TicketsTULSA, Okla. — Sophomore first baseman Quinton Coats sent a towering, 390-foot blast to center field, breaking Mike Spina's 2009 school record with his 24th home run of the season, and No. 20 Cincinnati unleashed 20 hits in a 15-4 rout of Oral Roberts on a cold Tuesday night.
Coats, who entered the night fifth nationally for homers, also became the first of three Bearcats to homer in the inning as Jack Natili (14) and Enzo Infelise (7) went back-to-back just two batters later to the opposite field.
Cincinnati (33-17) has now won six in a row following its road sweep of Houston and claiming the home series against No. 12 West Virginia. The Bearcats are also now 17-6 in May (not counting the Big 12 Tournament) under head coach Jordan Bischel, who now has 98 wins at the school.
The Bearcats produced crooked numbers in all five innings in which it scored, beginning with Charlie Niehaus' homer in the second. UC would later plate four runs in the third and three each in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings.
Niehaus also doubled as part of a three-hit game, his second in the last four after having none all year prior. Infelise also went 4-for-6, with seven Bearcats recording multi-hit nights.
Brenden Garula was tabbed as the starting pitcher in the morning, and he went a season-high 2 1/3 innings. Freshman Alex Gonzalez, with just five innings to his name, then went a career-high 2 2/3 frames before being relieved by Dillon Schueler for the next three. The staff retired 13 in a row at one point in the middle innings to keep the Golden Eagles at bay.
The Bearcats finish the road trip this weekend at Kansas State.