Cincinnati completes series sweep at BYU with 12-5 win
PROVO, Utah – One day after clinching a Big 12 Tournament berth, the University of Cincinnati baseball team completed its series sweep of BYU with a 12-5 win on Saturday, May 11.
With the win Cincinnati improves to 30-21 overall and 16-11 in Big 12 play. It's the 10th 30-win season in school history and the first since 2019, and also the quickest it has reached 30 wins since 2008.
Their 16-11 Big 12 record puts the Bearcats just two games behind second-place Oklahoma State (33-16, 16-9) and Texas (31-19, 16-9) in the loss column in the Big 12 standings. UC welcomes first-place Oklahoma (30-17, 19-6) to UC Baseball Stadium next weekend for its final conference series of the year. Visit cpaw.me/Tickets to purchase tickets to see the Bearcats and Sooners face off May 16-18.
Lauden Brooks had a career day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI. They were his first two home runs of the season and a career-high RBI total as well. He is the fifth Bearcat with a multi-homer game this year, joining teammates Landyn Vidourek, Josh Kross, Kameron Guidry, and Tommy O'Connor.
Kerrington Cross also had a terrific game, going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Alec Jones continued to swing a hot bat, hitting his fourth home run in his last five games played.
Nathan Taylor made the start on the mound and earned the win to improve to 8-1 on the year and is now leading the Big 12 in victories. The freshman right-hander is the first UC pitcher since 2008 to win at least eight games in a season and is the 12th pitcher in program history with an eight-win season.
Cincinnati hit .321 this weekend and outscored BYU 25-12 in the sweep. Four Bearcats hit at least .400 in the series: Cross (.467), Josh Hegemann (.455), and Landyn Vidourek (.455)
Before hosting Oklahoma next weekend, Cincinnati will face UConn at home on Tuesday, May 15 at 11 a.m. in its Education Day game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Kerrington Cross led off the game with a single and came around to score on Lauden Brooks' two-run homer that gave UC a 2-0 lead. Brooks crushed a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence to give the Bearcats a lead before the Cougars had a chance to bat.
BYU did respond in the bottom of the first with a couple runs to tie the game at 2-2, but Cincinnati again used the long ball to extend its lead in the second. Alec Jones' solo shot put the score at 3-2, then Cross crushed a two-run homer over the center field wall to give Cincinnati a 5-2 lead. The offensive explosion continued in the bottom of the second as a BYU RBI double made it a 5-3 ballgame. Josh Hegemann prevented further damage by throwing out a runner at third base for the second out of the inning, and Nathan Taylor's second strikeout of the game ended the inning.
A couple two-out runs in the top of the third increased the Bearcats' lead to 7-3. Jones drove in another run on a single to right field, scoring Hegemann, and Christian Mitchelle scored on a wild pitch to add to the lead.
Brooks homered for the second time in the top of the sixth, crushing a three-run shot to put the score at 10-3. Cincinnati added two more runs in the seventh inning courtesy of Cross and Brooks to go up 12-3. Cross ripped a single up the middle that scored Max Palmieri, and Jones drew a bases-loaded walk.
The Cougars added a couple runs to their total in the bottom of the seventh, but that proved to be too little too late.
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