Cincinnati Bearcats baseball sweeps series against preseason Big 12 favorite TCU
A significant sweep by the Cincinnati Bearcats baseball team was capped off on a sunny Sunday afternoon when redshirt junior Kerrington Cross crushed the ball over the left-field wall at UC Baseball Stadium. The two-run home run put UC up 13-2 on TCU's Horned Frogs in the seventh inning, giving them a run-rule victory.
The demonstrative Sunday win followed a 6-2 statement on Saturday and a 4-2 opening triumph Friday. UC's first-ever Big 12 sweep featured a combined score of 23-6 over three days.
"TCU's a great program," UC head coach Jordan Bischel said. "They'll be back I'm sure, but we played well this weekend."
Said redshirt sophomore first baseman Josh Kross, "I just think we prepared better and we played with confidence and trusted everyone behind us. We played for each other. You could tell we obviously wanted to be here more than they did and it just showed."
Frog gigging
The sweep is noteworthy because the TCU Horned Frogs were in the College World Series a year ago and began the season as the Big 12 favorite and the No. 5-ranked team in college baseball.
They boarded their bus to the airport 20-11 (5-10 Big 12). UC's broom job puts them at 19-13 (7-5 Big 12). They are just a game and a half out of first place in their first year in the league.
Not bad for a team projected to finish dead last in the Big 12.
"It's a team that's a threat for the World Series every year," Bischel said. "We knew we'd have to play well. Our guys really believe if they play our style of baseball they can compete with anybody and it was good to see they did this weekend."
Friday, UC wins 4-2
Mason's Brendan Garula got the start and Moeller's Seth Logue went 5 1/3 innings in relief with six strikeouts for the win. The Bearcats plated all four runs in the sixth inning. Hunter Jessee from Kings delivered the go-ahead two-run single.
Saturday, UC wins 6-2
UC basketball sophomore Dan Skillings Jr. threw out the ceremonial first pitch to junior Tommy O'Connor. O'Connor delivered a three-run homer in the second when UC scored four runs. Tommy Boba went 5 2/3 innings for the win.
Sunday, UC wins 13-2
UC led 8-1 after two innings giving starter Nathan Taylor a nice comfort cushion. Josh Kross, who had 15 homers at Eastern Michigan last year, already has 12 this season. The game-ending bomb by Kerrington Cross was his fourth.
"This fall we knew that no team could stop our bats if we were going," Cross said. "We came out, swang the bats well, pitched really well this weekend and came out with the sweep just playing Bearcat baseball. If we were playing the name instead of the game it could have come out differently. We just trusted in what we do, what coaches are preaching and that's what happened. We came out on top."
Just last spring, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Taylor was mowing down batters at West Clermont. Sunday he credited catcher Alec Jones and his defense playing errorless baseball. Getting a sweep-clinching win against a top-notch team was what drove him to be a Bearcat.
"When I found out we were in the Big 12 I knew the competition would be awesome," Taylor said. "It's fully what I expected. I'm super grateful for my coaches. They've done a great job developing me and helping me reach my top potential."
A true freshman getting a weekend start in Power Five baseball is a rarity. It's a first for Bischel as a college skipper.
"We know the upside is there and he's come out and done a great job," Bischel said.
Next game
UC will play Xavier Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Prasco Park in Mason in the Joe Nuxhall Classic. They're at Oklahoma State this coming weekend April 12-14 continuing Big 12 competition.
"It's been building,," Bischel said. "We're starting to believe in what we're doing and obviously this weekend will only help that."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC baseball Bearcats complete sweep of Big 12 preseason favorite TCU
