TicketsCINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bearcats took a 2-1 lead in the first inning and never trailed from there on the way to a 7-4 victory against the Wright State Raiders on Wednesday night at UC Baseball Stadium.
Redshirt junior pitcher Jackson Murphy (2-2) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Cincinnati (11-16). The right-hander went two shutout innings while giving up two hits, allowing no walks and striking out two. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Alex Shea was also dynamite out of the bullpen for the Bearcats, throwing three shutout innings while allowing no hits, with one walk and four strikeouts.
Redshirt sophomore infielder Ryan Nicholson led the way offensively for the Bearcats, going 2-for-4 in the ballgame with a double, a home run and three RBI. Sophomore outfielder Cole Harting put together a standout day at the plate as well, going 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Redshirt freshman infielder Kerrington Cross also helped out, going 1-for-2 for Cincinnati with two RBI.
Hear from @CoachGoogs following Wednesday's 7-4 victory over the Wright State Raiders.#Bearcats | #NatiBoyz pic.twitter.com/qVY7cmV3bD
— Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) April 7, 2022
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 1-0, the Bearcats first put runs on the board in the first inning. Cincinnati plated two runs when Nicholson left the yard with Harting aboard.
After the Raiders rallied to tie the ballgame at two, the Bearcats came back to retake the lead in the third inning. The Cincinnati offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a one-run groundout off the bat of redshirt junior infielder Sean McLaughlin, which brought the score to 6-2 in favor of the Bearcats.
Cincinnati held Wright State without a run before building their lead to 7-2 in the sixth inning. Wright State put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Cincinnati still held on for the 7-4 win.
GAME NOTES
» Nicholson led the Bearcats at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI. The home run was his eighth of the season, which ranks third in the AAC.
» Murphy picked up his second win of the season out of the bullpen, throwing two shutout innings. Four of his last five outing have been scoreless.
» Shea was also dominant, shutting the Raiders out across three innings. He's thrown three shutout innings in two of his last three outings.
» Redshirt sophomore pitcher Chase Hopewell earned his first career save, needing just three pitches to do so.
» Cincinnati pitchers limited Wright State to just 1-for-9 (.111) with runners in scoring position.
» Cincinnati pitchers faced 36 Wright State hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and six fly balls while striking out nine.
» McLaughlin drove in his first RBI of the year, had his first hit of the year and earned his first start of the year in today's game.
TICKET INFORMATION
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