TicketsCLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team saw its 2021 season end on the second day of the American Athletic Conference Tournament with a 13-9 loss to top-seeded East Carolina in an elimination game on Wednesday at BayCare Ballpark.
The fourth-seeded Bearcats (29-26) fought back from being down 11-1 and scored three runs in the final two innings but stranded 14 runners and left the bases loaded twice.
An impressive group of seniors made their final appearance in the Red & Black, including Joey Bellini, Dondrae Bremner, Jake Hansen, Tanner Holen, Dean McCarthy, Jace Mercer, Jake Meyer, Nate Moore, Jake Murray, Eric Santiago, Garrett Schoenle, Wyatt Stapp, Jalen Wade and student managers Michael DeLong and Jake Swearingen.
ECU (39-14) needed eight pitchers to hold off the UC comeback in the four-hour, 17-minute marathon and move on to play Friday. Pirates second basemen Connor Norby, a UC nemesis all season long, hit a pair of home runs in back-to-back at bats in the first and second innings and finished 3-for-4 on the day with 5 RBIs.
The Pirates led 5-0 after the second and 11-1 after the fifth with UC starter getting touched for seven runs and reliever Dean McCarthy giving up four. Segal took the loss and ended the campaign at 5-4.
UC added a five-spot in the sixth against four different ECU pitchers. Mercer's bases-loaded, 2 RBI double pushed him over 100 for his career and scored Griffin Merritt and Stapp, who led off with back-to-back singles between pitching changes. Bellini was up next and hammered the first ball he saw to the bullpens in left field, a three-run shot, his third homer of the season and the score was 11-6.
ECU shortstop Ryder Giles, moved to the mound to pitch, single handedly killed the no-out rally by making an incredible catch on Nicholson's line drive, throwing out a tagging Komistek at second and striking out Tanner Holen to end the frame.
Cincinnati added two more in the eighth on Nicholson's 2 RBI double to left center, scoring Bellini and Komistek but ECU nullified it with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to lead 13-8.
Jake Murray made his final collegiate at bat memorable, pinch hitting in the ninth and tattooing his third home run of the year to right field to make the tally 13-9.
NOTABLE
• Bellini finished 3-for-4 with three runs batted in, two walks and a pair of runs scored.
• Nicholson was three-for-five with a double and two RBIs. In two games in Clearwater, he had five hits.
• Komistek finished up the season with five hits in UC's two AAC games, including two home runs, two walks, a double, four runs scored and five RBIs.
• UC closed the season with double-digit hits in six-straight games and plated 64 runs in that span.
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 fourth-seeded Bearcats (29-26) fought back from being down 11-1 and scored three runs in the final two innings but stranded 14 runners and left the bases loaded twice.
An impressive group of seniors made their final appearance in the Red & Black, including Joey Bellini, Dondrae Bremner, Jake Hansen, Tanner Holen, Dean McCarthy, Jace Mercer, Jake Meyer, Nate Moore, Jake Murray, Eric Santiago, Garrett Schoenle, Wyatt Stapp, Jalen Wade and student managers Michael DeLong and Jake Swearingen.
ECU (39-14) needed eight pitchers to hold off the UC comeback in the four-hour, 17-minute marathon and move on to play Friday. Pirates second basemen Connor Norby, a UC nemesis all season long, hit a pair of home runs in back-to-back at bats in the first and second innings and finished 3-for-4 on the day with 5 RBIs.
The Pirates led 5-0 after the second and 11-1 after the fifth with UC starter getting touched for seven runs and reliever Dean McCarthy giving up four. Segal took the loss and ended the campaign at 5-4.
UC added a five-spot in the sixth against four different ECU pitchers. Mercer's bases-loaded, 2 RBI double pushed him over 100 for his career and scored Griffin Merritt and Stapp, who led off with back-to-back singles between pitching changes. Bellini was up next and hammered the first ball he saw to the bullpens in left field, a three-run shot, his third homer of the season and the score was 11-6.
ECU shortstop Ryder Giles, moved to the mound to pitch, single handedly killed the no-out rally by making an incredible catch on Nicholson's line drive, throwing out a tagging Komistek at second and striking out Tanner Holen to end the frame.
Cincinnati added two more in the eighth on Nicholson's 2 RBI double to left center, scoring Bellini and Komistek but ECU nullified it with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to lead 13-8.
Jake Murray made his final collegiate at bat memorable, pinch hitting in the ninth and tattooing his third home run of the year to right field to make the tally 13-9.
NOTABLE
• Bellini finished 3-for-4 with three runs batted in, two walks and a pair of runs scored.
• Nicholson was three-for-five with a double and two RBIs. In two games in Clearwater, he had five hits.
• Komistek finished up the season with five hits in UC's two AAC games, including two home runs, two walks, a double, four runs scored and five RBIs.
• UC closed the season with double-digit hits in six-straight games and plated 64 runs in that span.
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.