TicketsBIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team slugged three home runs on Saturday in its 8-4 win at UAB.
The ball was flying off the Bearcats’ bats as sophomore Quinton Coats, junior Jack Natili, and freshman Jackson Reardon all left the yard. It was the first homer of the year for both Natili and Reardon, and the third homer of the season for Coats. Coats’ homer was also a grand slam, the first by a Bearcat since Kerrington Cross hit one at Miami (Ohio) on April 1, 2025.
The win went to junior Dominic Mauro, who was excellent in his third outing of the year. He pitched three scoreless innings and struck out four while allowing just three total baserunners.
At the plate, UC did the bulk of its damage with two outs. Six of its eight runs came with two outs, and six of its 10 hits came with two outs as well.
Coats went 2-for-4 with a triple and the grand slam, his second straight game with a homer. Natili was 3-for-5 at the dish and drove in two runs.
Redshirt senior Adam Brouwer struck out three in four innings in his second start as a Bearcat. Freshman Connor Blue pitched the eighth and ninth to wrap up the win.
Cincinnati and UAB will wrap up their four-game series on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Quinton Coats’ terrific at-bat in the top of the first, an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with his first career triple, set up Jack Natili’s RBI single to give UC a 1-0 lead early.
- UAB responded with a solo homer in the bottom of the first to tie it up at 1-1.
- Coats did damage again in the top of the second, hitting a grand slam to give UC a 5-1 lead. Conlan Daniel, Jackson Smith, and Derrick Pitts all drew two-out walks to load the bases, and Coats crushed his third homer of the year over the fence in center field to bring everyone home.
- The ball kept flying in the bottom of the second. UAB’s Austin Pierzynski hit a two-run shot to make the score 5-3.
- The Bearcats homered in back-to-back innings to go up 8-3. Natili hit a solo homer in the fifth and Jackson Reardon clubbed his first career homer in the sixth, a two-run shot.
- Dominic Mauro entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and was outstanding, throwing three scoreless innings while striking out four. He struck out the final batter he faced in the bottom of the seventh.
- The Blazers added another run in the bottom of the eighth, but it proved to be inconsequential to the final outcome.
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