The Hoosiers would continue to swing the bat, as Carter Mathison connected with a Zach Segal pitch, left over the middle of the plate for a long ride to Right Field that hit off of Fifth Third Arena. The Hoosiers wouldn’t stop there after Hoosier 2nd basemen Tyler Doanes took Zach Segal deep to right field to extend the Hoosiers lead to 3, where they now lead 4-1 heading to the bottom of the 4th inning.
The Bearcats would look to have some momentum going into the bottom of 4 but left runners stranded after Cole Harting was thrown out trying to steal 3rd on a ball in the dirt, leading to a Max Palmieri walk, which would’ve gave the Bearcats runners on 1st and 3rd with just one out, where they would look to cut the Hoosiers lead, but couldn’t get Palmieri into scoring position shortly after leaving him stranded, where the Hoosiers would take a 4-1 lead into the 5th inning.
The Bearcats went back to the bullpen where Evan Kemp would come in to pitch the 5th inning ending Zach Segal’s day after going 1.2 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, on two home runs. The Bearcats would look to get out of an early jam in the 5th as the Hoosiers had runners in scoring position with the bases loaded until Bearcats’ pitcher Evan Kemp, plunked Mathison with the bases loaded to give the Hoosiers a 5-1 lead as they were looking to bust this one open here at UC Baseball Stadium. Jackson Murphy came in for the Bearcats and gave up another Hoosier RBI after hitting Samuel Murrison with the bases loaded. The Bearcats were struggling to find the zone as Jackson Murphy allowed another 4-pitch walk to make this one a 7-1 ball game, before a Cam Scheler throwing error allowed the Hoosiers to tack on another run giving the Hoosiers an 8-1 lead heading into the Bottom of 5.
The Bearcats would look to break out the bats in the later frames, as Paul Komistek ripped a 2 out double into the left-center gap to give the Bearcats just their 5th hit of the night, followed by a Kerrington Cross walk and the Bearcats would have runners in scoring position with 2 outs, looking to create some momentum in the bottom half of the 7th inning. Griffin Merritt just missed on a 2 out pitch leading to the Bearcats leaving the runners stranded, after creating some momentum there with 2 outs. The Bearcats were getting contact on pitches all night, but just couldn’t put the hits together at the right time, as the momentum favored the Hoosiers after the 4 run 5th inning. The bats got going in the bottom of the 8th for the Bearcats, after Cole Harting ripped a 1 out triple to left field with one out after a diving attempt by Carter Mathison was just short and Harting took advantage on the base path. Harting was drove in two batters later after Wyatt Stapp recorded a 2 out RBI single up the middle to cut the Hoosiers lead to 6, as the Bearcats still trailed 8-2 in the bottom of the 8th. The triple by Cole Harting was his 100th career hit as a Bearcat as well, as the Cincinnati native has been a hotspot in the Bearcats lineup the last 2 seasons.
The Bearcats were looking to do damage here in the bottom of the 8th with 2 outs, as the bases were loaded for one of the Bearcats hottest hitters, Paul Komistek, who is hitting .367% on the season, and was looking to keep the ball rolling for the Bearcats. The Bearcats would eventually leave the bases loaded after Komistek struck out looking to end the inning as the Bearcats trailed the Hoosiers 8-2 heading to the 9th inning. The Bearcats looked to have some momentum going there in the bottom of the 8th, but just couldn’t push more than 1 run across the board in the frame.
The Hoosiers would bring the bats in the top to 9th after loading the bases, Center Fielder Bobby Whalen would clear the bases with a double to the left center gap to give the Hoosiers a 11-2 lead over the Bearcats heading to the bottom of the 9th.
The Bearcats would answer right back, as Ryan Nicholson launched a deep two run homerun to deep center field with 1 out in the top of the 9th to cut the Hoosiers lead to 7, where they led the Bearcats 11-4.
After the Bearcats took a 1-0 lead in the first inning the Bearcats after Griffin Merrit hit his 14th homerun of the season. The Hoosiers responded with a deep homerun from Brock Tibbitts to give the Hoosiers a 2-1 lead in the top of the second. The Hoosiers would add on to their early lead after a homerun’s from Carter Mathison and Tyler Doanes to give the Hoosiers a 4-1 lead over the Bearcats.
The Hoosiers would add 4 more runs in the top of the 5th after loading the bases with 1 out, after the Bearcats would hit consecutive batters, and see a throwing error from Cam Scheler the Hoosiers would open this one up to take an 8-1 lead in the 5th inning. The Bearcats would get the bats rolling late in the game as Cole Harting ripped a triple to Left field in the top of the 8th, where he was later drove in by a Wyatt Stapp single up the middle, where the Bearcats would cut the lead to 6. The Bearcats had the opportunity to put some runs across the board in the bottom of the 8th after the bases were loaded with 2 outs for one of the Bearcats hottest hitters in Paul Komistek, but he would strike out looking leaving the bases loaded for the Bearcats, in a pivotal moment to try and flip the momentum of this one here at UC Baseball Stadium. The Hoosiers would respond with a bases loaded double from Center Fielder Bobby Whalen, giving the Hoosiers a 11-2 lead heading to the bottom of the 9th. However the Bearcats got a huge swing of the bat from first basement Ryan Nicholson after long homerun to deep center field cut the lead to 7.
Overall, the Bearcats just couldn’t find a way to get runners into scoring position until the later innings, which was a key moment in this one after playing behind most of the game, after establishing early momentum from the first inning homerun from Griffin Merritt. The Bearcats found themselves in a jam during the 4 run 5th inning and i think if they find a way out of that jam this game could have been a little different in terms of the outcome to say the least. The Bearcats were making contact on pitches all night just couldn’t get anything to drop and get runners into scoring position.
Notables
Ryan Nicholson went 2-4 with a HR, 2 RBIs
Cole Harting recorded his 100th career hit after a triple in the 8th inning.
Jake Hansen went 2-3 with an HBP.
The Bearcats are now 16-19 on the season, (6-3 AAC). The Bearcats will be back in action this weekend for a 3-game series when they welcome in USF to UC Baseball Stadium with the chance to make a huge statement in the conference standings down the stretch heading into their final month of the season.
