TicketsBearcats To Make One Final Push At USF
UC needs sweep for C-USA Tourney berth
Contact: Shawn Sell
5/18/2005
Jon DeLuca and the Bearcats need a weekend sweep at USF to earn a spot in the conference tournament. |
SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati baseball team closes the 2005 regular season in a must-win series at USF, which gets underway on Thursday (May 19) at 7 p.m. The Bearcats, at 10-16 in Conference USA, must win all three games of the weekend series to earn the eighth and final available spot in next week?s C-USA Tournament presented by POWERade. UC is 25-27 overall after an 8-4 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday night. USF (29-29 overall) currently holds the No. 8 position at 12-14 in league play and can clinch the final position in the tournament with one win this weekend.
NOTES FROM EASTERN KENTUCKY:
? Jim Olds? second inning single extended his career-best hitting streak to 10 games, which ranks as the longest current streak on the team. Olds has hit .432 during the stretch.
? Logan Parker extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one RBI to seven with a first inning single. Parker?s streak of six straight games with an extra-base hit was snapped as he went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.
? The Bearcats stole a season-high six bases in the contest, just four off of the school record. LaFringe Hayes highlighted the group with a pair of swipes, while Adam Calez picked up the first stolen base of his career.
? Bryan Wood made his first start on the mound since April 22, 2003 at Ohio. Wood was the winning pitcher after throwing four shutout innings.
? Josh Kay moved into a tie for second place on the school season list with his ninth save.
ABOUT USF: The Bulls have dropped four games in a row to slide to 29-29 overall and 12-14 in Conference USA play. After winning a pair of mid-week contests against No. 12 Florida last week, the Bulls were swept by Southern Miss over the weekend to drop them to eighth in the league standings. USF can clinch a trip to next week?s conference tournament with one win over the Bearcats. Offensively, the Bulls are led by Jeff Baisley who is enjoying a fine season as the squad?s third baseman. Baisley leads the team with a .364 average, in addition to team-highs of 26 doubles and 64 RBI. He also has seven home runs. On the mound, sophomore Casey Hudspeth is the staff ace, holding a 7-5 record and a 4.14 ERA in 15 starts. The bullpen is anchored by Tim Mattison who has a 1.51 ERA and a team-best seven saves. UC will be trying to snap a five-game losing streak to the Bulls that dates back to the 2003 season.
UC AGAINST CONFERENCE USA: In their 10th and final season of Conference USA play, the Bearcats hold an all-time conference record of 77-186-1 (.294). UC has played a total of 573 games against current C-USA members since 1958, holding a record of 224-346-1 (.392), including a 6-20 mark against USF. UC?s record against other C-USA opponents includes Charlotte (15-13), East Carolina (3-8-1), Houston (7-24), Louisville (63-63), Memphis (28-55), Saint Louis (47-43), Southern Miss (9-37), TCU (2-10), Tulane (7-35) and UAB (20-38). Per conference rules, UC will not face one member of the league this year and this season, will skip Tulane.
OFF TO THE RACES: The Bearcats utilized the stolen base as an offensive asset in the May 17 win over Eastern Kentucky, swiping a season-high six bases. LaFringe Hayes picked up two of the stolen bases, while Adam Calez added the first of his collegiate career. The total is just four off of the school record established in 1960. The count is also UC?s highest since grabbing six on Feb. 23, 2003 at Vanderbilt.
PARKER EARNS C-USA NOD: Junior Logan Parker became the second Bearcat this season to earn Conference USA Hitter of the Week accolades when he was honored on Monday for his performance in UC?s five games last week. For the week, Parker hit .619 with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBI. He joins Jon DeLuca, who earned the award on Feb. 21 as Bearcat honorees this season.
SNAPPING A STREAK: Cincinnati has halted a pair of lengthy losing streaks to conference foes with a pair of wins this season. UC?s win in game one of an April 3 doubleheader vs. Houston snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Cougars, the Bearcats? longest losing streak against any Conference USA opponent entering the season. The Bearcats then halted a six-game losing streak to Memphis with a win on May 13.
ON FIRE: Logan Parker has blistered opposing pitching since returning to the clean-up spot in the batting order 14 games ago after a short hiatus. During the span, Parker is hitting at a .464 clip, with 15 runs scored, seven doubles, a triple, five home runs and 24 RBI. Parker has recorded at least one hit in 13 of the 14 contests, including eight straight, to raise his batting average from .271 to .318. In the last seven games, Parker has recorded at least one RBI in each of the contests and has an extra-base hit in six of them.
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 7-3 record and a 4.07 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 (8th-90.2), opponents batting average (T9th-.239) and wins (T4th).
...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 .174 batting average. The senior has appeared in a team-best 28 games, recording a win and nine saves and striking out 59 hitters in just 42.2 innings. Kay?s 1.27 ERA ranks first on the team. His nine saves this season are tied for the second highest single season total in school history and also rank him fifth on the UC career lists. Kay has been at his best recently, as he brings a scoreless innings streak of 21 into the final week of play. During the span, which covers Kay?s last 12 appearances, opponents are hitting just .132 against him and he has struck out 33 hitters.
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 .328, with 131 runs, 39 doubles, 11 triples, 14 home runs, 102 RBI and 23 stolen bases. Additionally, the trio ranks 1-2-3 on the squad in hitting with Hayes hitting .349, Haske .321 and Parker .318.
MUSCENTI EARNS ACADEMIC HONOR: Junior Mark Muscenti has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District second team for his success on and off the field. Muscenti is a chemical engineering major carrying a 3.527 GPA.
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 34 home runs this season, just 11 have been hit at home. In the same 29-game span, Bearcat opponents have belted 17 homers in the stadium.
PLAYING ?EM TIGHT: UC has shown improvement in close games this year, as they are 10-10 in games decided by two runs or less. The Bearcats were just 5-10 in those games last year.
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 19 appearances. For the year, Heber holds a 1-0 record and a 4.62 ERA. Munninghoff has split time between the rotation and the bullpen, appearing in 18 contests with nine starts, a 4-4 record and a 4.18 ERA. He turned in his best outing of the year on May 14 vs. Memphis, becoming the first Bearcat in nearly three seasons to record 10-plus strikeouts. Against the Tigers, Munninghoff tallied 12 strikeouts in seven innings, while allowing just one run and three hits. Theobald is 3-2 with a 5.44 ERA after tossing five innings with a career-best four strikeouts on April 25 vs. Mount St. Joseph.
GIVING A LIFT: A pair of Bearcat pitchers have given the staff a lift in recent weeks, as senior Mike Foley and sophomore Nick Buscemi have started to shine. Working out of the bullpen, Foley has allowed just three earned runs in his last 13 innings, spanning eight appearances. The run has dropped the southpaw?s ERA to 5.06. Buscemi has won two straight midweek contests, allowing just one run in nine innings on the hill. For the year, Buscemi is 3-2 with a 3.24 ERA after missing all of last season while rehabbing an elbow injury.
BIG DAY AT THE DISH: Logan Parker turned in a monster performance in the Bearcats? near upset of No. 28 TCU on May 8. For the day, Parker was 3-for-5 at the plate, scoring twice and driving in a career-best seven runs. Parker started the day with an RBI double in the first, added a three-run homer in the second and tacked on a bases-clearing triple in the third. Needing just a single to become the first Bearcat since 1999 to hit for the cycle, Parker was intentionally walked in his fourth plate appearance, before grounding out in his final two. Parker?s seven RBI was just one off of the school record of eight, which has been achieved four times, most recently by Steve Pickerell in 2003.
BUCKEYE STRENGTH: The Bearcats wrapped up another successful campaign against Ohio school?s this year, finishing with an 8-4 mark against in-state foes. For the year, the Bearcats picked up three game sweeps of Cleveland State and Xavier, while also toppling Ohio and Mount St. Joseph. Over the past two seasons, UC has won 12 of its last 17 games against Ohio adversaries, including four straight against Xavier.
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 207-297-1 (.411). The legendary Glenn Sample heads the list with 391 career victories. Cleary reached a second banner achievement on May 10 vs. Miami as he coached in his 500th game at Cincinnati.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After struggling through a tough 2004 season that saw UC post a record of just 14-38 in the first 52 games of the year, the Bearcats have posted a huge turnaround through 52 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 5.09 would be the lowest by a UC team since the 1995 squad that turned in a 4.82 mark.
CONTINUING TO HIT: While junior 2B Mark Muscenti is enjoying a season that has seen him hit a career-best .291, he is also doing what he has gotten a reputation for, getting hit by pitches. For the third consecutive year, Muscenti is near the top of the Conference USA leaders, ranking first this week with 20 hit by pitch. For his career, Muscenti has been hit a school record 57 times. On the strength of the hit by pitches, Muscenti ranks second on the team with a .422 on-base percentage.
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 second the team with 37 RBI, which is also a career-best. DeLuca has made the most of his opportunities, hitting .329 with runners in scoring position. He has also ably manned the hot corner, committing just six errors in 52 games, while making numerous spectacular plays.
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 .978 fielding percentage and is first in Conference USA with 65 double plays. In the NCAA rankings, the Bearcats are fourth nationally in double plays per game with 1.25 and 15th with a .973 team fielding percentage. 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.
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 17 three-baggers 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 seven tie him for second in school annals. Billy Wolff set the record with nine in 1965.
CONFERENCE KILLERS: In spite of a 10-16 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 fifth with six home runs during league play.
? Logan Parker is listed in a total of seven categories, including doubles (4th-11), total bases (4th-70), triples (T5th-2), slugging percentage (7th-.660), RBI (T8th-26) and hits (T11th-40).
? Mark Muscenti ranks eighth in on-base percentage at .477, due in part to a league-leading 10 hit by pitch.
? Josh Kay is tied for second with five saves and is tied for seventh with 13 appearances.
? Kyle Markle is listed in the appearance category tied for ninth with 12.
? Tony Maynard is tied for 10th with 55.0 innings pitched in C-USA play and is also listed in opponents batting average (10th-.255) and wins (T6th-4).