TicketsBearcats On C-USA Quest At East Carolina
UC just two games out of eighth place
Contact: Shawn Sell
4/29/2005
Brian Szarmach is hitting a career-high .285 this season. |
SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati will continue its quest for a spot in next month?s Conference USA Baseball Tournament when it returns to action at East Carolina this weekend. Action gets underway from ECU?s Clark-LeClair Stadium on Friday (April 29) at 7 p.m. and continues with a 6 p.m. Saturday first pitch, before wrapping up at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Bearcats enter the weekend with an 18-20 overall record and are in 10th place in the Conference USA standings at 6-11. East Carolina, a Super Regionals qualifier last year, is 24-16 in 2005 and holds the eighth and final tournament spot with a 9-9 record.
NOTES FROM MOUNT ST. JOSEPH/MIAMI (OH):
? Nick Buscemi made his first start since March 30 vs. Miami and was solid before running into trouble in the fifth inning.
? Jim Olds recorded his third multi-hit game of the year with a pair of hits against the RedHawks.
? Josh Kay recorded his sixth save of the season against Mount St. Joseph. The total is tied for the fifth-highest single season mark in school history and puts Kay in a tie for 10th in career annals.
? UC faced local rival Mount St. Joseph for the first time since 1999, improving to 3-0 all-time vs. the Lions with the 5-3 win.
? Dustin Alvey recorded his first career triple against Mount St. Joseph.
? Brian Szarmach tallied his 11th multiple hit game and second three-hit performance of the season vs. MSJ.
ABOUT EAST CAROLINA: The Pirates have won seven of their last eight Conference USA games to climb into eighth place in the league standings at 9-9. Overall, ECU boasts a 24-16 record. Offensively, East Carolina is ranked fourth in the league in both batting (.309) and runs per game (7.4). Seven of the regulars in ECU?s line-up are hitting over .300, including Billy Richardson who was near the top of the league rankings (.410) before a recent injury. Mark Minicozzi is tops on the squad with 30 RBI, while Drew Costanzo has a team-best seven home runs. ECU?s pitching staff is anchored by reigning C-USA Player of the Week Ricky Brooks, who crafted the first nine-inning no-hitter in league history last Sunday. For the year, Brooks is 4-3 with a 3.55 ERA in seven starts.
UC AGAINST CONFERENCE USA: In their 10th and final season of Conference USA play, the Bearcats hold an all-time conference record of 73-181-1 (.288). UC has played a total of 564 games against current C-USA members since 1958, holding a record of 221-341-1 (.393), including a 2-6-1 mark against East Carolina. UC?s record against other C-USA opponents includes Charlotte (15-13), Houston (7-24), Louisville (63-63), Memphis (26-54), Saint Louis (47-43), Southern Miss (9-37), TCU (1-8), Tulane (7-35), UAB (20-38), and USF (6-20). Per conference rules, UC will not face one member of the league this year and this season, will skip Tulane.
MILESTONE WIN: UC head coach Brian Cleary reached a coaching milestone on April 25 as he picked up the 200th win of his coaching career in the Bearcats? victory over Mount St. Joseph. Already the second winningest coach in school history, Cleary holds a career record of 200-290-1 (.408). The legendary Glenn Sample heads the list with 391 career victories.
MAKING A CASE: Long valued as a reliable utility player, senior Jim Olds has made a case recently to be the Bearcats? starting catcher . This season, Olds, junior Neall French and freshman Dustin Alvey have all shared time behind the plate, but as of late, its been Olds that has had the hot hand. Olds has started nine of the last 11 games behind the plate and is hitting .370 (10-for-27) during the stretch. In addition to his first career triple, Olds also has two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored, while also picking up his first career three-hit game on April 22 at UAB.
HANDLING THE HOT CORNER: Junior Jon DeLuca has been rock solid at third base for the Bearcats this season, both at the plate and in the field. At the dish, DeLuca is hitting a career-high .269 and is leading the team with 29 RBI, just four off of his previous season-best. He has also ably manned the hot corner, committing just six errors in 38 games, while making numerous spectacular plays.
CONTINUING TO HIT: While junior 2B Mark Muscenti is enjoying a season that has seen him hit a career-best .295, he is also doing what he has gotten a reputation for, getting hit by pitches. In the last seven games, Muscenti has been hit eight times, pushing him to the top of the conference rankings with 17. For his career, Muscenti has been hit a school record 54 times.
FRESH ARMS: A trio of freshmen hurlers have made significant contributions to the Bearcats? pitching staff this season as true freshmen Matt Heber and Sean Munninghoff and redshirt David Theobald have all logged many innings. Heber has developed into one of the Bearcats? most reliable middle relievers, holding opponents without a run in 10 of his 14 appearances. For the year, Heber holds a 1-0 record and a 3.43 ERA. Munninghoff has split time between the rotation and the bullpen, appearing in 15 contests with six starts and a 3.65 ERA. He turned in his best outing of the year on April 24 at UAB, shutting out the Blazers and holding them to just two hits in 5.1 innings. Theobald has started three straight midweek contests for the Bearcats, picking up wins in all three. He holds a 3-1 record and a 5.40 ERA after tossing five innings with a career-best four strikeouts on April 25 vs. Mount St. Joseph.
BUCKEYE STRENGTH: UC?s win over Mount St. Joseph on April 25 improved the Bearcats? record to 7-2 against Ohio schools this season. In addition to the Mount win, Cincinnati has also swept three games from Cleveland State, while taking two from Xavier and one vs. Toledo. The Bearcats will have more chances to battle fellow Buckeye schools as they are scheduled to meet Miami, Kent State and Xavier (once each) before season?s end. UC has won 11 of its last 14 games against Ohio adversaries, including three straight against Xavier.
BACK TO FORM: Coming into this season, senior Kyle Markle was expected to be an integral part of the Bearcats? bullpen, but the former Freshman All-American struggled in the early stages of the season, holding an 18.69 ERA in his first four appearances covering 4.1 innings. But since the beginning of March, Markle has become one of UC?s most reliable relievers. In his last 14 appearances, Markle has allowed just seven runs and 17 hits in 26.2 innings, lowering his ERA to 4.65. His opponents batting average during the run is only .189, while his ERA is 2.36. On April 16 vs. Charlotte, Markle earned his first win since May 3, 2002, also against the 49ers. In his next appearance on April 20 vs. Kentucky, Markle tossed 3.1 shutout innings for his first career save.
SERIES SUCCESS: The Bearcats have reversed their series fortunes of the past two seasons this year with a total of four series triumphs. Early this season, UC picked up sweeps at Duke and at home vs. Cleveland State, snapping a nearly two-year drought without a non-conference series win. In recent weeks, the Bearcats have taken two of three games against both Saint Louis and Charlotte for their first back-to-back conference series wins since beating Tulane and Charlotte in 2002.
SNAPPING A STREAK: Cincinnati?s win in game one of an April 3 doubleheader vs. Houston marked the end of a frustrating stretch for the Bearcats. Prior to that victory, UC had dropped its last seven straight to the Cougars, its longest streak against any Conference USA opponent entering the season. With that streak behind them, the Bearcats will next try to end a six-game losing streak to Memphis. That series will take place at home, May 13-15.
WELCOME ADDITIONS: The Bearcats have enjoyed the contributions of newcomers Mark Haske, LaFringe Hayes and Logan Parker as the trio have been mainstays in the line-up. As a group, the threesome is batting .318 (141-for-444), with 90 runs, 28 doubles, eight triples, seven home runs, 60 RBI and 17 stolen bases.
PLAYING ?EM TIGHT: UC has shown improvement in close games this year, as they are 7-7 in games decided by two runs or less. The Bearcats were just 5-10 in those games last year.
TWICE AS NICE: With a solo home run on April 24 at UAB, sophomore OF Brian Szarmach now has a team-best eight longballs this season. While Szarmach has developed into one of the Bearcats? most consistent power threats, the majority of his home runs have been coming two at a time. At Wake Forest Feb. 25-27, Szarmach blasted the first two homers of his collegiate career. He did the same thing March 25-27 at Southern Miss and repeated the feat once more at Saint Louis, April 8-10. In addition to the power numbers, Szarmach has also shown more consistency at the plate, hitting .306 (26-for-85) in his last 21 games to raise his batting average to .285. Included in the recent hot streak for Szarmach was a career-long seven game hit streak that saw him bat .387 (12-for-31).
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After struggling through a tough 2004 season that saw UC post a record of just 8-30 in the first 38 games of the year, the Bearcats have shown a huge turnaround through 38 games this season. In addition to winning 10 more games, the Bearcats have also shown great improvement on the mound. With a win in game one of an April 3 doubleheader vs. Houston, UC reached 10 wins in their 23rd contest of the year, a feat that didn?t come until game number 44 last season. The Bearcats? April 16 win over Charlotte was the team?s 15th of the year, matching the win total of each of the past two seasons.
IRON MEN: The Bearcats? infield has shown their durability during the 2005 season as the foursome of 1B Logan Parker, 2B Mark Muscenti, 3B Jon DeLuca and SS Mark Haske have combined to play all but three innings at their respective positions. DeLuca was the first to get a break as he sat down for the ninth inning of UC?s win over Toledo on March 23. The continuity has proved valuable as the infield holds a combined .976 fielding percentage and is tied for third in Conference USA with 45 double plays. In the NCAA rankings, the Bearcats are fourth in double plays per game with 1.25. Muscenti had one of his best performances on April 15 vs. Charlotte, as he totaled the second most assists by any player in a Conference USA contest with 10.
STRONG AT THE FRONT...: The Bearcats have found the ace to their starting rotation in senior Tony Maynard. The former Freshman All-American has been solid this season, posting a 5-3 record and a 3.99 ERA. Against Xavier on March 13, Maynard turned in the best outing of his collegiate career, holding the Musketeers hitless into the eighth inning. For the day, Maynard worked eight innings, surrendering just one hit and one walk and striking out a career-high seven. Maynard had another outstanding outing April 15 vs. Charlotte as he crafted a four-hit complete game. The nine-inning outing was the longest of Maynard?s career and represented his second career complete game. In this week?s Conference USA rankings, Maynard finds himself ranked among the league leaders in innings pitched (7th-70.0), wins (T9th-5) and ERA (11th).
...AND AT THE BACK: UC has also solved the issue of who will serve as the closer based on senior Josh Kay?s performance this year. Kay has proven to be nearly unhittable as he is holding opponents to a .198 batting average. The senior has appeared in a team-best 21 games, recording six saves and striking out 42 hitters in just 29 innings. Kay?s 1.86 ERA ranks first on the team. His six saves this season are tied for the fifth highest single season total in school history and also tie him for 10th on the UC career lists.
TRIPLE THE FUN: Three-base hits came in bunches for the Bearcats March 4-6 vs. Cleveland State as they accounted for seven in the three-game series. LaFringe Hayes was at the center of the output, recording four. In the March 4 win, Hayes tied a school and Conference USA record with a pair of triples, while helping the Bearcats match a conference mark with four in the game. Hayes? first triple also went down as the first in UC Baseball Stadium history. After ranking last in C-USA in 2004 with just five triples, the Bearcats have already bettered the total with 13 three-baggers in 38 games this year and are tied for second in the conference in the category. UC made the jump back up to second with four April 15-17 vs. Charlotte, including the first of Jim Olds, Logan Parker and Brian Szarmach?s respective careers. Hayes has a shot at the school record for triples in a season as his five already tie him for fourth in school annals. Billy Wolff set the record with nine in 1965.
CONFERENCE KILLERS: In spite of a 6-11 Conference USA record, several Bearcats find themselves ranked high in the conference-only stats. A summary of those players? performances follows:
? Brian Szarmach is tied for fourth with five home runs during league play.
? Logan Parker is one of five players tied for 10th with six doubles.
? Kyle Markle is first in both opponents batting average (.161) and ERA (2.33). The senior is also tied for tied for fourth with nine appearances.
? Josh Kay is tied for third with three saves and is tied for fourth with nine appearances.
FIRST WINS: A total of five Bearcat hurlers have broken into the win column for the first time in their careers in 2005. Bryan Wood was the first to earn his initial triumph, getting a relief win on Feb. 19 at Duke. One day later, it was Sean Munninghoff picking up a W against the Blue Devils. Kevin Schrader then beat Cleveland State on March 5, prior to Matt Heber getting a relief triumph April 10 at Saint Louis. David Theobald was the latest first-time winner, beating Xavier on April 14.
IT MUST BE THE CATCHER: Neall French?s home run on April 13 at Xavier continued a run of success for Bearcat backstops in games played at Hayden Field. In UC?s last eight games at Xavier, its catchers have homered in six of the contests, for a total of eight longballs. Steve Pickerell was the biggest power threat, smashing six round trippers in six games. French and Chris Hamblen added the other two deep balls.
BIG DAY AT THE DISH: Logan Parker turned in his finest day at the plate during UC?s 10-4 win over Toledo on March 23. For the day, Parker recorded his first four-hit game as a Bearcat and the first by a UC player this season. Among Parker?s knocks were a pair of doubles and his team-leading fifth home run of the year. Parker?s four-hit performance was the first by a Bearcat since Aaron Moll had four hits on May 21, 2004 vs. UAB.
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.