TicketsCLEARWATER, Fla. – It was a game of big innings in the University of Cincinnati baseball team's American Athletic Conference Tournament opener Tuesday and the No. 4 Bearcats saw their comeback bid fall just short in a 14-10 loss to No. 5 UCF at BayCare Ballpark.
Cincinnati (29-25) got a pair of home runs from Paul Komistek and the Bearcats scored double-digit runs and belted double-digit hits for the fifth straight game, but the Knights (29-28) plated nine runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to complete a four-run comeback and advance to the winner's bracket.
Komistek had the first multiple home-run game of his career and finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs.
Heading into the eighth inning, UC led 8-4 after Komistek's first homer of the day in the seventh. By the middle of the frame, UCF led 13-8 after tagging the Bearcats for nine runs off three different pitchers including a three-run shot from Jordan Rathbone. On the day, UCF got seven hits and seven runs batted in from the top three players in the lineup.
Komistek hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to the deepest part of the stadium to pull things back to 13-10.
UC loaded the bases in the ninth but was not able to push anyone across and ended up stranding a total of 13 runners on the day.
Starter Garrett Schoenle went five innings for the Bearcats, throwing 98 pitches and striking out seven. He gave up four runs on five hits in the no decision. Beau Keathley was first out of the pen and sat down six Knights in-a-row before running into trouble in the eighth. Dean McCarthy took the loss and dropped to 4-4 on the season. Zack Bennett (2-2) got the win for UCF.
The Bearcats battled from behind at the start, scoring two in the first on an RBI groundout from Eric Santiago which scored Cole Harting and an RBI single from Komistek which allowed Bellini to come home.
Schoenle ran into some trouble with two outs in the second, putting two on, giving up an RBI single to Andrew Brait and a bases-clearing double to Gephry Pena which made the score 4-2 in favor of the Knights.
UC added five in the fourth, jumping out to a 7-4 lead. Wyatt Stapp's RBI single with two on scored Ryan Nicholson and Joe Powell followed with a walk ahead of another RBI single by Harting which scored Griffin Merritt and loaded the bases. Stapp was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice by Jace Mercer. Bellini, Santiago and Komistek drew three-straight walks to score Powell, Harting and Mercer to cap the big inning.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats will play an elimination game on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET inside BayCare Ballpark against the No. 1 seed East Carolina, who lost to No. 8 Memphis, 11-1, in seven innings, in game two of the tournament. Wednesday's game will air on ESPN+ with live stats available on BearcatStats.com.
Wednesday, May 26 • 3 p.m. ET (BayCare Ballpark)
No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 East Carolina
ESPN+ | Live Stats
Visit the AAC's Championship Central for complete tournament information.
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.
Cincinnati (29-25) got a pair of home runs from Paul Komistek and the Bearcats scored double-digit runs and belted double-digit hits for the fifth straight game, but the Knights (29-28) plated nine runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to complete a four-run comeback and advance to the winner's bracket.
Komistek had the first multiple home-run game of his career and finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs.
Heading into the eighth inning, UC led 8-4 after Komistek's first homer of the day in the seventh. By the middle of the frame, UCF led 13-8 after tagging the Bearcats for nine runs off three different pitchers including a three-run shot from Jordan Rathbone. On the day, UCF got seven hits and seven runs batted in from the top three players in the lineup.
Komistek hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to the deepest part of the stadium to pull things back to 13-10.
UC loaded the bases in the ninth but was not able to push anyone across and ended up stranding a total of 13 runners on the day.
Starter Garrett Schoenle went five innings for the Bearcats, throwing 98 pitches and striking out seven. He gave up four runs on five hits in the no decision. Beau Keathley was first out of the pen and sat down six Knights in-a-row before running into trouble in the eighth. Dean McCarthy took the loss and dropped to 4-4 on the season. Zack Bennett (2-2) got the win for UCF.
The Bearcats battled from behind at the start, scoring two in the first on an RBI groundout from Eric Santiago which scored Cole Harting and an RBI single from Komistek which allowed Bellini to come home.
Schoenle ran into some trouble with two outs in the second, putting two on, giving up an RBI single to Andrew Brait and a bases-clearing double to Gephry Pena which made the score 4-2 in favor of the Knights.
UC added five in the fourth, jumping out to a 7-4 lead. Wyatt Stapp's RBI single with two on scored Ryan Nicholson and Joe Powell followed with a walk ahead of another RBI single by Harting which scored Griffin Merritt and loaded the bases. Stapp was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice by Jace Mercer. Bellini, Santiago and Komistek drew three-straight walks to score Powell, Harting and Mercer to cap the big inning.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats will play an elimination game on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET inside BayCare Ballpark against the No. 1 seed East Carolina, who lost to No. 8 Memphis, 11-1, in seven innings, in game two of the tournament. Wednesday's game will air on ESPN+ with live stats available on BearcatStats.com.
Wednesday, May 26 • 3 p.m. ET (BayCare Ballpark)
No. 4 Cincinnati vs. No. 1 East Carolina
ESPN+ | Live Stats
Visit the AAC's Championship Central for complete tournament information.
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.