PROVO, Utah – One day after clinching a Big 12 Tournament berth, the University of Cincinnati baseball team completed its series sweep of BYU with a 12-5 win on Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win Cincinnati improves to 30-21 overall and 16-11 in Big 12 play. It's the 10^th 30-win season in school history and the first since 2019, and also the quickest it has reached 30 wins since 2008.
 
Their 16-11 Big 12 record puts the Bearcats just two games behind second-place Oklahoma State (33-16, 16-9) and Texas (31-19, 16-9) in the loss column in the Big 12 standings. UC welcomes first-place Oklahoma (30-17, 19-6) to UC Baseball Stadium next weekend for its final conference series of the year. Visit cpaw.me/Tickets to purchase tickets to see the Bearcats and Sooners face off May 16-18.
 
Lauden Brooks had a career day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI. They were his first two home runs of the season and a career-high RBI total as well. He is the fifth Bearcat with a multi-homer game this year, joining teammates Landyn Vidourek, Josh Kross, Kameron Guidry, and Tommy O'Connor.
 
Kerrington Cross also had a terrific game, going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Alec Jones continued to swing a hot bat, hitting his fourth home run in his last five games played.
 
Nathan Taylor made the start on the mound and earned the win to improve to 8-1 on the year and is now leading the Big 12 in victories. The freshman right-hander is the first UC pitcher since 2008 to win at least eight games in a season and is the 12^th pitcher in program history with an eight-win season.
 
Cincinnati hit .321 this weekend and outscored BYU 25-12 in the sweep. Four Bearcats hit at least .400 in the series: Cross (.467), Josh Hegemann (.455), and Landyn Vidourek (.455)
 
Before hosting Oklahoma next weekend, Cincinnati will face UConn at home on Tuesday at 11 AM in its Education Day game.
 
// HOW IT HAPPENED
Kerrington Cross led off the game with a single and came around to score on Lauden Brooks' two-run homer that gave UC a 2-0 lead. Brooks crushed a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence to give the Bearcats a lead before the Cougars had a chance to bat.
 
BYU did respond in the bottom of the first with a couple runs to tie the game at 2-2, but Cincinnati again used the long ball to extend its lead in the second. Alec Jones' solo shot put the score at 3-2, then Cross crushed a two-run homer over the center field wall to give Cincinnati a 5-2 lead. The offensive explosion continued in the bottom of the second as a BYU RBI double made it a 5-3 ballgame. Josh Hegemann prevented further damage by throwing out a runner at third base for the second out of the inning, and Nathan Taylor's  second strikeout of the game ended the inning.
 
A couple two-out runs in the top of the third increased the Bearcats' lead to 7-3. Jones drove in another run on a single to right field, scoring Hegemann, and Christian Mitchelle scored on a wild pitch to add to the lead.
 
Brooks homered for the second time in the top of the sixth, crushing a three-run shot to put the score at 10-3. Cincinnati added two more runs in the seventh inning courtesy of Cross and Brooks to go up 12-3. Cross ripped a single up the middle that scored Max Palmieri, and Jones drew a bases-loaded walk.
 
The Cougars added a couple runs to their total in the bottom of the seventh, but that proved to be too little too late.
 
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