TicketsCINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati baseball team's late rally came up short in a 7-6 loss to No. 11 East Carolina on Saturday in American Athletic Conference action at UC Baseball Stadium.
The Pirates (35-11, 17-6 AAC) scored for runs in the seventh and held off the Bearcats (25-23, 14-13 AAC) who left the bases loaded in the bottom of the frame after reliever C.J. Mayhue, ECU's sixth pitcher of the day, induced a strikeout to end the threat. Mayhue later worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.
Down 7-5 headed to the bottom of the eighth, UC got a leadoff single from Eric Santiago, a one-out single from Ryan Nicholson and an RBI single up the middle by Tanner Holen which scored a husting Santiago from second. The Bearcats looked like they had the makings of a big inning and Wyatt Stapp belted a deep fly ball to left but Pirates left fielder Alec Makarewicz made a full-extension stretch to rob Stapp and put the second out on the board. ECU went to the bullpen for Mayhue who promptly hit Griffin Merritt with a pitch to load the bases before striking out Cole Harting to end the inning.
The Bearcats best chance in the ninth came off the bat of Joey Bellini who hit a rocket to right but it hung up in the breeze and was caught against the fence on the warning track.
Harting finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, leading the third off with a triple off the batter's eye and coming home on Bellini's fielder's choice, which gave UC a 2-1 edge.
UC later took a 5-3 lead in the fifth after Bellini belted a three-run double into the left-field corner, scoring Jace Mercer, Harting and Merritt. ECU lead 7-5 after the seventh, scoring four runs on four hits in the frame off relievers Nathan Moore and Jackson Murphy. Murphy entered the game with the bases loaded and later induced a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning.
Moore (2-3) took the loss, charged with four runs on three hits. Murphy went three innings, surrendering one hit. Evan Shawver went 6.0 innings and struck out three, giving up three runs on six hits. Garrett Saylor (4-1) picked up with the win for ECU.
SENIOR SALUTE
UC honored its senior class prior to Saturday's matchup with the Pirates, including: Joey Bellini, Dondrae Bremner, Jake Hansen, Tanner Holen, Dean McCarthy, Jace Mercer, Jacob Meyer, Nathan Moore, Jake Murray, Eric Santiago, Garrett Schoenle, Wyatt Stapp, Jalen Wade and student managers Michael DeLong and Jake Swearingen.
UP NEXT
UC and ECU conclude their four-game set with an 11 a.m. first pitch at UC Baseball Stadium on Sunday. UC RHP Jalen Wade toes the rubber with ECU yet to name a starter. The game will air on ESPN+ with live stats on BearcatStats.com.
Single game tickets are available and fans should visit the baseball ticket page for more information or to make their purchase now! Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, 1,000 fans will be allowed in UC Baseball Stadium for game days.
SUNDAY, MAY 16
11 a.m. • ESPN+
RHP Jalen Wade vs. TBA
WATCH • LIVE STATS
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati baseball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow UC baseball (@GoBearcatsBase) and Coach Googins (@CoachGoogs) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.
The Pirates (35-11, 17-6 AAC) scored for runs in the seventh and held off the Bearcats (25-23, 14-13 AAC) who left the bases loaded in the bottom of the frame after reliever C.J. Mayhue, ECU's sixth pitcher of the day, induced a strikeout to end the threat. Mayhue later worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.
Down 7-5 headed to the bottom of the eighth, UC got a leadoff single from Eric Santiago, a one-out single from Ryan Nicholson and an RBI single up the middle by Tanner Holen which scored a husting Santiago from second. The Bearcats looked like they had the makings of a big inning and Wyatt Stapp belted a deep fly ball to left but Pirates left fielder Alec Makarewicz made a full-extension stretch to rob Stapp and put the second out on the board. ECU went to the bullpen for Mayhue who promptly hit Griffin Merritt with a pitch to load the bases before striking out Cole Harting to end the inning.
The Bearcats best chance in the ninth came off the bat of Joey Bellini who hit a rocket to right but it hung up in the breeze and was caught against the fence on the warning track.
Harting finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, leading the third off with a triple off the batter's eye and coming home on Bellini's fielder's choice, which gave UC a 2-1 edge.
UC later took a 5-3 lead in the fifth after Bellini belted a three-run double into the left-field corner, scoring Jace Mercer, Harting and Merritt. ECU lead 7-5 after the seventh, scoring four runs on four hits in the frame off relievers Nathan Moore and Jackson Murphy. Murphy entered the game with the bases loaded and later induced a 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning.
Moore (2-3) took the loss, charged with four runs on three hits. Murphy went three innings, surrendering one hit. Evan Shawver went 6.0 innings and struck out three, giving up three runs on six hits. Garrett Saylor (4-1) picked up with the win for ECU.
SENIOR SALUTE
UC honored its senior class prior to Saturday's matchup with the Pirates, including: Joey Bellini, Dondrae Bremner, Jake Hansen, Tanner Holen, Dean McCarthy, Jace Mercer, Jacob Meyer, Nathan Moore, Jake Murray, Eric Santiago, Garrett Schoenle, Wyatt Stapp, Jalen Wade and student managers Michael DeLong and Jake Swearingen.
UP NEXT
UC and ECU conclude their four-game set with an 11 a.m. first pitch at UC Baseball Stadium on Sunday. UC RHP Jalen Wade toes the rubber with ECU yet to name a starter. The game will air on ESPN+ with live stats on BearcatStats.com.
Single game tickets are available and fans should visit the baseball ticket page for more information or to make their purchase now! Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, 1,000 fans will be allowed in UC Baseball Stadium for game days.
SUNDAY, MAY 16
11 a.m. • ESPN+
RHP Jalen Wade vs. TBA
WATCH • LIVE STATS
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati baseball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow UC baseball (@GoBearcatsBase) and Coach Googins (@CoachGoogs) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.