With their Friday, May 15 nightcap 8-7 win against Texas Tech at UC Baseball Stadium, the Cincinnati Bearcats finish the regular season 37-19 (17-13 Big 12).
They are now two wins away from the school record of 39 set in 2008.
It didn’t come easy; UC scored seven times in the first two innings and led 8-3 after four frames. But, Texas Tech rapped out 19 hits on the night, including a home run by Logan Hughes in the ninth to get the Red Raiders within a run.
Fortunately, sophomore Adam Buczkowski was able to finish the game. He gave up a single to Linkin Garcia, but then left him stranded with three consecutive outs, the last being a high pop that senior Christian Mitchelle corralled in foul territory for the win.
“It’s a great feeling,” Mitchelle said. “After I caught it, I kind of knew I was going to do something here. It’s probably the last time on this field. I’ve got to make the last out.”
After the Bearcats dropped the early game 6-5, Texas Tech and UC were both trying to salvage the series. With the win, the Bearcats were in position for the double-bye in the Big 12 tournament, as of Friday. A win by West Virginia on Saturday, May 16, over TCU would seemingly put them in that position.
Ryan Tyranski went 4-for-5 with a homer for the Bearcats in the win, while Quinton Coats was 3-for-5, driving in five early runs. Mason High’s Brenden Garula got the win in relief to improve his record to 2-0 and it was the sixth save for Buczkowski.
Did UC head coach Jordan Bischel feel comfortable with the early big lead?
“That Texas Tech offense is one of the best in the country,” Bischel said. “They’re hitting .340 or .350 for a reason. Where we did so well was we got double plays turned, we threw strikes, we made them earn their runs. Holding them to seven, that’s a good offense. We did a really good job battling. I thought we’d need 12, 14 or 15 runs to win that game.”
Senior Day for Cincinnati Bearcats baseball
Seniors honored before the regular-season finale were infielder/occasional pitcher Christian Mitchelle, who has been with Jordan Bischel all three seasons at UC. The other seniors were pitchers Logan Knight, Dillon Schueler and redshirt seniors Adam Brouwer and Joel Piñeiro.
“I don’t think there’s another coach in the country that does what he does and turns programs around,” Mitchelle said. “We came to Cincinnati (from Central Michigan with Bischel) and they were an average baseball team and we turned it around.”
A couple of guys might not have an official senior day, as juniors Nathan Taylor and Jack Natili are likely early-round MLB draft picks.
Natili, the starting catcher, came into the game hitting over .330 with 16 home runs. Natili was ranked No. 106 in a recent MLB.com mock draft of the top 150 prospects. A Perfect Game Top 400 compilation done in late April had Natili at No. 82 and pitcher Taylor at No. 95. That would put both in the third-round ballpark in the July 11-12 MLB draft in Philadelphia.
Taylor was honored before the game for becoming UC’s all-time strikeout leader in the opening win over Texas Tech on May 14. With seven K’s against the Red Raiders, the new mark is 111.
“It was a pretty cool moment,” Taylor said. “My family got to be here for the game.”
As for the Major League draft, Taylor’s eyes are not yet on July.
“Hopefully it works out, but I’m focused on the season right now,” he said. “Hopefully we host a (NCAA) regional and get to Omaha (College World Series) that’s the goal.”
Cincinnati slugger Quinton Coats also honored before game
UC’s former single-season home run leader, Mike Spina (2008) flew in from Florida to help hand Coats the plaque as the new leader. Coats, a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, whacked one for good measure in the final game vs. Texas Tech to give him 28 on the season.
“It was a special moment for sure, having my girlfriend’s family here and having all the fans here.” Coats said. “It got us the momentum going for the rest of the game.”
Attendance was 2,236, the sixth-best crowd at UC Baseball Stadium.
“Amazing crowds!” Bischel said. “When I took this job three years ago, this was the vision of what I thought we could build and we’re heading in that direction and it’s a huge credit to our fans.”
What’s ahead in Big 12 tournament in Surprise, Arizona?
Surprise Stadium is the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers and the host of the Big 12 tournament May 19-23.
“Six weeks ago, we were 4-8, that ends up 17-13,” Bischel said. “That’s a gigantic turnaround. Six straight weekends winning in this league is not easy.”
NCAA Tournament Selection Show is May 26
At noon on May 26, the Cincinnati Bearcats will gather, like many Division I teams, to see where they land in the NCAA Tournament. Last year’s 33-26 squad made it to the Knoxville Regional, where they defeated Wake Forest of the ACC before losing to the hometown Tennessee Volunteers, followed by an elimination rematch with the Demon Deacons. The show will be televised on ESPN2.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcats baseball Senior Day results in series win vs. Texas Tech
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
