Cory Lane finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and his eighth triple. |
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Cincinnati Comes Back to Win Game Two, 5-4
April 16, 2005
Cincinnati, Ohio - Cincinnati scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Charlotte in a Conference USA game at UC Baseball Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Catcher Jim Olds singled to lead off the seventh inning for Cincinnati (15-16, 5-8 C-USA), prompting the 49ers to bring in left-handed reliever Matt Foard. Olds moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by LaFringe Hayes, and advanced to third on a single up the middle by Mark Haske. Jon DeLuca grounded to third, but Olds was erased on a tag out at home plate.
With two men on and two outs, Logan Parker hit the ball down the first baseline. Spencer Steedley was in position to make a play on the grounder, but the ball hit the bag and took an unlucky high hop up over his head and into right field for a two-run triple. Brian Szarmach then doubled off the left field wall to plate Parker and give his team its first and final lead of the day, 5-4.
Charlotte (20-14, 5-9 C-USA) got a one-out single from Chris Taylor in the top of the eighth, which was followed by a single through the right side by Cory Lane. However Taylor was thrown out by right fielder Erik Eitel trying to advance to third on the play. Left-hander Stephen Harris came up to pinch hit, but the Bearcats countered with right-hander Josh Kay and he struck out Harris to end the threat.
Foard struggled again in the bottom of the eighth, walking two batters after a leadoff groundout. That brought on closer Erik Walker, who loaded the bases with a walk before inducing flyouts to left and center to end the inning.
The Bearcats' Josh Kay struck out the first two batters of the ninth inning, both on called third strikes, before Willard singled into shallow center. That brought up Kris Rochelle, who struck out swinging as Kay recorded his fourth save of the season.
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The victory secures a series win for the Bearcats, and marks the second straight year that Cincinnati has taken the first two games of a three-game series against Charlotte.
Charlotte starter Derek McDaid got no decision after allowing three runs in six innings. Foard falls to 2-2 on the season after allowing two runs in 1 1-3 innings.
For the second straight day, Cincinnati scored a single run in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff ground out, Haske and DeLuca notched back-to-back singles. Parker then singled into center field, and Chris Lane dropped the ball while preparing to throw to third. That allowed Haske to plate the first run. The Niners would get out of the inning as consecutive groundouts stranded two runners.
Unlike Friday's game, the Niners answered back immediately. With two outs in the second, Mike Ambrose drew a walk and Chris Taylor singled through the left side. After a brief pause to straighten out some lineup confusion, Cory Lane smacked a 2-1 offering into the deep right field corner to score both runs. Lane legged out his eighth triple of the season, moving him into a tie for second on the school's all-time single-season list.
Charlotte continued the offense in the top half of the third inning. O'Brien Taylor, the team leader in on base percentage, drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second by Chris Lane. Senior Adam Willard then doubled into right field to give the Niners a 3-1 advantage.
Cincinnati struck for a single run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-2. No. 9 hitter Olds tripled off the raised centerfield wall to start the inning, and scored on a single by Hayes. McDaid would get Haske to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, and a DeLuca single would not matter after Parker flew out to left.
In the top of the sixth, Charlotte put the first two batters aboard when Steedley singled up the middle and Ambrose walked. They both advanced when Munninghoff's pick off attempt at second base hit Steedley and careened into right field.
After Munninghoff struck out Chris Taylor swinging for the inning's first out, he was lifted in favor of right-hander Kyle Markle. Cory Lane hit a ball back through the box, but Markle let it slide under his glove as Steedley sprinted home for a 4-2 Charlotte advantage. Markle then walked O'Brien Taylor to load the bases for Chris Lane, whose grounder to third base ended the inning.
Cory Lane finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBI and his eighth triple. Adam Willard doubled twice, and was robbed of another two-bagger on a leaping catch late in the game, as he finished 3-for-5.
These two teams will meet again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the series finale.
