TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team run-ruled UC San Diego in both games of Friday’s doubleheader, winning game one by a score of 16-1 before taking game two, 13-3.
The Bearcats improved to 12-4 following the wins and have now won five games in a row and nine of their last 10.
Friday was an absolute dismantling of the Tritons, as Cincinnati hit .459, slugged .902, and nearly have of its hits went for extra bases (13-of-28).
Nobody had a louder day at the plate than sophomore Quinton Coats. The slugging first baseman homered in the first game and hit two more in the second game. Coats now has six home runs over his last four games and has 11 this season. After his barrage of homers, he ended play on Friday tied with UCLA’s Will Gasparino for the Division I lead.
Senior Christian Mitchelle also homered twice in game two, and sophomore Jackson Smith and junior Jack Natili both hit home runs in game one. Smith’s home run was a grand slam, the second of the season by a UC hitter after Coats hit one at UAB.
Junior Cal Sefcik was 3-for-3 a couple doubles in game two, a welcome sight considering his recent return from injury.
Cincinnati wasn’t just flexing its muscles either, earning more total free bases (10 walks, two HBP) than strikeouts (11) at the plate.
The run-rule wins would not have been possible without UC’s pitching either. In 14 innings of work, the pitching staff tallied 18 strikeouts while walking just six and held UC San Diego’s hitters to a .189 combined batting average (10-for-53). Senior Logan Knight started game one and punched out eight hitters in five frames, and the bullpen combined to throw four scoreless innings.
The series will conclude on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. There will be no game played on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 1)
- UC San Diego put runners on second and third in the top of the first, but Logan Knight recorded back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the inning.
- Jack Natili’s RBI groundout in the bottom half of the first brought in the first run of the game, then Christian Mitchelle roped a line drive into center field to score two and give UC a 3-0 lead.
- Three more runs scored in the bottom of the second with Quinton Coats, Ryan Tyranski, and Natili all recording RBI.
- The Tritons’ lone run of the game came in the top of the third on a double to left field, making it 6-1.
- Coats responded in a big way in the bottom of the third, blasting a two-run homer deep to left field.
- The biggest inning of the game was the fourth thanks to Jackson Smith’s grand slam. An RBI fielder’s choice two at-bats prior also brought in a run, and the two plays combined to give the Bearcats a 13-1 advantage.
- The offensive deluge continued in the bottom of the fifth. Natili led off the inning with a home run, and Charlie Niehaus and Luke Sefcik drove in runs too.
- The strong pitching of Logan Knight, Hudson Johnson, Bradley Coulter, and Brennan Eager combined to allow just one run, helping secure a run-rule victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME 2)
- After going scoreless in the bottom of the first, the Bearcats plated three in the second. Cal Sefcik’s RBI double brought in the first run, the, Christian Mitchelle followed with a two-run homer to make it 3-0.
- Conlan Daniel made a terrific diving catch in the top of the third, but UCSD’s Gabe Camacho tied the game with a three-run homer three at-bats later.
- Two homers in the bottom of the third helped Cincinnati retake the lead. Quinton Coats hit a towering blast to center field, and Mitchelle then hit his second home run of the game, a two-run shot. Enzo Infelise scored on Mitchelle’s long ball, reaching base after an RBI single earlier in the inning.
- Coats made it 11-3 in the bottom of the third with yet another home run, this time an opposite field blast that brought in three runs.
- The Bearcats plated two more in the bottom of the fifth to make it 13-3, and the bullpen held strong to keep the lead at 10 and enact the run rule following the top of the seventh.
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