TicketsBearcats Open Homestand With Kent State
UC to play next 10 at home
Contact: Shawn Sell
5/3/2005
Mark Muscenti is hitting a career-high .293 this season. |
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati baseball team opens a 10-game homestand tonight, hosting Kent State in a 6:30 p.m. contest in the UC Baseball Stadium. The Bearcats will bring a record of 19-22 into the contest and will take their second shot at win number 20 after falling at East Carolina on Sunday. UC?s returns to Conference USA action this weekend hosting TCU as it tries to climb into a C-USA Tournament slot. Kent State, winner of seven straight, is 26-14 this year.
NOTES FROM EAST CAROLINA:
? Pat LeMasters was the hero of Saturday?s 3-2, 10-inning win when he led off the 10th inning with his first home run of the season. The blast came in LeMasters' 26th at-bat of the season.
? The Bearcats also snapped a four-game losing streak to the Pirates with Saturday?s victory.
? The series was a complete opposite from the 2004 version, as UC and ECU combined to score 37 runs in the three games. Last year?s combined tally was 94, including a 32-14 Pirate win in game two.
? Jon DeLuca hit his first home run of the year and extended his team-lead in RBI to 34. The blast was the eighth of DeLuca?s career.
? Erik Eitel played in the 150th game of his career on Sunday, while Jim Olds reached game number 100.
? Josh Kay picked up his first win of the year on Saturday to go along with six saves.
ABOUT KENT STATE: The Golden Flashes are one of the hottest teams in the Mid-American Conference right now, having won seven straight to improve to 26-14 on the year. Kent State is coming off one of its biggest wins of the year, a 25-12 thrashing of Buffalo in game one of Sunday?s doubleheader. Former Bearcat SS Drew Saylor is the leader of Kent State?s high-powered offense, which ranks third in the MAC in both hitting (.305) and runs per game (7.2). Saylor is hitting a team-high .388, with 14 doubles and is tied for first with seven home runs and is second with 37 RBI. Kurt Eichorn is the team leader in RBI with 43. The Flashes pitching staff ranks sixth with a 4.76 ERA and will send redshirt freshman John Pacella to the mound to start against UC.
UC AGAINST THE MAC: Cincinnati has played 283 games against current members of the Mid-American Conference since 1958, with Miami (Ohio) and Ohio being the most frequent opponents. The Bearcats hold a record of 131-149-3 (.468) against members of the MAC, including a 4-3 mark against Kent State. Other MAC teams the Bearcats have played against include Akron (7-5), Ball State (13-10-1), Bowling Green (11-29), Central Michigan (3-3), Eastern Michigan (3-3), Marshall (17-10), Miami (28-38-1), Northern Illinois (4-0), Ohio (26-32) Toledo (13-13-1) and Western Michigan (2-3). Buffalo is the only current member of the MAC the Bearcats have never met in baseball. During the 2005 season, the Bearcats are 1-2 against members of the MAC (March 23 win over Toledo; March 30 loss to Ohio; April 27 loss to Miami). UC has one more game against Miami scheduled for May 11.
OLD FACES, NEW PLACES: The UC-Kent State match-up will feature a pair of players facing their old schools for the first time. Bearcat senior Pat LeMasters spent two seasons at KSU before transferring to UC for the 2004 season. Kent State?s roster features Drew Saylor, a two-year starter for Cincinnati during the 2003-04 seasons.
POWER OUTAGE: While the Bearcats have enjoyed the many luxuries that the UC Baseball Stadium brings, one thing that hasn?t been so friendly to the squad this year is home run capability. Of UC?s 26 home runs this season, just three have been hit at home. In the same 18-game span, Bearcat opponents have belted 10 homers in the stadium.
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 .284 and is leading the team with 34 RBI, which is also a career-best. At East Carolina on May 1, DeLuca hit his first home run of the season. DeLuca has made the most of his opportunities, hitting .339 with runners in scoring position. He has also ably manned the hot corner, committing just six errors in 41 games, while making numerous spectacular plays.
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 201-292-1 (.408). The legendary Glenn Sample heads the list with 391 career victories.
CONTINUING TO HIT: While junior 2B Mark Muscenti is enjoying a season that has seen him hit a career-best .293, he is also doing what he has gotten a reputation for, getting hit by pitches. In the last 10 games, Muscenti has been hit nine times, pushing him to the top of the conference rankings with 18. For his career, Muscenti has been hit a school record 55 times. On the strength of the hit by pitches, Muscenti ranks second on the team with a .428 on-base percentage.
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 15 appearances. For the year, Heber holds a 1-0 record and a 4.29 ERA. Munninghoff has split time between the rotation and the bullpen, appearing in 16 contests with seven starts and a 4.43 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 eight runs and 19 hits in 28.0 innings, lowering his ERA to 4.45. His opponents batting average during the run is only .200, while his ERA is 2.25. 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.
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 .314, with 96 runs, 29 doubles, eight triples, nine home runs, 64 RBI and 17 stolen bases.
TWICE AS NICE: With a solo home run on April 29 at UAB, sophomore OF Brian Szarmach now has a team-best nine 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 .326 (31-for-95) in his last 24 games to raise his batting average to a season-high .299. Included in the recent hot streak for Szarmach was a career-long seven game hit streak that saw him bat .387 (12-for-31).
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 second in Conference USA with 53 double plays. In the NCAA rankings, the Bearcats are fourth in double plays per game with 1.25. Twice this season Muscenti has tallied the second most assists in a game by a C-USA player with 10. UC had one of its best defensive days of the season on May 1 at East Carolina, turning a season-high four double plays.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After struggling through a tough 2004 season that saw UC post a record of just 8-33 in the first 41 games of the year, the Bearcats have shown a huge turnaround through 41 games this season. In addition to winning 11 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.
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 3.86 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 (T7th-77.0), wins (T12th-5) and ERA (T11th).
...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 .193 batting average. The senior has appeared in a team-best 22 games, recording a win and six saves and striking out 44 hitters in just 32 innings. Kay?s 1.69 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 bettered the total with 13 three-baggers in 41 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.
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.
CONFERENCE KILLERS: In spite of a 7-13 Conference USA record, several Bearcats find themselves ranked high in the conference-only stats. A summary of those players? performances follows:
? LaFringe Hayes ranks 12th in batting average in conference action at .390.
? Brian Szarmach is tied for second with six home runs during league play.
? Logan Parker is one of six players tied for ninth with seven doubles.
? Mark Muscenti ranks fifth in on-base percentage at .481, due in part to a league-leading eight hit by pitch.
? Kyle Markle is first in both opponents batting average (.179) and ERA (2.18). The senior is also tied for sixth with 10 appearances.
? Josh Kay is tied for fourth with three saves and is tied for sixth with 10 appearances.
? Tony Maynard is 12th with 41.1 innings pitched in C-USA play.
PLAYING ?EM TIGHT: UC has shown improvement in close games this year, as they are 8-7 in games decided by two runs or less. The Bearcats were just 5-10 in those games last year.
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.
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 12 of the last 14 games behind the plate and is hitting .263 (10-for-38) 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.
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.
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.