TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team dropped its final game of the regular season on Saturday, falling 9-5 vs. Kansas State at UC Baseball Stadium.
The loss drops UC to 31-23 overall and 16-14 in Big 12 play. More information about next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship in Arlington, Texas will be available when the bracket is set later tonight.
After beating the Wildcats on Thursday and Friday, UC had a chance to sweep on Saturday but was met with an early onslaught of offense. K-State scored one in the first, five in the second, and three in the third to build a commanding 9-2 lead after three. The Bearcats scored one in the fourth and one in the fifth, but couldn't get much else going offensively the rest of the game.
Prior to the game, UC honored 16 student-athletes during its Senior Day ceremony: Saturday's game will be Senior Day, and Cincinnati is honored to be recognizing 16 student-athletes prior to the game: #2 Kerrington Cross, #4 Donovan Ford, #5 Dawson Hokuf, #8 Lauden Brooks, #10 Keegan Allen, #13 Brandon Scheurer, #15 Kory Klingenbeck, #16 Michael Conte, #17 Rodney Shultz, #18 Max Bergmann, #20 Josh Ulery, #22 Louis Perona, #24 Carter Earls, #41 Adam Mrakitsch, #44 Tommy O'Connor, and #51 Kellen O'Connor. Student managers Jackson Gormley, Bryce Ray, and Zach Rudduck were honored as well.
At the plate, sophomore Cal Sefcik homered for the second straight game to cap a 2-for-3 day. He was 5-for-8 at the plate with two home runs and five walks during the series.
Redshirt senior Kerrington Cross was 2-for-5 and ended his regular season with a .414 batting average. He was even a tick better in Big 12 play, hitting .420 against conference opponents during the regular season.
Redshirt freshman Charlie Niehaus was 3-for-4 and stole two bases, and freshman Quinton Coats had two hits as well.
A pair of relievers put together multi-inning scoreless appearances. Senior Adam Mrakitsch struck out three in three scoreless frames, and redshirt junior Joel Pineiro pitched the final three innings and did not allow a run.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
Kansas State jumped out in front on Saturday, scoring one in the first and five in the second to grab a 6-0 lead. Cal Sefcik hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second and Charlie Niehaus' two-out RBI single added another run to make it 6-2.
K-State added to its lead in the top of the third with a three-run home run, making it 9-2, but the Bearcats chipped away at the deficit during the middle innings. They scored a run in the third, one in the fourth, and another in the fifth to pull within four, making it a 9-5 ballgame through five.
Adam Mrakitsch and Joel Pineiro shut down the Wildcats over the final six innings, but UC wasn't able to overcome the early deficit.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @GoBearcatsBASE on X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The loss drops UC to 31-23 overall and 16-14 in Big 12 play. More information about next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship in Arlington, Texas will be available when the bracket is set later tonight.
After beating the Wildcats on Thursday and Friday, UC had a chance to sweep on Saturday but was met with an early onslaught of offense. K-State scored one in the first, five in the second, and three in the third to build a commanding 9-2 lead after three. The Bearcats scored one in the fourth and one in the fifth, but couldn't get much else going offensively the rest of the game.
Prior to the game, UC honored 16 student-athletes during its Senior Day ceremony: Saturday's game will be Senior Day, and Cincinnati is honored to be recognizing 16 student-athletes prior to the game: #2 Kerrington Cross, #4 Donovan Ford, #5 Dawson Hokuf, #8 Lauden Brooks, #10 Keegan Allen, #13 Brandon Scheurer, #15 Kory Klingenbeck, #16 Michael Conte, #17 Rodney Shultz, #18 Max Bergmann, #20 Josh Ulery, #22 Louis Perona, #24 Carter Earls, #41 Adam Mrakitsch, #44 Tommy O'Connor, and #51 Kellen O'Connor. Student managers Jackson Gormley, Bryce Ray, and Zach Rudduck were honored as well.
At the plate, sophomore Cal Sefcik homered for the second straight game to cap a 2-for-3 day. He was 5-for-8 at the plate with two home runs and five walks during the series.
Redshirt senior Kerrington Cross was 2-for-5 and ended his regular season with a .414 batting average. He was even a tick better in Big 12 play, hitting .420 against conference opponents during the regular season.
Redshirt freshman Charlie Niehaus was 3-for-4 and stole two bases, and freshman Quinton Coats had two hits as well.
A pair of relievers put together multi-inning scoreless appearances. Senior Adam Mrakitsch struck out three in three scoreless frames, and redshirt junior Joel Pineiro pitched the final three innings and did not allow a run.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
Kansas State jumped out in front on Saturday, scoring one in the first and five in the second to grab a 6-0 lead. Cal Sefcik hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second and Charlie Niehaus' two-out RBI single added another run to make it 6-2.
K-State added to its lead in the top of the third with a three-run home run, making it 9-2, but the Bearcats chipped away at the deficit during the middle innings. They scored a run in the third, one in the fourth, and another in the fifth to pull within four, making it a 9-5 ballgame through five.
Adam Mrakitsch and Joel Pineiro shut down the Wildcats over the final six innings, but UC wasn't able to overcome the early deficit.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @GoBearcatsBASE on X/Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.