TicketsLAS VEGAS, Nev. – No. 25 Cincinnati overcame an early deficit and scored three runs in the ninth inning to capture a 10-9 victory at UNLV on Sunday.
The Bearcats found themselves trailing 5-0 after the first inning, but chipped away at their deficit and continued to put pressure on the Rebels' pitchers. That persistence paid off with a three-run ninth inning, which gave UC its first lead of the day when it mattered most. Sophomore Carson Marsh posted a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win and complete the comeback.
Senior Tommy O'Connor started the rally with a triple that scored Christian Mitchelle and made it a 9-8 ballgame. Senior Lauden Brooks, seeing his first action of the weekend, entered the game as a pinch hitter and doubled into the gap in right-center field to score O'Connor and tie the game at 9-9. Three batters later, sophomore Jack Natili came through in the clutch with an RBI single that brought in the go-ahead run.
Mitchelle and freshman Quinton Coats both had three-hit performances on Sunday, while O'Connor and redshirt senior Dawson Hokuf both logged two hits apiece. Sophomore Cal Sefcik homered for the third time in his last four games and Natili reached base four times, walking twice and getting hit by a pitch once.
Seven different pitchers saw time on the mound for UC, with Marsh recording the save and freshman Ty Barnett earning the win.
The series concludes Monday night at 9:05 p.m. ET.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
UNLV jumped out to an early lead thanks to a power surge in the top of the first, hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs to go up 4-0. Another run scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.
Cincinnati trimmed the deficit to two in the top of the third. Quinton Coats, Christian Mitchelle, and Tommy O'Connor led off the inning with three consecutive singles, then Landyn Vidourek doubled in a couple runs to get the Bearcats on the board. Donovan Ford's sac fly scored O'Connor easily and put the score at 5-3. UNLV got one of those runs back on a solo homer from Dean Toigo in the bottom of half of the inning, his second homer of the game.
The Bearcats used their power at the plate to make it a one-score game in the third. Cal Sefcik led things off with a homer, then back-to-back doubles from Dawson Hokuf and Quinton Coats brought in another run to put the score at 6-5. Brandon Scheurer kept the Rebels off the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, but they increased their lead to 7-5 in the fourth on an RBI single.
A couple Cincinnati runs in the top of the fifth tied the score at 7-7. Hokuf and Coats opened with consecutive singles, and Mitchelle's double brought home a run before Coats scored on O'Connor's sac fly. The game didn't stay tied for long though as Cole Koniarsky's solo homer in the bottom of the sixth put the score at 8-7. Another UNLV homer, its sixth of the game, made it 9-7 in the eighth.
Cincinnati's ninth-inning rally began with a single by Mitchelle, who then scored on O'Connor's triple to make it 9-8. Lauden Brooks' pinch-hit double scored Mitchelle to tie the game and Josh Ulery, pinch-running for Brooks, scored on Jack Natili's two-out base hit to give the Bearcats a 10-9 advantage. Carson Marsh retired the Rebels in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the win and earn the save.
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For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @GoBearcatsBASE on X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Bearcats found themselves trailing 5-0 after the first inning, but chipped away at their deficit and continued to put pressure on the Rebels' pitchers. That persistence paid off with a three-run ninth inning, which gave UC its first lead of the day when it mattered most. Sophomore Carson Marsh posted a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win and complete the comeback.
Senior Tommy O'Connor started the rally with a triple that scored Christian Mitchelle and made it a 9-8 ballgame. Senior Lauden Brooks, seeing his first action of the weekend, entered the game as a pinch hitter and doubled into the gap in right-center field to score O'Connor and tie the game at 9-9. Three batters later, sophomore Jack Natili came through in the clutch with an RBI single that brought in the go-ahead run.
Mitchelle and freshman Quinton Coats both had three-hit performances on Sunday, while O'Connor and redshirt senior Dawson Hokuf both logged two hits apiece. Sophomore Cal Sefcik homered for the third time in his last four games and Natili reached base four times, walking twice and getting hit by a pitch once.
Seven different pitchers saw time on the mound for UC, with Marsh recording the save and freshman Ty Barnett earning the win.
The series concludes Monday night at 9:05 p.m. ET.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
UNLV jumped out to an early lead thanks to a power surge in the top of the first, hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs to go up 4-0. Another run scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.
Cincinnati trimmed the deficit to two in the top of the third. Quinton Coats, Christian Mitchelle, and Tommy O'Connor led off the inning with three consecutive singles, then Landyn Vidourek doubled in a couple runs to get the Bearcats on the board. Donovan Ford's sac fly scored O'Connor easily and put the score at 5-3. UNLV got one of those runs back on a solo homer from Dean Toigo in the bottom of half of the inning, his second homer of the game.
The Bearcats used their power at the plate to make it a one-score game in the third. Cal Sefcik led things off with a homer, then back-to-back doubles from Dawson Hokuf and Quinton Coats brought in another run to put the score at 6-5. Brandon Scheurer kept the Rebels off the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, but they increased their lead to 7-5 in the fourth on an RBI single.
A couple Cincinnati runs in the top of the fifth tied the score at 7-7. Hokuf and Coats opened with consecutive singles, and Mitchelle's double brought home a run before Coats scored on O'Connor's sac fly. The game didn't stay tied for long though as Cole Koniarsky's solo homer in the bottom of the sixth put the score at 8-7. Another UNLV homer, its sixth of the game, made it 9-7 in the eighth.
Cincinnati's ninth-inning rally began with a single by Mitchelle, who then scored on O'Connor's triple to make it 9-8. Lauden Brooks' pinch-hit double scored Mitchelle to tie the game and Josh Ulery, pinch-running for Brooks, scored on Jack Natili's two-out base hit to give the Bearcats a 10-9 advantage. Carson Marsh retired the Rebels in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the win and earn the save.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @GoBearcatsBASE on X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.