CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Wichita State jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first five innings but could not hold off Cincinnati's late-inning rally, as the Bearcats scored two runs in each of the final four innings for a 9-8 victory on Sunday afternoon at UC Baseball Stadium.

The Shockers (16-11, 2-1) homered three times to take the early lead. Kyte McDonald led off the top of the second with his first home run as a Shocker, and later in the inning Garrett Pennington yanked a grand slam over the wall in left for a 5-0 advantage. The Bearcats (12-17, 1-2) got a run back in the third, but a two-run homer from Payton Tolle and an RBI single from Chuck Ingram in the fifth restored the WSU advantage to 8-1.

Cincinnati began the comeback with a two-run homer from Kameron Guidry in the bottom of the sixth against Wichita State starter Grant Adler, who settled for a no-decision in a quality start. The righty struck out five, walked four and allowed six hits over his six frames, exiting with the lead at 8-3.

Cam Scheler launched a solo home run to start the seventh, and later in the inning Ryan Nicholson plated a run with an RBI groundout to make it 8-5. Sean Springer cut the deficit to one with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.

With the lead trimmed to 8-7 into the bottom of the ninth, Shocker reliever Caden Favors (2-3) loaded the bases with nobody out on two walks and an error. Cole Harting lined the first pitch he saw through the left side for a two-run single, ending the game and Wichita State's six-game winning streak.

Mitch White (1-0) earned the win for the Bearcats with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.

The Shockers are back in action on Tuesday night at Oklahoma State. First pitch against the Cowboys is scheduled for 6:00 PM.