TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team fell short against UCF, 9-7, in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon inside UC Baseball Stadium.
The Knights took two of three to claim the conference series. The Bearcats move to 22-29 overall and 9-12 in the American with one series left to play.
Cincinnati owned a six-run advantage after two innings before UCF rallied to tie the game in the sixth. The Bearcats went ahead in the seventh before a three-spot in the ninth gave the Knights the 9-7 victory.
Redshirt sophomore Kerrington Cross hit his fourth home run of the series on a two-run shot to left field in the second. He is the first Bearcat to hit a home run in three straight games since teammate Ryan Nicholson did so at Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 19-20, 2022. Cross recorded seven RBI and 16 total bases in the three-game series against UCF.
Sophomore Tommy O'Connor smashed his sixth home run of the season on a two-run shot in the first. He has five home runs in just 12 AAC games. He finished the weekend with a .444 average and 1.222 slugging percentage.
Nicholson went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. He hit a pair of doubles to bring his team-leading season total to 15.
Freshman starter Tommy Boba went 4.1 innings and allowed two runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Redshirt junior Alex Shea (2-3) took the loss.
Jackson Murphy was a bright spot out of the bullpen on Senior Day. He went 2.1 shutout innings in relief of one-hit ball. He struck out a pair and allowed zero walks. The senior right-handed pitcher ranks ninth in program history in career appearances with 74.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
O'Connor put Cincinnati on the board with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the first. His sixth homer of the year went 435 feet over the left center field wall at 112 mph off the bat.
The Bearcats padded their lead with a four-spot in the home half of the second. Kameron Guidry started things off with a base hit to left field while Cole Harting was hit-by-pitch. The pair each advanced a base after a sacrifice bunt from Sean Springer. Cam Scheler drove in the duo on a single to right field. Cross then delivered his eighth homer of the year on a two-out, two-run shot to left field to make it 6-0.
UCF got a run back on a solo shot to right field in the top of the fourth. Mitch White inherited a pair of runners in the top of the fifth with one out and limited the damage as UCF added only one run in the frame, 6-2.
The Knights tied the ballgame with four runs on three hits in the top of the sixth. Murphy came out of the bullpen and retired three straight batters to end the frame.
Nicholson led off the home half of the seventh with his second double to center field. He raced home on a wild pitch to put UC in front, 7-6.
The Bearcats looked to add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth after a lead-off double by Harting. UC had runners on second and third, but UCF recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
The Knights rallied with three runs in the top of the ninth to account for the 9-7 final score. The Bearcats had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the frame but were unable to capitalize as UCF held on for the win.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati concludes the home portion of its 2023 schedule against Georgetown on Tuesday for Education Day. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at UC Baseball Stadium.
The Knights took two of three to claim the conference series. The Bearcats move to 22-29 overall and 9-12 in the American with one series left to play.
Cincinnati owned a six-run advantage after two innings before UCF rallied to tie the game in the sixth. The Bearcats went ahead in the seventh before a three-spot in the ninth gave the Knights the 9-7 victory.
Redshirt sophomore Kerrington Cross hit his fourth home run of the series on a two-run shot to left field in the second. He is the first Bearcat to hit a home run in three straight games since teammate Ryan Nicholson did so at Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 19-20, 2022. Cross recorded seven RBI and 16 total bases in the three-game series against UCF.
Sophomore Tommy O'Connor smashed his sixth home run of the season on a two-run shot in the first. He has five home runs in just 12 AAC games. He finished the weekend with a .444 average and 1.222 slugging percentage.
Nicholson went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. He hit a pair of doubles to bring his team-leading season total to 15.
Freshman starter Tommy Boba went 4.1 innings and allowed two runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Redshirt junior Alex Shea (2-3) took the loss.
Jackson Murphy was a bright spot out of the bullpen on Senior Day. He went 2.1 shutout innings in relief of one-hit ball. He struck out a pair and allowed zero walks. The senior right-handed pitcher ranks ninth in program history in career appearances with 74.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
O'Connor put Cincinnati on the board with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the first. His sixth homer of the year went 435 feet over the left center field wall at 112 mph off the bat.
The Bearcats padded their lead with a four-spot in the home half of the second. Kameron Guidry started things off with a base hit to left field while Cole Harting was hit-by-pitch. The pair each advanced a base after a sacrifice bunt from Sean Springer. Cam Scheler drove in the duo on a single to right field. Cross then delivered his eighth homer of the year on a two-out, two-run shot to left field to make it 6-0.
UCF got a run back on a solo shot to right field in the top of the fourth. Mitch White inherited a pair of runners in the top of the fifth with one out and limited the damage as UCF added only one run in the frame, 6-2.
The Knights tied the ballgame with four runs on three hits in the top of the sixth. Murphy came out of the bullpen and retired three straight batters to end the frame.
Nicholson led off the home half of the seventh with his second double to center field. He raced home on a wild pitch to put UC in front, 7-6.
The Bearcats looked to add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth after a lead-off double by Harting. UC had runners on second and third, but UCF recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
The Knights rallied with three runs in the top of the ninth to account for the 9-7 final score. The Bearcats had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the frame but were unable to capitalize as UCF held on for the win.
// UP NEXT
Cincinnati concludes the home portion of its 2023 schedule against Georgetown on Tuesday for Education Day. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. at UC Baseball Stadium.