TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team closed out the regular season with a series sweep of Tulane after a 13-12 victory in American Athletic Conference action at UC Baseball Stadium Sunday.
Cincinnati (29-24, 18-14 AAC) had a 13-7 lead headed into the ninth inning and Tulane (28-22, 17-10 AAC) scored six runs with two outs before Evan Kemp came out of the bullpen to get the final out of the game for his first career save.
After Jake Hansen corralled a pop up in foul territory for the second out of the frame, Tulane posted back-to-back two-out walks to load the bases. Jacob LaPrairie cleared the bases with a double to right center and the lead was cut to 13-10. Chase Engelhard was up next and hit his eighth home run of the year to left field and the scoreboard read 13-12. The Bearcats made a pitching change and Kemp fanned the lone batter he faced to seal the win.
The Bearcats were cruising headed into the ninth, taking a 1-0 lead in the first and not looking back, scoring three in the third and one in the fifth before erupting for six runs in the sixth.
UC scored five runs in the frame before an out was recorded. Jake Murray, Cole Harting, Jace Mercer, Joey Bellini and Eric Santiago were on base with consecutive singles. Murray scored off Mercer's poke, Harting on Bellini's and Mercer came home on a throw when Bellini stole second. A double to the wall in right by Paul Komistek scored Santiago and Bellini. Komistek later scored on a balk and UC led 11-4.
Bellini added an RBI double in the seventh which scored Harting and Josh Hegemann scored the final run for UC on a double-play ball in the eighth.
NOTABLE
• UC honored the 1961 and 1971 baseball teams after the second inning of Saturday's game.
• Eric Santiago took the mound with one out in the ninth inning, walking Tulane's Minder on four pitches. Santiago has now played every field position during his five-year career at UC.
• Harting, Merritt and Santiago each recorded three hits with Merritt blasting two doubles and four RBIs.
• Jacob Meyer made only his second appearance of the season in the seventh, coming in with two runners on and no outs. He loaded the bases on a single to the first batter he faced but induced a strikeout, fly out and groundout to end the threat.
• Jalen Wade (4-1) got the win, going six innings and shutting out the Green Wave for four. He struck out two, walked four and gave up four runs on seven hits.
SERIES NOTES
• Harting hit .556 and slugged 1.167 for the week, getting 10 hits, scoring eight runs with three doubles, two home runs, a triple and a pair of stolen bases.
• Ryan Nicholson hit .538 in three games with seven hits, five RBIs, four runs scored and a home run.
• Komistek and Santiago both had two doubles, a home run and seven hits.
• Merritt had seven RBIs while Komistek and Mercer each had six.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats earned the No. 4 seed in next week's AAC Tournament and will face No. 5 UCF at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida. The teams will meet at BayCare Ballpark in a game televised by ESPN+ with live stats on BearcatStats.com.
TUESDAY, MAY 25 | ESPN+
Game 1: No. 5 UCF vs. No. 4 Cincinnati | 9 a.m. ET
Game 2: No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 1 East Carolina | 47 minutes following Game 1
Game 3: No. 7 Houston vs. No. 2 Tulane | 4 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 6 South Florida vs. No. 3 Wichita State | 47 minutes following Game 2
Visit AAC Baseball Championship Central for more 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 (29-24, 18-14 AAC) had a 13-7 lead headed into the ninth inning and Tulane (28-22, 17-10 AAC) scored six runs with two outs before Evan Kemp came out of the bullpen to get the final out of the game for his first career save.
After Jake Hansen corralled a pop up in foul territory for the second out of the frame, Tulane posted back-to-back two-out walks to load the bases. Jacob LaPrairie cleared the bases with a double to right center and the lead was cut to 13-10. Chase Engelhard was up next and hit his eighth home run of the year to left field and the scoreboard read 13-12. The Bearcats made a pitching change and Kemp fanned the lone batter he faced to seal the win.
The Bearcats were cruising headed into the ninth, taking a 1-0 lead in the first and not looking back, scoring three in the third and one in the fifth before erupting for six runs in the sixth.
UC scored five runs in the frame before an out was recorded. Jake Murray, Cole Harting, Jace Mercer, Joey Bellini and Eric Santiago were on base with consecutive singles. Murray scored off Mercer's poke, Harting on Bellini's and Mercer came home on a throw when Bellini stole second. A double to the wall in right by Paul Komistek scored Santiago and Bellini. Komistek later scored on a balk and UC led 11-4.
Bellini added an RBI double in the seventh which scored Harting and Josh Hegemann scored the final run for UC on a double-play ball in the eighth.
NOTABLE
• UC honored the 1961 and 1971 baseball teams after the second inning of Saturday's game.
• Eric Santiago took the mound with one out in the ninth inning, walking Tulane's Minder on four pitches. Santiago has now played every field position during his five-year career at UC.
• Harting, Merritt and Santiago each recorded three hits with Merritt blasting two doubles and four RBIs.
• Jacob Meyer made only his second appearance of the season in the seventh, coming in with two runners on and no outs. He loaded the bases on a single to the first batter he faced but induced a strikeout, fly out and groundout to end the threat.
• Jalen Wade (4-1) got the win, going six innings and shutting out the Green Wave for four. He struck out two, walked four and gave up four runs on seven hits.
SERIES NOTES
• Harting hit .556 and slugged 1.167 for the week, getting 10 hits, scoring eight runs with three doubles, two home runs, a triple and a pair of stolen bases.
• Ryan Nicholson hit .538 in three games with seven hits, five RBIs, four runs scored and a home run.
• Komistek and Santiago both had two doubles, a home run and seven hits.
• Merritt had seven RBIs while Komistek and Mercer each had six.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats earned the No. 4 seed in next week's AAC Tournament and will face No. 5 UCF at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida. The teams will meet at BayCare Ballpark in a game televised by ESPN+ with live stats on BearcatStats.com.
TUESDAY, MAY 25 | ESPN+
Game 1: No. 5 UCF vs. No. 4 Cincinnati | 9 a.m. ET
Game 2: No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 1 East Carolina | 47 minutes following Game 1
Game 3: No. 7 Houston vs. No. 2 Tulane | 4 p.m. ET
Game 4: No. 6 South Florida vs. No. 3 Wichita State | 47 minutes following Game 2
Visit AAC Baseball Championship Central for more 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.