TicketsBearcats To Open 2005 At Florida Atlantic
UC kicks off season on Friday
Contact: Shawn Sell
2/8/2005
Tony Maynard will start on the mound in UC's season-opener on Friday. |
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati will open its 2005 baseball season this weekend (Feb. 11-13) when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on 2004 NCAA Tournament qualifier Florida Atlantic. The weekend series, which is the opener for both squads, will kick off on Friday (Feb. 11) at 7 p.m. at FAU Field. The balance of the series will get underway at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Bearcats return a total of 16 letterwinners from a 2004 squad that went 15-40, while the Owls welcome back 14 letterwinners from last year?s 47-17 team. The weekend trip also marks a homecoming for UC head coach Brian Cleary, who is a native of Boca Raton.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
? The Bearcats return 16 letterwinners from last season, led by junior 1B Jack Nelson who ranked 11th in Conference USA last season with a .360 batting average.
? UC was selected to finish 10th in its final season of C-USA play this year in a preseason poll of conference coaches. Tulane, ranked No. 1 nationally in the pre-season by Baseball America, was the unanimous choice to win the league title.
? The Bearcats? opening day line-up could include as many as four newcomers, including Division I transfers Mark Haske (Alabama) and LaFringe Hayes (Oklahoma). Junior college transfers Neall French and Logan Parker are also expected to be in the line-up.
? Freshman RHP Kevin Schrader is scheduled to make his first collegiate start on Saturday.
ABOUT FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Owls are coming off a 47-17 season that saw them capture the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship and earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament where they were ousted by No. 1 Miami (Fla.). With 14 letterwinners returning, FAU has been ranked No. 28 in this week?s National Collegiate Baseball Writer?s Association poll. Junior OF Tim Mascia is Florida Atlantic?s top returning hitter as he batted a team-best .400 last season with 60 RBI. The Owls? will have to fill void caused by the departure of Jeff Fiorentino and Rob Horst, who combined for 32 home runs and 128 RBI a year ago. On the mound, the Owls will have to replace two of their top three starters, with 6-7 sophomore Mike Crotta the expected ace. Crotta was 5-4 with a 5.20 ERA in 12 starts a year ago. FAU was chosen to finish second in the A-Sun this year by both members of the media and the league?s coaches.
GOING HOME: This weekend?s trip marks a homecoming for UC head coach Brian Cleary, who is a native of Boca Raton. Cleary attended Pope John Paul High School before going on to play collegiate baseball at Fairfield University. Florida Atlantic Associate Head Coach John McCormack is a childhood friend of Cleary?s.
BEARCATS PICKED 10TH IN C-USA: In a preseason poll of conference coaches, the Bearcats have been chosen to finish 10th in Conference USA this season. Tulane, ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason by Baseball America, earned all 12 of the first place votes as the favorite to win the conference. Defending C-USA Tournament Champions TCU were picked second, with last year?s regular season titlists East Carolina rounding out the top three.
UC AGAINST THE A-SUN: The Bearcats have played just three of the Atlantic Sun?s 11 teams, but none since 1988. UC is a combined 2-4-1 (.357) against the trio of Belmont, Jacksonville and Stetson. In addition to Florida Atlantic, the Bearcats have never faced Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Georgia State, Lipscomb, Mercer, Troy or UCF on the diamond. FAU is the only Atlantic Sun team on the Bearcats? 2005 schedule.
IMPACT PLAYER: Jack Nelson made his presence known during the 2004 season, as he ranked second on the team and 11th in Conference USA with a .360 batting average. Nelson also drove in 33 runs, while adding a team-best 14 doubles and hitting seven home runs. UC?s starting first baseman as a sophomore, Nelson also put together several breakout performances, one of which earned him a spot in the school record book. Against Louisville early in the season, Nelson tied a UC mark by doubling three times in a single game. Later in the season, Nelson did something no Bearcat player had done in nearly two years when he recorded five hits vs. East Carolina. Nelson?s final breakout performance came with a two-homer game against Saint Louis. Among C-USA returning players, Nelson?s average ranks fourth overall.
WHO?S ON FIRST?...: The Bearcats enter the 2005 season with a nice problem to have as the roster boasts a talented pair of left-handed hitting first basemen. Jack Nelson had a breakout season in 2004 and will be joined on the roster this year by junior college transfer Logan Parker. With the addition of Parker, Nelson will see time at first base, and in left field. The duo is also expected to split the designated hitter responsibilities for the Bearcats.
...WHAT?S ON SECOND?: Second base is a position that the Bearcats have had solidified for the past two seasons by junior Mark Muscenti. Always a steady defensive player, Muscenti developed into a talented offensive player during the 2004 season as well. For the year, Muscenti hit a career-best .283 while adding 10 doubles and driving in a career-high 24 runs. He also continued to show his uncanny ability to reach base in many different ways. Muscenti finished 2004 with the team?s third-highest on-base percentage (.419), partly due to 22 walks and a team-high 19 hit by pitches. After leading Conference USA in hit by pitch in 2003, Muscenti was second last year, while ranking 10th nationally in the category. During his career, Muscenti has been hit a school record 37 times.
CLOSE GAME BLUES: Close games have been one of the Bearcats? weak points over the past two seasons, as they are just 8-18 in the last two campaigns in one run games. During the 2004 season, 15 of UC?s 40 losses came by a total of 28 runs. The team started to turn things around late in the season, winning three of its last four one-run contests.
SERIES DROUGHT: In the first five weekends of the 2005 season, the Bearcats will be trying to snap a streak that has haunted them for nearly three years. UC has not won a non-conference series of at least three games since a three-game sweep of Cleveland State, March 8-10, 2002, a span of seven series. The Bearcats last series win of any kind came last May 7-9 when UC won two of three at Charlotte.
MISSING OFFENSE: With the graduation losses of Aaron Moll and Steve Pickerell and the unexpected transfer of Drew Saylor, the Bearcats will be forced to fill some sizable holes in their offense. Last season, the trio combined for 37 percent of the team?s runs, 36 percent of the hits, 37 percent of the doubles, 45 percent of the RBI and an eye popping 66 percent of the homers. Among the players head coach Brian Cleary will count on are returnees Jon DeLuca and Jack Nelson and newcomers Neall French, Mark Haske and Logan Parker.
LOOKING FOR MORE: One of the more surprising stories of the 2004 season for UC was the emergence of Brian Beltz as a starting outfielder. A redshirt freshman last year, Beltz hit .259, while drawing starts in 53 of the team?s 55 games. He also recorded a career-high nine-game hitting streak in which he batted .378 (14-for-37). He was also the first player ever to get a base hit in UC Baseball Stadium when he lined a single to center in the bottom of the first inning in the opening game vs. UAB. Beltz also proved to be very versatile last season, as in addition to 37 starts in right field, he also started 12 games in left field and four times in center.
COMPLETE GAMES NOT KIND: Pitchers throwing complete games haven?t been very kind to the Bearcats over the past couple of years. In the last 10 games in which their starter has gone the distance, the Bearcats have posted a record of just 3-7. The team was 1-1 in complete games last year, with Tony Maynard picking up a win over Xavier and Justin Minges falling after going all the way at Alabama. The complete games were the first of each player?s respective college career.
WELCOME ABOARD: In addition to a nine-member freshman class, the Bearcats also added a number of talented players via the Division I transfer and junior college ranks for the 2005 season and many are expected to pay immediate dividends. At least four of the newcomers are expected to be in the Opening Day line-up as Neall French (catcher), Mark Haske (shortstop), LaFringe Hayes (centerfield) and Logan Parker (first base/DH) appear to have earned starting jobs. Both French and Parker played junior college ball last year, while Haske (Alabama) and Hayes (Oklahoma) are four-year transfers.
NEW ROTATION: During the 2004 season, a total of 11 different pitchers started at least one game on the mound for the Bearcats. With six of those players either no longer on the roster or beginning the season injured, UC will be forced to find new members for its rotation. The team will open the season with the trio of seniors Tony Maynard and Jim Olds and freshman Kevin Schrader, but the Bearcats have another threesome waiting in the wings. Senior Justin Minges, sophomore Nick Buscemi and redshirt freshman David Theobald should all vie for shots at the starting rotation sometime this season. Of the six pitchers, Maynard (17 career starts) and Minges (16) are the most experienced as starters.
FINDING A HOME: Throughout his career, senior Jim Olds has been a valuable player for the Bearcats due to his uncanny ability to play a number of positions, as the 2004 season proved. After drawing his first ever pitching start late in the year, Olds had started at six of the possible 10 positions. Olds also made his first in-game appearance at catcher during the course of the year and has also played first base, DH and outfield throughout his career. This year, Olds is expected to settle into a more steady role as a pitcher, where he showed great potential last year, despite an 0-2 record and a 6.17 ERA.