Memphis Loses Late to Cincinnati

Saturday, April 1

Cincinnati, Ohio

3:00 PM

University of Memphis

17-9, 1-1

Cincinnati

13-13, 1-1

Memphis

Cincinnati

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Apr 01, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score

Tigers suffer extra-innings loss to even series

CINCINNATI, Ohio – Memphis was one strike away from walking away with a series victory over Cincinnati before a Bearcats ninth-inning rally and eventual 4-3 10th-inning win Saturday at Marge Schott Stadium. The Tigers still have an opportunity for their first series win over the Bearcats since 2004 in the rubber match Sunday at noon (CT).

Memphis starter Drew Crosby threw a career-high 6 2/3 innings and allowed just one earned run. He struck out three batters and walked three.

The Tigers' hitters combined for seven doubles, tying the season-high previously set against Mississippi Valley. Tyler Webb, Chris Carrier and Alec Trela each had a pair of doubles in the game. Memphis had just one other hit in the game aside from the seven doubles. Turner was the only other Tiger with a hit in the game.

The game was back-and-forth from start to finish. Memphis scored a run each in the first, sixth and eighth while Cincinnati scored a single run in the second, fifth, ninth and 10^th.

The Tigers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the opening frame after Webb started the game with a double and Trela drove him in with a double of his own.

Cincinnati answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the second inning. After a leadoff double, the Bearcats used a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to even the score 1-1.

The Bearcats grabbed the lead in the fifth with some two-out damage. A single to right field took a bad bounce over Carrier, allowing the runner to go to second. A two-out double gave Cincinnati the 2-1 lead.

Memphis came right back to tie the game with a run in the top of the sixth. Trela doubled for the second time in the game and Carrier drove him in with a double to deep center.

Carrier was back at it in the eighth inning to give Memphis the lead back. Webb singled and Carrier drove him in with his second RBI double of the game.

Hunter Smith came out of the bullpen to get the Tigers out of a jam in the seventh and the sophomore lefty got the one out he needed. Blake Bennett pitched a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts before turning it over to closer Colton Hathcock for the ninth.

Memphis was a strike away from winning in the ninth inning, but a two-out double and an RBI single knotted the game up 3-3 to send it to extra-innings.

The Tigers had a great chance to retake the lead in the top of the 10^th with two runners on and one out but a line-out double play ended the threat. The Bearcats went on to win it in the bottom half on a walk-off squeeze bunt.