TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team faced its crosstown rival Xavier on Tuesday and came up on the losing end of an 11-9 decision at Hayden Field.
The Bearcats (3-4) scored at least once in each of the first four innings of Tuesday's contest and led, 8-2, after four. An eight-run sixth inning for the Musketeers completely flipped the script, however, and UC was unable to make up ground in the final third of the game.
Tommy O'Connor and Josh Kross both homered on Tuesday. Kross' long ball was the first of his Bearcat career, while O'Connor's was his second of the season. O'Connor also walked twice and scored three times, extending his on-base streak to 22 games dating back to last season.
Kerrington Cross continued his torrid pace to open the season, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, one-off his career high.
Six different pitchers saw time on the mound, and both Tommy Boba and Christian Mitchelle turned in scoreless outings.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second straight game, Tommy O'Connor slugged a home run in the top of the first inning to give UC an early lead. Facing an 0-1 count, O'Connor drove the next pitch he saw over the fence in straightaway center field.
The Bearcats tacked on another run in the top of the second to go up 2-0. Lauden Brooks reached on a single and moved up to third on Alec Jones' double, then scored easily on Christian Mitchelle's sac fly.
Xavier tied the game with two runs in the bottom half of the second. An RBI double down the line in right field and a run-scoring fielder's choice did the damage for the Musketeers.
Cincinnati reclaimed the lead, and added to it, over the third and fourth frames. Kerrington Cross' RBI single in the top of the third made it 3-2, and in the next at-bat Josh Kross homered to center field to make it 5-2.
Cross came through again in the next inning with a bases-clearing single to put the score at 8-2. With the bases loaded and two outs, his blooper landed safely in right field and allowed Landyn Vidourek and O'Connor to score. When the Musketeers' right fielder took his time getting the ball into the infield, Dalton Pearson hustled home to and slid in safely.
Xavier got one run back with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the fifth, but opened the floodgates in the sixth. The Musketeers scored eight runs and slugged three home runs to take their first lead of the afternoon.
Hunter Jessee's RBI single in the top of the seventh cut the deficit to two, but the Bearcats couldn't push another run across in the eighth or ninth.
// NEXT UP
Cincinnati returns home this weekend for a four-game series against Northern Illinois.
// 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.
The Bearcats (3-4) scored at least once in each of the first four innings of Tuesday's contest and led, 8-2, after four. An eight-run sixth inning for the Musketeers completely flipped the script, however, and UC was unable to make up ground in the final third of the game.
Tommy O'Connor and Josh Kross both homered on Tuesday. Kross' long ball was the first of his Bearcat career, while O'Connor's was his second of the season. O'Connor also walked twice and scored three times, extending his on-base streak to 22 games dating back to last season.
Kerrington Cross continued his torrid pace to open the season, going 2-for-4 with four RBI, one-off his career high.
Six different pitchers saw time on the mound, and both Tommy Boba and Christian Mitchelle turned in scoreless outings.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second straight game, Tommy O'Connor slugged a home run in the top of the first inning to give UC an early lead. Facing an 0-1 count, O'Connor drove the next pitch he saw over the fence in straightaway center field.
The Bearcats tacked on another run in the top of the second to go up 2-0. Lauden Brooks reached on a single and moved up to third on Alec Jones' double, then scored easily on Christian Mitchelle's sac fly.
Xavier tied the game with two runs in the bottom half of the second. An RBI double down the line in right field and a run-scoring fielder's choice did the damage for the Musketeers.
Cincinnati reclaimed the lead, and added to it, over the third and fourth frames. Kerrington Cross' RBI single in the top of the third made it 3-2, and in the next at-bat Josh Kross homered to center field to make it 5-2.
Cross came through again in the next inning with a bases-clearing single to put the score at 8-2. With the bases loaded and two outs, his blooper landed safely in right field and allowed Landyn Vidourek and O'Connor to score. When the Musketeers' right fielder took his time getting the ball into the infield, Dalton Pearson hustled home to and slid in safely.
Xavier got one run back with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the fifth, but opened the floodgates in the sixth. The Musketeers scored eight runs and slugged three home runs to take their first lead of the afternoon.
Hunter Jessee's RBI single in the top of the seventh cut the deficit to two, but the Bearcats couldn't push another run across in the eighth or ninth.
// NEXT UP
Cincinnati returns home this weekend for a four-game series against Northern Illinois.
// 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.