Welcome to the first edition of my Bearcats Baseball weekend series recaps. After every weekend Baseball series, I will recap the series highlighting the top performers at the plate, performances by the starting pitchers and what the series result means for the Bearcats both in the present and for the future. Plus, I’ll look ahead to what’s ahead for the Bearcats in the week and update the Big 12 standings.
Since this is my first story on Bearcats Baseball here at The Front Office News, I’ll start by sharing some overall thoughts on first-year head coach Jordan Bischel and the current state of the Bearcats Baseball program. I really like what Bischel is doing with this team. He has this team playing really competitively through the first month-and-a-half of the season. And they are a really fun team to watch, follow, cover, whatever your devotion is towards Bearcats Baseball.
This is an exciting Bearcats team. Cincinnati ranks third in the Big 12 in runs scored, fourth in hits, sixth in doubles, triples and home runs, fifth in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage and seventh in slugging percentage. This is a solid Bearcats team at the plate, and they’re even more exciting on the base paths. The Bearcats lead the Big 12 in stolen bases with 68 on 78 attempts, the second most attempts in the Big 12.
This team’s pitching staff is a work in progress. They rank towards the bottom of the Big 12 in several major pitching categories, but their pitching staff has accrued the fourth-most innings pitched in the Big 12 up to this point in the season. Cincinnati has given up 10+ runs in eight games this season.
This Past Weekend at Baylor: The Bearcats took one out of three from Baylor over the weekend, winning the first game 8-3 before dropping the final two games 8-6 and 9-2. Cincinnati now stands at 16-13 overall and 4-5 in the Big 12.
In game one, it was senior left fielder Josh Hegemann leading the way in the lineup going 3-5 and junior designated hitter Tommy O’Connor driving in four runs. Three innings with multiple runs paced the Bearcats offense to an 8-0 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. On the mound, it was senior right-handed pitcher Seth Logue getting the win in relief with 6 1/3 innings allowing just four hits and striking out eight batters.
Cincinnati fell behind 8-2 in game two before junior first baseman Josh Kross socked a grand slam in the eighth to pull the Bearcats within 8-6. The Bearcats outhit the Bears 15-9 in this game, but Baylor’s senior left-hander Kobe Andrade pitched the final 1 2/3 innings in perfect fashion on just 19 pitches for the save, evening the series at one game apiece. Bearcats sophomore right-hander Tommy Boba took the loss going just four innings while allowing five earned runs.
The third game saw Baylor jump out to a 7-1 lead after three innings, chasing Bearcats freshman right-hander Nathan Taylor after just 1 1/3 innings where he allowed six runs. The Bearcats managed just two hits in this game, while Baylor tacked on 13 hits to a 9-2 win.
On Deck: The Bearcats return home this weekend to face the TCU Horned Frogs. Friday’s game is at 5 p.m., and it will be Top Gun Night along with Military Appreciation. Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. on National Burrito Day and Sunday’s game is at noon on Cincy Reigns and Beer Day. TCU enters 20-7 overall but just 5-7 in Big 12 play. All games can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
