TicketsBearcats Play Host To No. 28 TCU
Series opens tonight
Contact: Shawn Sell
5/6/2005
Tony Maynard goes for career win number 13 on Saturday. |
SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati continues its 11-game homestand in the UC Baseball Stadium with a three-game series with TCU, opening tonight at 6:30 p.m. The balance of the series will see a 4 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday. The Bearcats, 7-13 in Conference USA play, find themselves three games out of the eighth and final spot in this month?s C-USA Tournament field with nine conference games remaining. UC is 20-23 overall after thrashing Kentucky State 18-0 on Thursday night. TCU, ranked as high as No. 28 in the nation, has won eight of its last 10 to improve to 32-14 overall and 16-5 in C-USA. The Horned Frogs sit in second place in the league standings, just one game back of Tulane.
NOTES FROM KENT STATE/KENTUCKY STATE:
? UC?s 18-0 win over Kentucky State represented the Bearcats? largest winning margin since a 22-4 victory over Ohio on April 18, 2001.
? The Bearcats collected a season-high 18 hits against the Thorobreds, bettering the previous best of 16 vs. Cleveland State. Earlier in the week, UC was held to a season-low four hits against Kent State.
? Brian Szarmach hit the first grand slam of his career against Kentucky State. He recorded a career-high five RBI in the game.
? Brian Beltz made his collegiate pitching debut against Kentucky State, while Mike Foley, Justin Minges and Kyle Markle all batted for the first time.
ABOUT TCU: No. 28 TCU comes to Cincinnati this weekend having won eight of its last 10 to maintain sole possession of second place in the Conference USA standings at 16-5. Overall, the Frogs boast a 32-14 slate. TCU is a dangerous offensive squad, leading the league in hitting, runs and home runs. Shelby Ford leads TCU with a .369 batting average and has driven in 32 runs. Chad Huffman, last year?s C-USA Freshman of the Year, leads the team with 40 RBI, while Andrew Walker has belted a team-best 11 homers. On the mound, the Frogs feature 10-game winner Lance Broadway, who is considered one of the top hurlers in the nation. Broadway has been beaten just once this season, while striking out 102 hitters and limiting opponents to a .204 batting average in 77 innings.
UC AGAINST CONFERENCE USA: In their 10th and final season of Conference USA play, the Bearcats hold an all-time conference record of 74-183-1 (.289). UC has played a total of 567 games against current C-USA members since 1958, holding a record of 222-343-1 (.392), including a 1-8 mark against TCU. UC?s record against other C-USA opponents includes Charlotte (15-13), East Carolina (3-8-1), Houston (7-24), Louisville (63-63), Memphis (26-54), Saint Louis (47-43), Southern Miss (9-37), 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.
BROTHERS OF BASH: While junior Logan Parker and sophomore Brian Szarmach do have a slight physical resemblance, that?s not the only trait that the two heavy hitters share. This season, the duo has provided over half of the Bearcats? home runs. Szarmach has come out of nowhere to bash a team-high 10, while Parker has seven. The duo each homered in the Bearcats? last outing on Thursday vs. Kentucky State. Parker and Szarmach have also combined for 26 % of the Bearcats? RBI this year.
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 28 home runs this season, just five have been hit at home. In the same 20-game span, Bearcat opponents have belted 11 homers in the stadium. In UC?s latest home game on Thursday vs. Kentucky State, both Logan Parker and Brian Szarmach went deep for the Bearcats.
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), opponents batting average (10th-.244) 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 .186 batting average. The senior has appeared in a team-best 23 games, recording a win and six saves and striking out 46 hitters in just 33.2 innings. Kay?s 1.60 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.
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.
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 .319, with 103 runs, 29 doubles, nine triples, 10 home runs, 73 RBI and 18 stolen bases.
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 202-293-1 (.408). The legendary Glenn Sample heads the list with 391 career victories.
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 .282 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 .333 with runners in scoring position. He has also ably manned the hot corner, committing just six errors in 43 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 .293, he is also doing what he has gotten a reputation for, getting hit by pitches. In the last 12 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 .423 on-base percentage.
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 15 appearances, Markle has allowed just nine runs and 20 hits in 31.2 innings, lowering his ERA to 4.25. His opponents batting average during the run is only .187, while his ERA is 2.27. 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.
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 nine of his 16 appearances. For the year, Heber holds a 1-0 record and a 4.09 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 become UC?s midweek starter, winning three of his four starts. He holds a 3-2 record and a 5.44 ERA after tossing five innings with a career-best four strikeouts on April 25 vs. Mount St. Joseph.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After struggling through a tough 2004 season that saw UC post a record of just 9-34 in the first 43 games of the year, the Bearcats have posted a huge turnaround through 43 games this season. In addition to winning 11 more games, the Bearcats have 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. If the season were to end now, the Bearcats? staff ERA of 4.94 would be the lowest by a UC team since the 1995 squad that turned in a 4.82 mark.
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.
TWICE AS NICE: With his first career grand slam vs. Kentucky State on May 5, sophomore OF Brian Szarmach now has a team-best 10 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 .320 (32-for-100) in his last 26 games to raise his batting average to .296. 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 six innings at their respective positions. DeLuca and Parker have both been given breathers, while Haske and Muscenti are the only UC players to play every inning this season. The continuity has proved valuable as the infield holds a combined .977 fielding percentage and is second in Conference USA with 54 double plays. In the NCAA rankings, the Bearcats are third nationally in double plays per game with 1.29. 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.
HONORING A LEGEND: UC will honor longtime baseball coach Glenn Sample by naming the walkway outside the grandstand of the new UC Baseball Stadium Glenn Sample Way. Formal dedication of the walkway will take place on Sunday, May 15 preceding UC?s 1 p.m. home baseball game with Memphis. Sample will also throw out the first pitch. The walkway will serve both as a tribute to Sample's 37 years of service to UC athletics and for eventually honoring Bearcat baseball greats. Plaques recognizing the exploits of UC diamond stars will be placed along the walkway.
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 14 three-baggers in 43 games this year and are 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 six tie him for third in school annals. Billy Wolff set the record with nine in 1965.
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 8-8 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.
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.