April 24, 2002

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio - This afternoon at Johnny Bench Field the Cincinnati (18-21-2) Bearcats prevented a series sweep by clobbering the Miami University (20-18) baseball team 18-3. Providing most of the RedHawks' offense was junior David Cook (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) who registered his first career multi-homer game with two solo shots.

The Bearcats jumped on top early with two runs off Miami hurler Jim Knytych (LaGrange Park, Ill./Lyons Township) in the first inning. It was the second inning, however, that spelled disaster for the RedHawks as UC rolled off seven runs. With three runs already across the plate, UC's Aaron Moll cracked a three-run home run over the center field wall to give his team an 8-0 advantage. The designated hitter List took a 3-0 pitch deep to left-center field and over the wall to finish off the rally.

Cook crossed the dish for the RedHawks first run of the contest in the third frame when he crushed his seventh dinger of the season deep to left-center field. The home run, his eighth of the season, ties Cook with junior Mike Galloway (St. Thomas, Ontario/Central Michigan) for the team lead. UC starter Kyle Marker allowed no further damage in the inning by getting a force out and strike out to escape the frame with only one run against him.

Freshman Michael Moljewski (Shelby Twp., Mich./De La Salle Collegiate), who relieved Knytych in the second stanza, was roughed up a little in the bottom of the third allowing two runs on three Bearcat hits. Both runs were courtesy of Nathan Fish who hit a two-run roundtripper to center field. Fish would finish the contest tying a Cincinnati school record by going 6-for-6 from the plate.

With its deficit increasing to 11-1, the Red and White called upon Cook again in the fifth inning. Cook responded by jacking his second dinger of the game, again, with no one on base to cut the lead to 11-2.

Cincinnati failed to score any runs in the sixth inning as sophomore righthander Aaron Johnson (Ortonville, Mich./Ortonville Brandon) blanked the Bearcats. Johnson lowered his earned run average almost a full point, 7.36 to 6.48, by striking out one and allowing no hits.

Over the final three innings Cincinnati outscored the RedHawks 6-1, Miami's only run a solo shot off the bat of junior Andi Scheidt (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle). Freshman Tyler Tabler (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller), normally an outfielder, made his first career appearance on the hill in the eighth inning. Despite allowing one run Tabler showed he has some good stuff on the mound baffling Bearcat batters on several at-bats.

Tossing six solid innings for Cincinnati was Markle who improves to 6-1 on the season, while Knytych falls to 1-2. Five of the nine runs that Knytych allowed, however, were unearned.

The RedHawks seek to get back on the winning track this weekend as they travel to Huntington, W.Va. for a conference series against Marshall. The first game of the series is at 1 p.m. on Friday, April 26.

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