TicketsORLANDO, Fla. -- The University of Cincinnati baseball team split a doubleheader with the UCF Knights Thursday, losing game one, 15-10, and winning game two, 15-5. The series finale will be played tomorrow with first pitch at 12:00 p.m. ET.
GAME 1 | UCF 15, Cincinnati 10
Sophomore outfielder Cole Harting collected four hits, but the Cincinnati Bearcats fell to the UCF Knights, 15-10, on Thursday.
Senior pitcher Beau Keathley (4-3) got the ball to start for Cincinnati (21-29, 10-12) and took the loss.
In addition to his four hits, Harting had a home run and three RBIs to lead the Bearcats. Redshirt freshman infielder Kerrington Cross furnished a standout performance at the plate as well, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, a walk and an RBI. Redshirt sophomore infielder Kameron Guidry also contributed for Cincinnati, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate while adding a home run, a walk and three RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UCF jumped on Cincinnati early, putting up five runs in the bottom of the first and another in the second. UC would respond by cutting the lead in half with back-to-back-to-back home runs by redshirt sophomore infielder Ryan Nicholson, Cross and redshirt sophomore JP Sponseller.
The Knights then put up the next six runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth. The Bearcats responded again with the long ball, as Guidry sent a three-run homer over the center field fence.
UCF scored three more in the eighth before UC responded with three of their own in the ninth thanks to another three-run home run, this time by Harting. Unfortunately, it would not be enough, as the the Knights held on for a 15-10 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Harting had a monster game at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three singles and a three-run homer. It's his second four-hit game of the season, with the other coming on March 20 against Saint Joseph's.
- Nicholson, Cross and Sponseller hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the third inning. It's the first time three Bearcats have done that since April 21, 1999, against Ohio.
- Nicholson's homer was his 11th of the season, which ranks second on the team. The long ball also marked his 100th career hit.
- Cross' home run was his second in as many games and his eighth of the year. He also doubled and ended the game 2-for-4.
- Sponseller also homered in his second-straight game, and it was also his second-straight home run that was immediately after a Cross homer, as they went back-to-back last game against Ohio State. He has three homers in his last four games.
- Guidry hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning, his fourth of the season and second in as many games. He now has eight RBIs in his last six games.
- Redshirt sophomore catcher Joe Powell's 33-game on-base streak came to an end today.
- With his second strikeout today, Keathley reached 250 career strikeouts.
- Cincinnati's five home runs today are a season high. The last time UC achieved this was March 20, 2021, against Xavier.
The Cincinnati (22-29, 11-12) offense exploded for 15 runs in game two of the doubleheader, taking down UCF, 15-5, Thursday night.
Freshman pitcher Garrett Harker (4-3) threw five innings, gave up two runs and earned the win.
The offense was led by redshirt sophomore catcher Cam Scheler, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and five RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Cole Harting had another nice game, going 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. Redshirt senior Dondrae Bremner also went deep and scored three runs while driving in two.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)
The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when UC exploded for six runs. Redshirt sophomore infielder Kameron Guidry got it started with an RBI double, Scheler followed that with a bases-clearing double and Harting drove in two more with a double of his own.
UCF got two runs back, but Scheler drove in two more runs with a home run. After two more UCF runs, the Bearcats added on with two runs in the eighth.
The Knights were already down 10-5, but UC wasn't done, as it added five more in the last inning. Bremner's two-run home run highlighted the big inning for Cincinnati, and they closed out the game.
GAME NOTES (GAME TWO)
- Scheler had a huge game two, going 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a three-run double, a walk and two runs scored. The home run was his fifth of the season and his five RBIs in the game are a career high.
- In his 100th career start, Harting continued to produce in the second game of the day, hitting a two-run double in the fourth and another two-bagger in the sixth to give him six RBIs on the day between the two games. He went 2-for-5 in game two and ranks second on the team with 45 RBIs on the year.
- Guidry stayed hot at the plate and drove in his ninth run in his last seven games with an RBI double in the fourth inning. He ended the game 2-for-5.
- Harker earned his fourth win of the season today, going five innings, giving up two runs and striking out four.
- Bremner launched his third homer of the season to dead center field in the ninth. It marked UC's seventh homer of the day between the two games.
- Redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek reached base four times in the game, walking three times. He increased his team-leading on-base percentage to .433.
- This game marked redshirt junior outfielder Griffin Merritt's 150th career game played.
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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.