Author: William Moore
A week after splitting a four-game series in Atlanta, the Cincinnati Bearcats baseball team took a trip down to Gainesville for a three-game weekend series against the #7 Florida Gators.
The Bearcats would drop the series opener on Friday to the Gators. The Gators started out strong by posting six runs in the first four innings. The Bearcats wouldn’t get on the board until the fifth inning via a Kerrington Cross two RBI double and a Ryan Nicholson solo home run. The Bearcats would go on to score three more runs over the course of the game. However, the Gators didn’t slow down their consistent scoring effort, plating runners in every inning except for the first and not-needed bottom of the ninth. The Bearcats would lose Friday’s contest 6-13 with the winning pitcher being Brandon Sproat (2-0) and the pitcher credited with the loss being Garrett Harker (0-1).
Game two was headlined by a stellar pitching performance from the Gators’ Hurston Waldrep. Waldrep tied a career high in strikeouts by posting 13 in six innings. On the other side, it wasn’t a great day on the mound for the Bearcats. Freshman starter Chase Horst had a short day, being relieved by the veteran Dylan Brosky after facing three batters in the second inning. Offensively, the Gators had a productive day led by junior Wyatt Langford who had three hits on the day including a double and a home run. The Bearcats would score three runs on the day via an RBI ground-rule double by Kyle Schupmann in the second inning, a Kerrington Cross RBI single in the fifth and a Landyn Vidourek RBI single in the eighth. Despite the Bearcats’ efforts, game two would end in the eighth inning via run rule after a Ty Evans two-run home run. The final score was 13-3 in favor of the Gators. The winning pitcher was Hurston Waldrep and, on the other side, Chase Horst (0-1) was credited with the loss.
\In the series finale, the Bearcats were able to get on the board quickly. Kameron Guidry reached first on an error and Cole Harting scored to give the Bearcats the early 1-0 lead. The Gators didn’t seem to have an answer for Bearcats starter Chase Hopewell with the exception being Josh Rivera. Rivera hit two home runs against Hopewell on the day, accounting for three RBI. However, the Bearcats managed to keep it close. The Bearcats would score three more runs including an RBI single by Cole Harting which would make it 4-5 in favor of the Gators heading into the bottom of the sixth. However, that’s when the Florida offense pulled away. The Gators hit three home runs in the inning, scoring four runs and extending their lead to 9-4. But the Gators wouldn’t stop there. By the end of the day the Gators hit eight big flies setting a new school record for most home runs in a single game. The Gators tallied 13 runs en route to a 13-7 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats and a series sweep.
The Bearcats will be back in action this Wednesday for their home opener against the Miami RedHawks. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 and we will get you caught up to speed during our preview show Tuesday at 4:30 on Bearcast Radio.