CINCINNATI (Interstat) — In a wild, back-and-forth affair that defied pregame projections, the Cincinnati Bearcats completed a four-game series sweep of the UC San Diego Tritons with a 9-8 walk-off victory in 11 innings Sunday at Marge Schott Stadium.

The game, which stretched from afternoon into evening, saw multiple lead changes and dramatic swings before Cincinnati’s Mitchelle ended it with a solo home run to deep center field off reliever Huy in the bottom of the 11th. It was Mitchelle’s fourth homer of the season and capped a resilient comeback by the Bearcats, who trailed by as many as five runs early.

The contest was a stark contrast to the first three games of the series, all decisive Cincinnati wins, and to the Interstat game simulator’s projection of a 7-3 Bearcats victory. Cincinnati entered with a 65.1% win probability but found itself in an early hole.

UC San Diego struck first, plating three runs in the opening frame against Bearcats starter Schueler. After a double by Potestio and a wild pitch, J.C. Allen hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot to deep right. Cincinnati answered immediately in the bottom half against Tritons starter Austin Bowker. After two hit batters and two stolen bases, Quinton Coats launched a three-run homer, his 12th of the season, to cut the deficit to 3-2.

The Bearcats chipped away, adding a run in the third on an RBI groundout by Sefcik that scored Natili, who had tripled. They then chased Bowker in a messy fourth inning. Reliever Henson struggled with control, and Natili delivered a two-run single through the left side to tie the game at 6-6. Bowker’s final line was 3.2 innings pitched, allowing six earned runs on four hits and four walks, but he struck out nine.

UC San Diego reclaimed the lead in the sixth. After an error by Coats at first base, Michael Crossland hammered a two-run homer to right, making it 8-6. Cincinnati got one back in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Sefcik.

The most pivotal sequence came in the seventh inning. With two on and two out, UC San Diego’s Gabe Camacho faced new pitcher Dominic Mauro. Camacho crushed a grand slam to deep right field, clearing the bases and seemingly putting the game out of reach at 12-7. However, the play was scored as a four-run error after Crossland had reached on a fielding error by Cincinnati second baseman Smith earlier in the inning. All four runs were unearned.

Undaunted, Cincinnati mounted its own rally in the bottom of the seventh against Devon King. A hit batter and a walk set the table for Pitts, who singled to left, scoring Niehaus. That cut the lead to 12-8 and set the stage for extra innings after both teams were held scoreless in the eighth and ninth.

Cincinnati relievers Mauro and Chad Brown were instrumental in the comeback, combining for 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just four hits and striking out four to keep the Bearcats within striking distance. For UC San Diego, Julian Cazares provided 1.2 hitless innings of relief with two strikeouts.

The Bearcats improved to 13-4 overall, while the Tritons fell to 4-10. UC San Diego travels to face Cal State Northridge for a three-game series starting Friday. Cincinnati hosts Evansville on Tuesday before a road trip to face BYU.