On a dreary night at UC Baseball Stadium, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats baseball team knocked off a ranked team for the second time this season.
It didn't hurt that it was former rival Louisville from the Atlantic Coast Conference just down Interstate 71. The Bearcats gave up a pair of first-inning runs to the 18th-ranked Cardinals, then plated two more of their own in the bottom of the inning.
From there, they scored six in the second frame and four more in the fourth. There were no more runs from there as UC cruised to a 12-2 victory.
"What they've built is what we want to try to build," UC coach Jordan Bischel said of Louisville. "Great night for our program. It's only one game and what we expect to do, but it's definitely nice to get back in the right direction."
UC Bearcats with good run against ACC
Jordan Bischel's squad started the season in February taking two of three from Duke who was ranked No. 11 at the time. But, after a quick start, the Bearcats have leveled off of late and so far are just 1-5 in the Big 12, but now 13-11 overall. Louisville drops to 18-6 and is now 1-3 in road games. They've now lost two in a row as they also were defeated at Virginia Tech this past Sunday.
"We hadn't played real well the last two weeks," Bischel said. "We hadn't had real consistent at-bats, hadn't pitched real well. We had to string together a good nine innings."
UC Bearcats bats wake up while pitching hunkers down
Kerrington Cross and Landyn Vidourek had three hits each with Cross getting the Bearcats the lead in the second inning with a three-run homer. UC racked up 15 hits on the night against the Cardinals while holding them to five hits. After the first inning, Louisville had just two hits. Seven UC pitchers combined to strike out 11 on the wet night at the ballyard.
"That Louisville offense is one of the best in the country," Bischel said. "I'm really proud of our pitching staff."
Familiar faces for UC, Louisville
Several high school teammates were briefly reunited Tuesday night. UC's Vidourek and Louisville center fielder Lucas Moore both played at Badin, while UC's Charlie Niehaus and Graham Marsh met up with former Moeller slugger Nate Earley.
Bischel was again impressed with the "Ruckus" UC's student section which has made attending baseball games popular.
"Just night and day from last year," Bischel said. "It's been fun to see."
A bullpen night for Louisville, but it still counts
Louisville threw a new pitcher each inning including Fairfield's Aaron England. It's the third time in recent years the Bearcats have defeated a ranked Louisville team. In 2017, UC beat the Cardinals when they were No. 5, 13-12 in 10 innings. Four years ago, UC defeated Louisville when they were ranked No. 1, 6-3.
"We really preach to our guys that they all count the same, they all matter," Bischel said. "Conference, weekend or mid-week, they're all important."
In the all-time series, UC trails 104-87. The Bearcats are back in action Friday as they start a three-game weekend series at home vs. UCF. The Knights played in a regional last year.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats baseball downs No. 18 Louisville Tuesday night
