TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team got back in the win column on Thursday with a 9-6 victory vs. Oakland at UC Baseball Stadium.
The Bearcats (4-4) and Golden Grizzlies (3-4) faced a quick turnaround, having scheduled the game the day before, but that didn't seem to affect UC's bats. Cincinnati pounded out 11 hits and scored nine runs, one off its season-high total.
After hitting his first home run of the year on Tuesday at Xavier, Josh Kross went yard again on Thursday to highlight a 2-for-3 day. Lauden Brooks went 3-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run triple. Alec Jones hit his first home run of the year, a two-run shot in the bottom of the second.
Tommy O'Connor extended his on-base streak to 23 games dating back to last season, using a single in his last at-bat of the night to keep the streak alive.
Bradley Coulter started the game and pitched three scoreless frames, striking out six. Christian Mitchelle ended the game, pitching the final 2.1 innings and keeping the Golden Grizzlies at bay long enough to earn the save.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
Bradley Coulter started the game off strong, striking out four in the first two innings, and the Bearcats rewarded him with a pair of home runs in the bottom of the second. Josh Kross led off the inning with a home run to right field, and three batters later Alec Jones homered to left to give Cincinnati a 3-0 lead. Lauden Brooks pushed the lead to 4-0 with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the third.
Oakland scored two in the top of the fourth to halve the Bearcats' lead, but they got those runs back in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run triple by Brooks. After Kerrington Cross and Josh Kross reached base with a walk and hit-by-pitch, respectively, both scored easily on Brooks' three-bagger.
UC added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth on a sac fly by Landyn Vidourek and an RBI single from Kross, but Oakland put together a four-run seventh inning to close the gap.
A sac fly brought in the first run of the inning, then a run-scoring fielder's choice made it 8-4. A two-run double for the Golden Grizzlies then made it 8-6, but Christian Mitchelle induced a harmless ground ball to end the inning without sustaining further damage. Mitchelle came through in the clutch again in the top of the eighth, stranding an Oakland runner on third to keep the lead at two runs.
Tommy O'Connor scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to give Cincinnati an insurance run, and Mitchelle got the final batter of the game to strike out looking to seal the win.
// NEXT UP
Cincinnati's four-game series against Northern Illinois begins Friday at 3 PM. The Bearcats and Huskies will then play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon before wrapping up their series on Sunday at 1 PM.
For Saturday's doubleheader, fans should be advised that parking in the Campus Green lot before 3 PM will cost $5, but after 3 PM the price will go up to $10.
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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.