TicketsMANHATTAN, KAN. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team dropped its series finale at Kansas State on Sunday, a marathon 14-13 extra-inning contest.
Sunday's game took 12 innings and nearly four hours, and both teams combined for 37 hits in the back-and-forth affair.
UC (9-7, 1-2 Big 12) led by a run, 11-10, heading into the bottom of the ninth before K-State tied the game to send it into extras. Kameron Guidry provided the biggest swing of the game to that point, a two-run home run in the top of the 12th inning, to put the Bearcats ahead 13-11.
The Wildcats responded with three runs in the bottom of the 12th and an RBI single from Nick English drove in the game-winning run.
It was the longest game of the year for the Bearcats and the longest since a 14-inning contest vs. Wichita State on April 15, 2022.
Guidry homered twice on Sunday, going 3-for-6 with a career-high five RBI. It was his first career multi-homer effort and the second by a Bearcat this season (Landyn Vidourek).
Kerrington Cross moved up into the leadoff spot for the first time this season and went 3-for-5 with two walks, a triple, and two runs scored. Josh Kross had two hits and two RBI, and both Josh Hegemann and Alec Jones had three-hit days. Hegemann and Guidry both scored a team-best three times.
Tommy O'Connor made a pinch-hit appearances late in the game and laced a single into center field to extend his on-base streak to 31 games dating back to last season.
Despite being shut out in Friday's opener, Cincinnati scored 24 runs during its first Big 12 weekend series, tied for second-most by any other team in the league this weekend.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats started the game with a bang, scoring four runs in the top of the first and sending nine hitters to the plate.
Kerrington Cross led off the game with a single, stole second base, then scored two at-bats later on Josh Kross' infield single. Kameron Guidry drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in the second run, and back-to-back RBI singles from Hunter Jessee and Alec Jones made it 4-0.
Kansas State immediately answered with four runs in the bottom of the first, with Brady Day's two-run home run the loudest hit of the first frame.
Tommy Boba settled in after the first inning, retiring nine of the next 10 batters he faced. In the meantime, UC's offense plated runs in the fourth and fifth to retake the lead. Luke Sefcik drove in a run on a sac fly in the top of the fourth, and both Jessee and Cross drove in runs to put Cincinnati's lead at 7-4.
K-State scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to trim UC's lead to one, 7-6, but Carson Marsh escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep the lead intact. The Bearcats got those two runs back in the next inning on a two-run home run from Guidry, putting the score at 9-6.
A solo home run in the bottom of the sixth cut UC's lead to two, but two more runs came in to score in the top of the seventh to make it 11-7. Jones scored on a fielder's choice and Lauden Brooks laid down a perfect bunt for a base hit that brought home Dalton Pearson.
Kansas State scored three in the bottom of the eighth to make it a one-run game, 11-10, and Kyan Lodice led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run to tie the score at 11-11.
Neither team reached found the scoreboard in the 10th or 11th innings, but Guidry broke the scoreless drought in the top of the 12th with a two-run shot. Josh Hegemann reached on a two-out single to put a runner on base, then Guidry lifted a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right-center field to give Cincinnati a 13-11 lead.
K-State's Brendan Jones tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th and Nick English singled down the line in right field to bring in the game-winning run.
// NEXT UP
Cincinnati will return home and host five games next week, two midweek contests vs. Western Illinois and a three-game series vs. Kansas next weekend. The series against the Jayhawks will be UC's first-ever Big 12 home series and begins on Friday, March 15 with a 5 PM contest.
// 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.
Sunday's game took 12 innings and nearly four hours, and both teams combined for 37 hits in the back-and-forth affair.
UC (9-7, 1-2 Big 12) led by a run, 11-10, heading into the bottom of the ninth before K-State tied the game to send it into extras. Kameron Guidry provided the biggest swing of the game to that point, a two-run home run in the top of the 12th inning, to put the Bearcats ahead 13-11.
The Wildcats responded with three runs in the bottom of the 12th and an RBI single from Nick English drove in the game-winning run.
It was the longest game of the year for the Bearcats and the longest since a 14-inning contest vs. Wichita State on April 15, 2022.
Guidry homered twice on Sunday, going 3-for-6 with a career-high five RBI. It was his first career multi-homer effort and the second by a Bearcat this season (Landyn Vidourek).
Kerrington Cross moved up into the leadoff spot for the first time this season and went 3-for-5 with two walks, a triple, and two runs scored. Josh Kross had two hits and two RBI, and both Josh Hegemann and Alec Jones had three-hit days. Hegemann and Guidry both scored a team-best three times.
Tommy O'Connor made a pinch-hit appearances late in the game and laced a single into center field to extend his on-base streak to 31 games dating back to last season.
Despite being shut out in Friday's opener, Cincinnati scored 24 runs during its first Big 12 weekend series, tied for second-most by any other team in the league this weekend.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bearcats started the game with a bang, scoring four runs in the top of the first and sending nine hitters to the plate.
Kerrington Cross led off the game with a single, stole second base, then scored two at-bats later on Josh Kross' infield single. Kameron Guidry drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in the second run, and back-to-back RBI singles from Hunter Jessee and Alec Jones made it 4-0.
Kansas State immediately answered with four runs in the bottom of the first, with Brady Day's two-run home run the loudest hit of the first frame.
Tommy Boba settled in after the first inning, retiring nine of the next 10 batters he faced. In the meantime, UC's offense plated runs in the fourth and fifth to retake the lead. Luke Sefcik drove in a run on a sac fly in the top of the fourth, and both Jessee and Cross drove in runs to put Cincinnati's lead at 7-4.
K-State scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to trim UC's lead to one, 7-6, but Carson Marsh escaped a bases-loaded jam to keep the lead intact. The Bearcats got those two runs back in the next inning on a two-run home run from Guidry, putting the score at 9-6.
A solo home run in the bottom of the sixth cut UC's lead to two, but two more runs came in to score in the top of the seventh to make it 11-7. Jones scored on a fielder's choice and Lauden Brooks laid down a perfect bunt for a base hit that brought home Dalton Pearson.
Kansas State scored three in the bottom of the eighth to make it a one-run game, 11-10, and Kyan Lodice led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run to tie the score at 11-11.
Neither team reached found the scoreboard in the 10th or 11th innings, but Guidry broke the scoreless drought in the top of the 12th with a two-run shot. Josh Hegemann reached on a two-out single to put a runner on base, then Guidry lifted a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right-center field to give Cincinnati a 13-11 lead.
K-State's Brendan Jones tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th and Nick English singled down the line in right field to bring in the game-winning run.
// NEXT UP
Cincinnati will return home and host five games next week, two midweek contests vs. Western Illinois and a three-game series vs. Kansas next weekend. The series against the Jayhawks will be UC's first-ever Big 12 home series and begins on Friday, March 15 with a 5 PM contest.
// 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.