RBI and a run scored
• Jace Mercer also continued to swing a hot bat, going 3-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored
• Eric Santiago, Wyatt Stapp and Joey Wiemer all added in two hits each
• Both of Wiemer's hits were doubles and he had a huge run-saving, diving catch early in the game playing left field
• Santiago, Joey Bellini and Stapp all had a double
• The Bearcats tied their season-high in doubles with five on the night
• While the offense stayed hot, the Bearcats pitching staff did what they needed to put the team in line for the win
• Clayton Colvin had one of the best games of his career, going 6.0 solid innings in the start with two runs, six hits, two walks and two strikeouts
• Both runs were solo homeruns with the Bearcats in the lead
• A.J. Kullman followed with 0.2 innings of relief before Nathan Moore entered and threw two pitches to work out of a jam
• Moore earned the win to move to 4-0 on the season after he threw 1.1 frames with no hits, no walks and one strikeout
• Korren Thompson grabbed his 13th save of the season with a light's-out ninth. He needed just seven pitches to retire the Beavers in order
// POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
// KEY INNINGS
Top of the 2nd
• The Bearcats were the first on the board. Wiemer started off the second with a double and came in to score after a Bumpass base hit
Top of the 3rd
• UC added two more in the third to get off to a 3-0 start. This time Bellini, Stapp and Wiemer had three consecutive doubles to score one, as there was a play at the plate to record an out during the rally. With two outs, Mercer singled to score another
Bottom of the 3rd
• The Beavers were able to score on a solo homerun to right field to start the bottom half of the frame
Bottom of the 5th
• Another solo homerun allowed Oregon State to make it a one-run game
Top of the 6th
• Bumpass quickly got a run back when he blasted a homerun out to right field. UC put the lead back at three runs, 5-2, when Johnson walked and Santiago doubled him home
Bottom of the 7th
• The Beavers were able to come back and take their only lead of the night after a four-run seventh. A hit batter, walk and single loaded the bases with no outs. With the national player of the year at the plate, UC intentionally walked in a run to make it 5-3. The next batter was retired via strikeout on three pitches to record the first out. Then, a two-RBI single, fly out and another base hit put Oregon State ahead 6-5. Moore came in and got a fly out to end the threat
Top of the 8th
• A one-run deficit was no bother for the Bearcats as their bats continued to find a way. Mason DeAnna led off the next inning by being hit by a pitch. Jeremy Johnson was able to successfully sacrifice DeAnna over to third. Santiago followed by reaching on an error to put runners on the corners with one out. Bellini stepped up and hit into what looked to be a double-play, but a gritty head-first slide into first base allowed DeAnna to make it home safely to tie the game at six
Top of the 9th
• After Moore hurled a one-two-three inning, Mercer led off the top of the ninth with a bloop base hit and came in to score when Bumpass hit one against the left center wall for a triple, clinching the 7-6 victory
// UP NEXT
• UC will face Michigan Saturday night at 10 pm EST
• The Wolverines entered the winner's bracket with a 6-0 victory over No. 2 Creighton on Friday
• The loser of Saturday night's game will play on Sunday at 3 pm EST while the winner remains in the later slot, playing at 9 pm Sunday evening
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.