Cincinnati's Late Rally Comes Up Short Against USF

CINCINNATI -- The University of Cincinnati baseball team fell to the South Florida Bulls, 10-9, Friday night at UC Baseball Stadium. The loss dropped the Bearcats' record to 16-20 overall and 6-4 in the conference.

Senior pitcher Beau Keathley started the game and threw six innings, giving up five earned runs and striking out seven batters. Sophomore pitcher Max Bergmann threw two strong innings in relief, going two innings, striking out two and giving up just one hit.

Redshirt senior infielder Jake Hansen went 3-for-4 for UC and drew a walk as well. Three different Bearcats had two RBIs - sophomore outfielder Cole Harting, redshirt sophomore infielder Ryan Nicholson and redshirt freshman infielder Kerrington Cross. Redshirt sophomore catcher Joe Powell went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bearcats went down 3-0 early, but fought back in the fourth inning, getting two runs on the board. After allowing another USF run in the fifth, UC struck once again and put up five runs on the Bulls.

The two teams traded runs until finally the Bearcats took an 8-7 lead into the final inning. The USF bats came together to score three runs in the final frame. UC fought back in its half of the ninth, but ultimately came up one run short of tying the game.

GAME NOTES

• Hansen recorded his second three-hit game in his last four games and is now hitting .533 (8-15) in those games. 
• Cross drove in two runs on his third home run of the season. He's now scored runs in 11-straight games and is hitting .363 in his last five games.
• Harting had a clutch two-RBI single in the fifth inning, moving his season-total to 31 RBIs, which is the second-most on the team.
• Redshirt sophomore JP Sponseller hit his fifth homer of the season today, his first since March 5 against Northwestern when he hit three in one game. 
• Keathley recorded his fourth-straight outing of 6+ innings and his fifth overall. After striking out seven batters today, he now has 62 K's in 50.1 innings on the season. 

TICKET INFORMATION
To purchase single-game tickets or flex packs, visit GoBearcats.com/Tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX (1-877-228-7849). 
 
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NOTE: All dates and times are subject to change due to weather. All schedule changes will be announced on Twitter at @GoBearcatsBASE.