TicketsMANHATTAN, KAN. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team defeated Kansas State on Saturday night, 11-7, for its first-ever Big 12 victory.
After suffering a tough defeat against the Wildcats on Friday night, the Bearcats (9-6, 1-1 Big 12) bounced back on Saturday to even the series.
UC used a six-run third inning to grab an early lead and outscored K-State 5-0 from the fifth inning onward to seal the victory.
While the offense reached double-digits in runs for the sixth time this season, it was UC's pitching that stole the show late in the game. Brenden Garula and Christian Mitchelle combined to throw 4.1 scoreless frames on the mound to end the night, allowing just two hits over that span to shut down Kansas State's hitters.
Four different Bearcats had two-RBI performances at the plate on Saturday night: Josh Kross, Josh Hegemann, Lauden Brooks, and Hunter Jessee. Kross, Brooks, Jessee, and Mitchelle all had two hits at the dish as well.
Tommy O'Connor was hit by a pitch in his final at-bat of the night to extend is on-base streak to 30 games dating back to last season.
The series between the Bearcats and Wildcats will conclude on Sunday at 2 PM ET.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
Cincinnati's bats sputtered early, but broke out in a big way in the top of the third.
After Kansas State scored two runs in the bottom of the second to open the scoring, UC plated six runs in the top of the third to take a 6-2 lead. Landyn Vidourek scored easily on a passed ball to bring in the first run of the inning, and Tommy O'Connor's RBI fielder's choice tied the game at 2-2. Josh Kross and Josh Hegemann tallied back-to-back RBI singles to make it 4-2, and Lauden Brooks' two-run double pushed the lead to 6-2.
K-State added two runs in the bottom of the third to cut UC's lead to 6-4, but Ryan Insco prevented further damage by forcing an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play immediately after entering the game.
Three more Wildcat runs in the bottom of the fourth gave them a 7-6 lead, but UC jumped back out in front with a three-run fifth frame. Hunter Jessee's two-run single brought home Brooks and Hegemann, and Vidourek came in to score on a K-State fielding miscue to put the score at 9-7.
Cincinnati's offense continued to produce runs to pad its lead. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Hegemann in the top of the sixth made it 10-7, and an inning later Kross was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to increase UC's lead to 11-7.
Brenden Garula entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and proceeded to shut down K-State's bats, and Christian Mitchelle did the same after entering the game in the bottom of the eighth. Mitchelle induced a 4-3 double play on the first pitch he threw and ended the night with a strikeout to clinch the win.
// 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.
After suffering a tough defeat against the Wildcats on Friday night, the Bearcats (9-6, 1-1 Big 12) bounced back on Saturday to even the series.
UC used a six-run third inning to grab an early lead and outscored K-State 5-0 from the fifth inning onward to seal the victory.
While the offense reached double-digits in runs for the sixth time this season, it was UC's pitching that stole the show late in the game. Brenden Garula and Christian Mitchelle combined to throw 4.1 scoreless frames on the mound to end the night, allowing just two hits over that span to shut down Kansas State's hitters.
Four different Bearcats had two-RBI performances at the plate on Saturday night: Josh Kross, Josh Hegemann, Lauden Brooks, and Hunter Jessee. Kross, Brooks, Jessee, and Mitchelle all had two hits at the dish as well.
Tommy O'Connor was hit by a pitch in his final at-bat of the night to extend is on-base streak to 30 games dating back to last season.
The series between the Bearcats and Wildcats will conclude on Sunday at 2 PM ET.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
Cincinnati's bats sputtered early, but broke out in a big way in the top of the third.
After Kansas State scored two runs in the bottom of the second to open the scoring, UC plated six runs in the top of the third to take a 6-2 lead. Landyn Vidourek scored easily on a passed ball to bring in the first run of the inning, and Tommy O'Connor's RBI fielder's choice tied the game at 2-2. Josh Kross and Josh Hegemann tallied back-to-back RBI singles to make it 4-2, and Lauden Brooks' two-run double pushed the lead to 6-2.
K-State added two runs in the bottom of the third to cut UC's lead to 6-4, but Ryan Insco prevented further damage by forcing an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play immediately after entering the game.
Three more Wildcat runs in the bottom of the fourth gave them a 7-6 lead, but UC jumped back out in front with a three-run fifth frame. Hunter Jessee's two-run single brought home Brooks and Hegemann, and Vidourek came in to score on a K-State fielding miscue to put the score at 9-7.
Cincinnati's offense continued to produce runs to pad its lead. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Hegemann in the top of the sixth made it 10-7, and an inning later Kross was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to increase UC's lead to 11-7.
Brenden Garula entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and proceeded to shut down K-State's bats, and Christian Mitchelle did the same after entering the game in the bottom of the eighth. Mitchelle induced a 4-3 double play on the first pitch he threw and ended the night with a strikeout to clinch the win.
// 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.