CINCINNATI -- Sophomore outfielder Cole Harting launched two homers to help propel the Cincinnati Bearcats over the Northern Kentucky Norse, 12-6, Wednesday afternoon in front of a sell-out crowd at UC Baseball Stadium.
Graduate pitcher Ryan Steckline (3-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Cincinnati (20-25, 9-9). The left-hander went three shutout innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out four. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Alex Shea also pitched well, going two shutout innings while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out two.
Harting went 3-for-6 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with three RBIs. Redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek added to Harting's awesome power-hitting performance by going 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs along with two walks. Redshirt sophomore catcher Cam Scheler also chipped in for the Bearcats, going 1-for-4 with a home run, a walk and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats fought back from an early 3-0 deficit in the first and scored four runs of their own in the bottom half of the opening frame. A Harting homer followed by redshirt senior infielder Wyatt Stapp and redshirt sophomore infielder Kameron Guidry's RBI-singles gave them the lead.
UC broke another tie in the third by scoring two more runs. A Scheler home run gave the team a 7-4 lead.
Cincinnati extended the lead to 11-6 before Harting hit his second homer of the day, putting a ribbon on the game.
GAME NOTES
- Harting hit his seventh and eighth home runs of the year today while driving in three runs. He is hitting .438 (14-32) in his last seven games.
- In his 100th career collegiate appearance, Steckline won his third game of the season, going three innings, giving up two hits and striking out four.
- Guidry and Stapp had identical stat lines today, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs and walking once.
- Scheler hit his fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning. He has three RBIs in his past two games played.
- Komistek had a busy stat line today, going 3-for-4, scoring three runs, driving in two runs and walking twice.
- Redshirt freshman infielder Kerrington Cross stole two bases today, giving him 16 on the season, the most on the team.
- Today's game had an attendance of 3,125 people, selling out UC Baseball Stadium and setting a new stadium attendance record.
To purchase single-game tickets or flex packs, visit GoBearcats.com/Tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX (1-877-228-7849).
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @GoBearcatsBASE on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
NOTE: All dates and times are subject to change due to weather. All schedule changes will be announced on Twitter at @GoBearcatsBASE.