TAMPA, FIa. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team completed the series sweep over South Florida with a 10-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium.
Behind small ball and strong pitching, Cincinnati earned its first American Athletic Conference sweep of the season to improve to 20-24 overall and 8-7 in the AAC. The Bearcats used 12 singles, six walks, two stolen bags, two hit by pitches and one sacrifice fly to pull away from the Bulls. It marked UC's first sweep over USF since April 1-2, 2006.
Junior Josh Hegemann was a perfect 4-for-4 with a walk and one run scored. It was Cincinnati's first four-hit performance of the season, and the first since Paul Komistek did so against ECU on April 2, 2022. Hegemann batted .875 (7-for-8) in two games against the Bulls this weekend.
Redshirt sophomore Kerrington Cross continued his recent tear with his sixth multi-hit performance in the last seven games, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a stolen base. Redshirt junior first baseman Ryan Nicholson hammered his 11th home run of the season to move his career total to 28. He finished with three RBI, two runs scored and a walk.
Lauden Brooks and Tommy O'Connor each added two hits while Brooks drove in two runs on his second home run of the season.
Freshman starter Tommy Boba allowed three runs on four hits and struck out four batters with two walks in 3.2 innings. Freshman Chase Horst (3-3) earned the win in 3.1 innings in relief. He surrendered just one unearned run on three hits and struck out three batters with zero walks. Redshirt junior Alex Shea and freshman Griffin Hugus each worked scoreless frames to close out the game.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
South Florida jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on an RBI double in the bottom of the second.
The Bearcats responded with two runs on three hits in the top of the third. Cross registered a one-out single to center field and advanced to third on a throwing error. Alec Jones drove in Cross with an RBI ground out, followed by a solo shot to right field from Nicholson.
USF got the run back in the home half of the third on a lead-off, solo home run to center field. The Bulls reclaimed the lead on an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-2.
The Bearcats then exploded for seven runs over two innings to take the lead for good. In the top of the fifth, Brooks and Cross started things off with back-to-back base hits. Brooks came home on the throw as Cross stole second. Nicholson provided a sacrifice fly to left field and Cole Harting laced an RBI single to third base to put UC back in front, 5-3.
Hegemann led off the sixth inning with a bunt. After Hugus was hit-by-pitch, Hegemann raced home from second on USF's fourth error of the day. Brooks then belted a two-run homer to right center. O'Connor notched an RBI double to left center to cap off the four-run inning.
The Bulls scored on another RBI double in the seventh, but the Bearcats quickly got the run back in the top of the eighth on an RBI ground out from Nicholson. Shea and Hugus each tossed scoreless frames to close out the game for the Bearcats.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati rides a four-game winning streak into an eight-game homestand, beginning with a three-game series against No. 12-ranked ECU on May 5-7 at UC Baseball Stadium.
Cincinnati Completes Series Sweep over South Florida
The University of Cincinnati baseball team completed the series sweep over South Florida with a 10-4 victory on Sunday afternoon at USF Baseball Stadium.
