TicketsCINCINNATI — No. 12 West Virginia plated four runs in the top of the 13th, its first at-bat since the game was suspended Friday night due to rain, to win 9-5 in the opener, but Cincinnati buckled down with a gritty performance in a 5-2 win to close a long Saturday afternoon and evening.
The two teams meet again for Sunday's rubber game at 1 p.m.
Cincinnati improved to 4-2 against ranked opponents on the year. Ryan Tyranski extended his hit streak to 13 games, and Enzo Infelise has now reached safely in 27-straight.
Game 1
Cincinnati played its longest game since April 2022 (14 innings at Wichita State). First pitch was moved up one hour to 5 p.m. to accommodate the rain, but four-plus hours and 11 ½ innings changed those plans.
In true Nate Taylor fashion, the Bearcats' ace strengthened as the game progressed. WVU led 2-0 after only two batters: a walk and a home run to center, but only one Mountaineer reached second between the third and seventh innings. Taylor's 10 strikeouts were one off a career-high, the sixth of his career in double-digits and fourth time this season.
West Virginia tied it in the eighth after two singles and a two-run double.
Ryan Tyranski's first-pitch homer in the bottom of the eighth gave UC the lead for a moment. Freshman Dominic Mauro, with a team-high five saves, got the ball in the ninth. An RBI single fell in after initial misjudgment in the outfield, leading to extras.
The game was suspended with Charlie Niehaus batting on a full count with one out in the bottom of the 12th. As play resumed at 3 p.m. on Saturday, the Bearcats went down quietly before the Mountaineers caught fire to decide the game.
Game 2
Cincinnati responded with fire after the rough ending earlier in the afternoon. Jackson Smith sent a 1-0 pitch over the right-field wall for Cincinnati's second leadoff homer in three home games (Ryan Tyranski vs. Xavier).
Logan Knight allowed only a walk and single through 3 1/3 innings, with four strikeouts, before suffering an injury on a pickoff attempt. Freshman Chad Brown took the ball after the lengthy delay, and he could not have weathered a storm any better.
The Mountaineers tied the game with two runs in that fourth on a single, walk, error and two wild pitches, but Brown responded with three-straight scoreless innings.
Adam Buczkowski, who himself had a rough start to the series with two earned runs in an inning Friday night, carried the same energy that has allowed him a team-high 20 appearances. The sophomore threw a scoreless eighth before striking out the final two batters with the bases loaded for his third save.
Cincinnati, which had scored its second run on a wild pitch in the third, took the lead in the fifth with two more in that fashion. Jack Natili extended the lead to 5-2 in the sixth with a line-drive double to left center.