Bearcats blast four home runs, Tigers fall 8-4

Sunday, April 18

Memphis, Tenn.

1 p.m.

University of Memphis

12-22, 2-10

Cincinnati

16-17, 5-7

Cincinnati

Memphis

Photo by: Matthew A. Smith

Apr 18, 2021 | Baseball

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Behind home runs from four different players, the Cincinnati Bearcats took down the Memphis Tigers 8-4 in the series finale at FedExPark. Memphis surrendered two-run home runs in the second and third frames and solo blasts in the seventh and eighth. The Tigers got the tying run into the on-deck circle in the ninth, but that's as close as they came, as they dropped three of four to Cincinnati over the weekend.

For the second consecutive day, the Tigers were behind before they took their first at-bat. Chris Durham (L, 2-4), who dazzled last Sunday vs. ECU, gave up singles to the first two batters that he faced. After a sacrifice bunt from Joey Bellini put two men in scoring position with only one out, Durham got Eric Santiago to fly out to right field, shallow enough to keep the runner at third from tagging up. The Memphis starter then uncorked a wild pitch, which plated Cole Harting and put Cincinnati (16-17, 5-7) ahead 1-0, a lead the visitors never relinquished.

Cincinnati started its home run parade in the second inning. After Ryan Nicholson drew a leadoff HBP, Griffin Merritt hit the Bearcats' first home run of the day, a two-run blast to left field. Later in the frame, Jace Mercer connected with a two-out RBI single, as Cincinnati led 4-0 after 1.5 innings.

The Bearcats kept the offensive surge going with another two runs in the third. Durham walked Paul Komistek with two outs and Nicholson followed with a two-run home run to right field. Durham allowed six runs, five earned, over 5.2 innings, as Cincinnati led 6-0 after 2.5 frames.

Jalen Wade (W, 2-0) faced just one over the minimum over his first three innings but ran into trouble in the fourth. Zach Wilson led off with a base hit while Hunter Goodman followed with Memphis' third hit of the afternoon. After Wade retired Alec Trela, Evan Bell got the Tigers on the board with a sacrifice fly, though Memphis (12-22, 2-10) left Goodman in scoring position. The Tigers went just 2-15 with RISP in the game and trailed 6-1 after four innings.

With a leadoff single from Braden Webb in the sixth, the Tigers had the leadoff man aboard for the second time in three frames, and once again, that man came around to score. Wilson followed Webb's single with an RBI double to left field, though Wade retired the next three Tigers and stranded Wilson in scoring position. Wade allowed two runs on five hits over six innings and the Bearcats led 6-2 after six.

The Memphis bullpen allowed a run in both the seventh and eighth innings, as Harting homered off of Reed Harding in the seventh, while Santiago led off the eighth inning with a solo home run off of Walker Brockhouse, Cincinnati's fourth home run of the day. Cincinnati took an 8-2 lead into the ninth.

After six frames from Wade, three Bearcats relievers combined for the final three innings. Evan Kemp faced two batters in the seventh and didn't record an out, but Jackson Murphy entered for Cincinnati and got Ian Bibiloni to line into a double play. Murphy then retired Chris Swanberg, as the Tigers left another man in scoring position. Murphy pitched into the ninth, while Max Bergmann (SV, 3) got the final two outs of the game for the Bearcats.

The Tigers threatened in their final trip to the plate and put pressure on the Cincinnati bullpen. Trela led off the inning with a single, while Taylor Howell drew a walk two batters later. Ben Brooks plated Trela with an RBI double, while Bibiloni followed with a walk, which ended Murphy's outing. With the tying run on-deck, Bergmann entered and got Swanberg to ground out to first base, which plated a run. Needing to reach base to extend the game, Webb struck out on four pitches, as Bergmann secured the save, Cincinnati's 8-4 win, and the series win for the visiting Bearcats.

With the loss, the Tigers have dropped four consecutive weekend series. Memphis has a chance to avenge one of those series losses, as the Tulane Green Wave come to Memphis for a four-game series next weekend. The Tigers dropped three of four to Tulane to open April. The series gets underway with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Friday, with games at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday respectively.