Goodman homers four times, Tigers swept in doubleheader by Cincinnati

Friday, April 16

Memphis, Tenn.

1 p.m.

University of Memphis

11-20, 1-8

Cincinnati

14-16, 3-6

Cincinnati

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Goodman homers four times, Tigers swept in doubleheader by Cincinnati

Apr 16, 2021 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Despite four home runs from pre-season All-American Hunter Goodman, the Memphis Tigers dropped both ends of Friday's doubleheader to the Cincinnati Bearcats. With four home runs and seven RBIs on the day, Goodman leads the Tigers in batting average (.322), home runs (10), and RBIs (27). Cincinnati picked up a 10-6 win in the opener and closed out with an 11-3 win in the nightcap.

In the first of Friday's two games, Memphis (11-21, 1-9) took a 1-0 lead against Garret Schoenle (W, 3-1) in the first inning, but saw the Bearcats score the next nine runs and put the game away. Blake Wimberley (L, 2-5) gave up a two-run single to Joe Powell in the second frame, which put Cincinnati ahead for good, while the first three batters Wimberley faced in the fifth inning reached successfully. With the bases loaded and nobody out, the Tigers turned to Walker Brockhouse, who struck out Eric Santiago. Paul Komistek followed with an RBI single, while a run scored on a wild pitch and another came across on a sacrifice fly, as Cincinnati led 5-1 at the midpoint of the game. Wimberley was charged with five runs on six hits over 4+ innings.

Brockhouse gave up a pair of runs in the sixth, as he issued a leadoff walk to Powell, while Cole Harting followed with a two-run home run. JT Durham entered for the Tigers and retired three of the next four batters that he faced, though he also gave up a two-run home run, as Griffin Merritt made it 9-1 Bearcats an inning later in the seventh.

The Memphis offense showed late life once Schoenle left the game after six innings. Nathan Moore pitched the final three frames for Cincinnati (15-16, 4-6) and allowed five runs on six hits. After consecutive one-out singles from Braden Webb and Zach Wilson, Goodman connected on the first of his four home runs, a three-run blast to left field. Two batters later, Ben Brooks picked up an RBI double, as the Tigers cut the deficit to four runs and trailed 9-5 after seven frames. Goodman hit a solo home run in the ninth, and while the Tigers got the tying run into the on-deck circle, Moore got Ian Bibiloni to ground out to wrap up Cincinnati's 10-6 win.

Game two followed a somewhat similar script, as the Tigers led early and then struggled to contain the Cincinnati offense in the middle frames. Jackson Cothren (L, 1-5) kept the game scoreless heading into the third inning when the Tigers got to Zach Segal (W, 2-3). Brennan DuBose led off the frame with a double, and while Segal retired the next two Memphis hitters, Goodman parked his third home run of the doubleheader over the left field wall. Memphis led 2-0 after three innings and held the lead into the fifth.

After four dominant innings, things fell apart for Cothren in the fifth, as all four men that he faced reached base and eventually scored. After a walk to Ryan Nicholson and a double by Merritt, Jake Hansen tied the game with a two-run single. Tanner Holen followed with a base hit that knocked Cothren out of the game. James Muse entered for the Tigers and gave up three straight hits, as Harting put Cincinnati ahead 3-2 with an RBI single, Joey Bellini brought home a pair of runs with a double, while Santiago made it a seven-run inning with a sacrifice fly. After Muse followed with a walk to Komistek, Memphis went back to the bullpen, as Dalton Kendrick saw Cincinnati load the bases but come up with nothing else in the frame. Cincinnati's first seven batters of the inning reached base, and all scored as part of a 13-batter frame. The Bearcats led 7-2 at the game's midpoint.

Memphis' offense didn't produce much more against Segal, who allowed just one other run over his eight-inning outing. After Cincinnati scored a run in the eighth, Goodman cranked a solo home run to left field in the home half of the inning for his fourth home run of the doubleheader. The Bearcats responded with three runs in the ninth, all charged to Kendrick. Segal gave up three runs on four hits over eight innings, while Jackson Murphy worked a perfect ninth frame and secured the Bearcats' 11-3 victory.

The Tigers will look to snap a season-high nine-game losing streak, as they host the Bearcats Saturday at 2 p.m. at FedExPark. The Tigers need wins both Saturday and Sunday to avoid four consecutive weekend series losses. The series concludes with a 1 p.m. first pitch Sunday.