Cincinnati Hits Three Homers in Loss to Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Its power numbers at the plate were not lacking, but Cincinnati's three homers on the day were not enough to bring the Bearcats a win as they fell, 5-3, to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday.

Cincinnati Hits Three Homers in Loss to Ohio StateCincinnati Hits Three Homers in Loss to Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Its power numbers at the plate were not lacking, but Cincinnati's three homers on the day were not enough to bring the Bearcats a win as they fell, 5-3, to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday.

Graduate pitcher Ryan Steckline (3-1) took the loss on the mound for Cincinnati (21-28, 10-11). Redshirt sophomore pitcher Zach Segal was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going two shutout innings while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out one.

In the batter's box, the Bearcats were paced by redshirt sophomore JP Sponseller, who went 2-for-2 on the day with a home run, two walks and an RBI. Redshirt freshman infielder Kerrington Cross put together a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Redshirt sophomore infielder Kameron Guidry also helped out for Cincinnati, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a home run and an RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing 1-0, the Bearcats first put runs on the board in the fourth inning. Cincinnati scored two runs on solo shots from Cross and Sponseller.

The Bearcats then held the Buckeyes scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. Cincinnati picked up a run on Guidry's leadoff home run off of senior Aaron Funk, which brought the score to 3-1 in favor of the Bearcats. The Bearcats were unable to hold the lead, as Ohio State scored four times over the remaining four innings to grab the 5-3 win.

GAME NOTES

  • Cross homered down the left field line in the fourth inning to tie the game at one. It's his seventh homer of the year and he now has the second-most runs on the team with 41.
  • Sponseller went back-to-back with Cross in the fourth inning to give the Bearcats a 2-1 lead. It was also his seventh homer of the year. 
  • Cross and Sponseller are the first Bearcats to hit back-to-back home runs since April 3, when redshirt sophomore catcher Joe Powell and redshirt sophomore infielder Ryan Nicholson did it against ECU.
  • The home runs kept coming early for UC as Guidry also homered, this time in the fifth inning. This marked Guidry's third homer of the year and he's hitting .333 (6-18) in his past five games.
  • With a walk in the seventh inning, Powell extended his on-base streak to 33 games.
  • In his first start since March 8, redshirt sophomore pitcher Alex Shea went four innings while giving up just one run, three hits and striking out three. This outing was the longest of his career.
  • This is the ninth game of the season that the Bearcats have hit three or more homers.
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