TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team heads west to BYU this weekend for its final road series of the regular season.
Game one is set for Thursday at 8 PM ET and game two on Friday will also begin at 8 PM ET. First pitch for the finale on Saturday will be 1:30 PM ET. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Both first-year members of the Big 12, the Bearcats (27-21, 13-11 Big 12) and Cougars (19-26, 6-18 Big 12) have never met on the baseball diamond.
The Bearcats are coming off a big series win vs. West Virginia, which leaves them in a tie for fifth place in the Big 12 standings and just two games out of second place. UC (13-11 Big 12) and Kansas (13-11) are both two games behind Oklahoma State (15-9), Texas (15-9), and West Virginia (15-9) in the conference standings with two weekends remaining.
Cincinnati has now won three-straight conference series for the first time since 2016 and has not lost a weekend home series this season.
Next week is the final week of the regular season and the Bearcats will host four games at UC Baseball Stadium. Their Education Day game vs. UConn is set for 11 AM next Tuesday, May 14. Cincinnati will then host first-place Oklahoma May 16-18 for its final weekend series of the regular season.
// LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats had their scheduled Tuesday game at Indiana canceled due to weather, so their last time on the field was this past weekend at home vs. West Virginia.
Cincinnati continued its stellar play at home vs. WVU. After dropping the first game, UC bounced back to win 10-4 on Saturday before winning the rubber match on Sunday, 8-2.
The Bearcats used the long ball to win on Saturday, hitting four home runs to power their way past WVU. Max Palmieri, Alec Jones, Kerrington Cross, and Josh Kross all homered in the game. In Sunday's win, UC was able to manufacture runs to build an early lead and Jones' three-run homer in the third inning blew the game open.
In game two vs. WVU, Kross was hit by a pitch twice to bring his total to 22 this season, breaking the previous single-season HBP record held by Josh Harrison (21, 2006). Kross is tied for the Big 12 lead and ranks sixth in the nation that category.
Cincinnati also benefited from outstanding starting pitching from Tommy Boba and Nathan Taylor. Boba tied a career-high with nine strikeouts on Saturday and did not allow a walk, while Taylor struck out seven in 6.1 innings and retired 10 straight batters at one point.
// ABOUT BYU
BYU is coming off a 4-2 win at Utah Valley on Tuesday evening and brings a 19-26 overall record into this weekend's series. The Cougars are 6-18 in Big 12 play and have won one conference series earlier this year vs. Houston. Easton Jones has been BYU's top hitter this season, leading the team in home runs (14), RBI (36), and batting average (.301). Coming out of the bullpen, Stone Cushing's nine saves are the most in the Big 12 and rank ninth in the country.
// 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.
Game one is set for Thursday at 8 PM ET and game two on Friday will also begin at 8 PM ET. First pitch for the finale on Saturday will be 1:30 PM ET. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Both first-year members of the Big 12, the Bearcats (27-21, 13-11 Big 12) and Cougars (19-26, 6-18 Big 12) have never met on the baseball diamond.
The Bearcats are coming off a big series win vs. West Virginia, which leaves them in a tie for fifth place in the Big 12 standings and just two games out of second place. UC (13-11 Big 12) and Kansas (13-11) are both two games behind Oklahoma State (15-9), Texas (15-9), and West Virginia (15-9) in the conference standings with two weekends remaining.
Cincinnati has now won three-straight conference series for the first time since 2016 and has not lost a weekend home series this season.
Next week is the final week of the regular season and the Bearcats will host four games at UC Baseball Stadium. Their Education Day game vs. UConn is set for 11 AM next Tuesday, May 14. Cincinnati will then host first-place Oklahoma May 16-18 for its final weekend series of the regular season.
// LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats had their scheduled Tuesday game at Indiana canceled due to weather, so their last time on the field was this past weekend at home vs. West Virginia.
Cincinnati continued its stellar play at home vs. WVU. After dropping the first game, UC bounced back to win 10-4 on Saturday before winning the rubber match on Sunday, 8-2.
The Bearcats used the long ball to win on Saturday, hitting four home runs to power their way past WVU. Max Palmieri, Alec Jones, Kerrington Cross, and Josh Kross all homered in the game. In Sunday's win, UC was able to manufacture runs to build an early lead and Jones' three-run homer in the third inning blew the game open.
In game two vs. WVU, Kross was hit by a pitch twice to bring his total to 22 this season, breaking the previous single-season HBP record held by Josh Harrison (21, 2006). Kross is tied for the Big 12 lead and ranks sixth in the nation that category.
Cincinnati also benefited from outstanding starting pitching from Tommy Boba and Nathan Taylor. Boba tied a career-high with nine strikeouts on Saturday and did not allow a walk, while Taylor struck out seven in 6.1 innings and retired 10 straight batters at one point.
// ABOUT BYU
BYU is coming off a 4-2 win at Utah Valley on Tuesday evening and brings a 19-26 overall record into this weekend's series. The Cougars are 6-18 in Big 12 play and have won one conference series earlier this year vs. Houston. Easton Jones has been BYU's top hitter this season, leading the team in home runs (14), RBI (36), and batting average (.301). Coming out of the bullpen, Stone Cushing's nine saves are the most in the Big 12 and rank ninth in the country.
// 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.