TicketsNEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Cincinnati Bearcats fought back from being down 2-0 in the eighth inning to win in exciting fashion, rallying to secure a 3-2 victory in the 11th inning over the Tulane Green Wave Friday.
Freshman pitcher Garrett Harker (3-3) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Cincinnati (18-24, 8-8). The right-hander went three shutout innings while giving up four hits, allowing one walk and striking out three. Senior pitcher Beau Keathley was the starter and dominated most of the night for the Bearcats, throwing eight innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on five hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts.
At the plate, the Bearcats were paced by redshirt sophomore catcher Joe Powell, who went 1-for-5 on the day with two clutch RBIs. Redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek reached base three times tonight, going 0-for-2 with three walks. Sophomore outfielder Cole Harting also helped out for Cincinnati, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats were trailing 2-0 in the eighth inning when they first put runs on the board. Powell drove in two runs for Cincinnati with a single that scored Harting and redshirt senior infielder Jake Hansen.
The score stayed at 2-2 until the eleventh inning, when the Bearcats scored the game-winning run. Redshirt junior outfielder Griffin Merritt came across to score the lone run of the inning for Cincinnati on a passed ball, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Bearcats. The score remained 3-2 for the rest of the game, as Cincinnati held on for the win.
GAME NOTES
- Keathley had his longest outing of the season and of his UC career tonight, going eight innings while giving up just one earned run and striking out eight Tulane hitters.
- Powell hit a game-tying two-run single in the eighth inning, giving him 26 RBIs on the year. He now has a 28-game on-base streak.
- Komistek started his 100th career game tonight. He also reached base three times on three walks, raising his on-base percentage to .436. He stole two bases, raising his total to eight on the year.
- Harting had two hits tonight, giving him 14 multi-hit games on the year, the third-most on the team.
- Harker earned his third win of the season tonight, throwing three shutout innings out of the bullpen and striking out three. This was also his second extra-inning win of the year, with the other coming on April 15 against Wichita State when he threw six shutout innings.
- Merritt scored the game-winning run in the 11th inning on a passed ball. The Bearcats are now 3-0 in extra-inning games this season.
- Cincinnati has now won seven in a row against Tulane.
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