College Roundup: Bearcats Hand Louisville First Loss

.@GoBearcatsBASE handed #1 Louisville their FIRST loss of the season with a strikeout to end the game! #Bearcats pic.twitter.com/XPpi2HpXtd

— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) March 22, 2017

As Cincinnati built an early lead against the No. 1 team in the country Tuesday night, Bearcats head coach Ty Neal saw his Friday and Saturday starters both put on their cleats. They weren’t going to let this kind of opportunity slip away.

Both No. 1 starter Andrew Zellner and No. 2 starter J.T. Perez threw an inning in relief of freshman Nathan Kroger, who made his first career start. And buoyed by a four-run second inning, the Bearcats earned their biggest win in program history.

HOW THE TOP 25 FARED

(1) Louisville: lost, 6-3, at Cincinnati

(2) Oregon State: off

(3) Texas Christian: suspended, 2-0, at Abilene Christian

(4) Louisiana State: off

(5) Cal State Fullerton: won, 9-2, at San Diego

(6) Clemson: won, 8-4, College of Charleston

(7) South Carolina: off

(8) Texas Tech: won, 5-2, vs. UNLV

(9) Arizona: won, 6-3, vs. New Mexico State

(10) North Carolina: off

(11) Mississippi: lost, 2-1, at Memphis

(12) Florida Gulf Coast: off

(13) Florida: won, 9-8, at Stetson in 11 innings

(14) Florida State: won, 10-9, vs. Jacksonville

(15) Louisiana-Lafayette: lost, 4-0, vs. Houston

(16) St. John’s: CCD at Fairfield

(17) Stanford: off

(18) Missouri: won, 11-8, vs. Arkansas-Little Rock

(19) Virginia: won, 3-2, vs. Towson

(20) Baylor: won, 6-8, vs. Dallas Baptist

(21) Oklahoma State: won, 4-3, vs. (24) Oklahoma

(22) Washington: won, 5-4, at Gonzaga

(23) Michigan: off

(24) Oklahoma: lost, 4-3, at (21) Oklahoma State

(25) East Carolina: won, 11-7, at Elon

Cincinnati defeated No. 1 Louisville, 6-3, to mark the first time the Bearcats have ever beaten the country’s top team. The Bearcats improved to 10-9, and the Cardinals lost for the first time this season, dropping to 19-1. They were the NCAA’s last remaining undefeated team.

“When you have a chance to get a nice win like that, it wasn’t all hands on deck, but it was the majority of hands on deck,” Neal told gobearcats.com. “And it was neat for our guys to put their own personal rest and own personal feelings to the side. And we had a bunch of guys ready to do whatever they need to do to help us win tonight. It’s comforting. It’s neat to see that your guys care that much about each other.”

Facing Louisville freshman righthander Michael McAvenue, the Bearcats got on the board in the first inning on an RBI single by DH Eric Santiago. After Louisville tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the second, the Bearcats responded by batting around in the bottom half, plating four runs. Second baseman Kyle Mottice drove in two on a single that just got by shortstop Devin Hairston.

After a rough start to the season, the Bearcats have won four out of their last five games, and Tuesday’s win could further that momentum.

“Our guys were locked in,” Neal said. “They came ready not to just, ‘Let’s see what we can do against the University of Louisville.’ They came to win tonight. And it showed.”

Elsewhere, in Stillwater, Okla., Oklahoma State punctuated an eight-game winning streak with a 4-3 Bedlam rivalry win against Oklahoma.

Catcher Colin Simpson homered in the second inning to give the Cowboys an early lead, then center fielder Ryan Sluder and third baseman Garrett Benge both drove in runs in the next inning to expand the lead to 3-0.

The Sooners kept the pressure on offensively, inching to within one run late, but Pokes reliever Jake Cowan quelled an eighth-inning rally and worked a scoreless ninth to earn the save.

It won’t get easier for either team this weekend, as Oklahoma State will travel to Texas Christian and Oklahoma will head to Baylor to kick off Big 12 play.

After difficult weekends for Florida State and Florida sent both teams plunging out of the top 10, the Seminoles and Gators were tested again Tuesday night, but both managed to come out of the night victorious.

Florida State starter Andrew Karp only recorded two outs against visiting Jacksonville, surrendering six runs, then the Dolphins tacked on another against reliever Jim Voyles to saddle Seminoles with a 7-0 first-inning deficit. The Florida State offense had a tall task but never gave in, chipping away throughout the game. Both shortstop Taylor Walls and catcher Cal Raleigh homered, and the Seminoles scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to seal a 10-9 win. Freshman J.C. Flowers was the hero, singling in two runs with the bases loaded.

“Falling behind like we did is a clear indication of what kind of club we have,” head coach Mike Martin told seminoles.com. “That was an important game—a midweek of real importance. We had just lost four out of five on a road trip, come home to these fans, and entertain them to a seven-spot deficit.

“And yet, to hear that roar when J.C. singled to win the ballgame, was Florida State baseball. That’s all I can say.”

The Gators, meanwhile, battled Seton Hall for 11 innings after getting swept at Auburn over the weekend. The Hatters scored two runs in the eighth to tie the game at 4-4. Then Gators seemingly had the game in hand after scoring four runs in the 10th, but the Hatters responded with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame. Junior Christian Hicks drove in the game-winning run in the 11th, hitting a high chopper to first—just enough to bring in the runner from third.

That runner, freshman two-way player Kirby McMullen, also pitched a scoreless bottom half of the 11th to earn the win.