Cincinnati showed likely No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman the ultimate respect on Friday night.
The Bearcats decided to intentionally walk the Oregon State catcher with the bases loaded and nobody out in a 5-2 game, forcing in a run. They essentially gave him the Barry Bonds treatment.
Bases loaded intentional walk!?!?
Yes… Adley Rutschman is THAT good. #RoadToOmaha | @BeaverBaseball pic.twitter.com/WPbDfiByTc
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 1, 2019
Oregon State got two singles later in the inning to bring in three more runs and take a 6-5 lead. However, Cincinnati scored one in the eighth to tie the game and another in the ninth to take the lead. They won 7-6, pulling the upset on the Corvallis Regional hosts in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Did Cincinnati make the right move? They blew the lead that inning, but they were probably trying to avoid the worst. Rutschman is batting .418 this season with 10 doubles and 17 home runs. He’s now up to 75 walks on the season compared to just 37 strikeouts. This is his second straight season batting over .400 for the Beavers.
The junior catcher is widely expected to be the top overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft. He’s not someone Cincinnati wanted to see beat them.
