TicketsGREENVILLE, S.C. -- The University of Cincinnati baseball team dropped its second and final game of the First Pitch Invitational to Western Carolina, 8-6, Sunday night in Greenville, S.C.
Redshirt sophomore Zach Segal (0-1) got the ball to start for Cincinnati (6-7) and took the loss. Sophomore Max Bergmann was a bright spot for the Bearcats, coming out of the bullpen and throwing three innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on four hits, with no walks and three strikeouts.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Joe Powell's two extra base hits were the highlight of a 2-for-5 day, and included a triple, a home run and an RBI. Redshirt junior outfielder Griffin Merritt made his contribution with a double, a home run, two walks and three RBIs, part of a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek also had a nice day at the dish, putting together three hits in four trips to the plate while adding a walk.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Powell put Cincinnati on the board with a leadoff home run off sophomore Gavin Mortenson.
The Bearcats lost the lead they built in the first, but got back on the board in the third trailing 3-1. Cincinnati scored twice on Merritt's two-run homer, which brought the score level at 3-3.
Western Carolina broke that tie and grabbed a 5-3 lead heading into the fifth, when Cincinnati closed the gap to 5-4.
The Catamounts expanded their lead to 6-4 before the Cincinnati offense got back to work, digging into that lead in the seventh. The Bearcats scored a run on Merritt's RBI double, bringing the score to 6-5 in favor of Western Carolina.
Western Carolina expanded their lead to 8-5 before the Bearcats offense got back in action, narrowing that lead to 8-6 in the ninth. Komistek came across to score the lone run of the inning for Cincinnati and get them on the board. The ballgame ended with that ninth inning rally falling short.
GAME NOTES
- Powell led off the game with his second home run of the year to left. It was the first leadoff home run by a UC player since Eric Santiago did it on March 7, 2021, at UNCW. He followed that up with a triple to deep center in the eighth, his first triple of the year.
- Merritt had himself a day at the plate. He hit his team-leading sixth home run in the third inning, drove in another run with an RBI double in the seventh and ended the day with three RBIs. He reached base four times and recorded his 74th, 75th and 76th career RBIs.
- The Bearcats ended the day with 12 hits and had five players with two or more of them. That marks the third time that UC has had five or more players with multiple hits in a game this year.
- Redshirt senior infielder Dondrae Bremner recorded his fourth multi-hit game in his past six appearances. He's hitting .400 (8-20) in those games.
- Komistek improved his average to a team-leading .392. He went 3-for-4, reached base four times and scored three runs.
- The Bearcats out-hit the Catamounts at a 12-11 clip.
TICKET INFORMATION
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