TicketsBearcats Back On Track In 2005
UC wrapped up improved year this spring
Contact: Shawn Sell
6/10/2005
LaFringe Hayes was UC's leading hitter in 2005. |
SETTING THE SCENE: The 2005 season was one of considerable improvement for the University of Cincinnati baseball team as it started its quest back to its winning tradition. While the season did end without a Conference USA Tournament berth, the Bearcats finished with a 25-30 overall record, a 10-win increase over the past two campaigns. UC also won 10 C-USA games, its highest total since recording 11 in 2002. The Bearcats should be well stocked for their first season of BIG EAST competition in 2006, as a total of 19 letterwinners are expected to return, along with a talented freshman class.
NOTES FROM THE 2005 SEASON:
? Jim Olds wrapped up the season on a high note as he hit safely in the final 13 games of his collegiate career. In putting together the longest hit streak of the season by any Bearcat, the senior also set a new personal best, topping his previous high of four straight set earlier this season. Olds hit .444 during the stretch.
? Josh Kay sprinkled his name throughout the UC record books with a dominating senior season as the Bearcats? closer. Kay saved nine games in 2005, tying him for the second-highest single season total in school history. The mark also moved him into fifth place on the school?s career saves list. Kay?s 30 appearances out of the bullpen tied for the fifth highest mark in school history.
? The Bearcats enjoyed the luxuries of their new home, playing a total of 29 games in the UC Baseball Stadium and recording a 16-13 home record.
? University of Oklahoma transfer LaFringe Hayes brought a much needed shot of speed to the Bearcat line-up, as he totaled seven triples and 14 stolen bases. The triples count tied Hayes for second on UC?s single season list, while the 14 steals were the most by a Bearcat since Justin Niefer nabbed 15 bases in 2003.
STRONG AT THE FRONT...: The Bearcats solidified the front of their starting rotation in 2005 with the reemergence of senior Tony Maynard. The former Freshman All-American was solid all season, posting a 7-4 record and a 4.56 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 the Conference USA rankings, Maynard finds himself ranked among the league leaders in innings pitched (9th-94.2), opponents batting average (T11th-.254) and wins (T7th).
...AND AT THE BACK: UC also enjoyed the benefits of a dominant closer, as senior Josh Kay turned in a season to remember. Kay proved to be nearly unhittable, holding opponents to a .185 batting average. The senior appeared in a team-best 30 games, recording a win and nine saves and striking out 59 hitters in just 44 innings. Kay?s 2.05 ERA ranked 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 was at his best towards the end of the season, as he held opponents scoreless for a stretch of 22.1 innings. During the span, which covered 13 appearances, opponents hit just .125 against Kay and he struck out 33 hitters.
FINISHING UP STRONG: No one on the Bearcat roster wrapped up the season in stronger fashion than senior catcher Jim Olds. Utilized as a valuable utility player throughout his career, Olds took over the starting catcher position midway through the year and never looked back. For the year, Olds posted career-highs in nearly every offensive category, including hitting (.323), runs (10), hits (32), doubles (five) and RBI (seven). He also finished off his career by hitting safely in 13 consecutive games, amassing a .444 batting average during the stretch.
WELCOME ADDITIONS: A large portion of the Bearcats? 2005 success can be attributed to the impact of transfers Mark Haske, LaFringe Hayes and Logan Parker in the line-up. As a group, the threesome batted .323, with 135 runs, 41 doubles, 11 triples, 15 home runs, 108 RBI and 23 stolen bases. Additionally, the trio ranked 1-2-3 on the squad in hitting with Hayes hitting .343, Haske .341 and Parker .313.
PLAYING ?EM TIGHT: After struggling in the past couple of seasons, UC showed great improvement in close games this year, finishing with a record of 10-10 in games decided by two runs or less. The Bearcats were just 5-10 in those games last year and 5-17 in 2003.
SNAPPING A STREAK: Cincinnati 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.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: After struggling through a tough 2004 season that saw UC post a record of just 15-40, the Bearcats posted a huge turnaround in 2005. In addition to winning 10 more games, the Bearcats showed 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. The improvement in ERA was drastic, as the 5.41 team ERA was the lowest by a UC team since the 1995 squad that turned in a 4.82 mark and was a drop of nearly three runs from last year.
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.
POWER OUTAGE: While the Bearcats have enjoyed the many luxuries that the UC Baseball Stadium brings, one thing that wasn?t so friendly to the squad was home run capability. Of UC?s 34 home runs this season, just 11 were hit at home. In the same 29-game span, Bearcat opponents belted 17 homers in the stadium.
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 207-300-1 (.408). 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.
IRON MEN: The Bearcats? infield demonstrated their durability during the 2005 season as the foursome of 1B Logan Parker, 2B Mark Muscenti, 3B Jon DeLuca and SS Mark Haske combined to play all but six innings at their respective positions. DeLuca and Parker were both been given breathers, while Haske and Muscenti were the only UC players to play every inning this season. The continuity proved valuable as the infield posted a combined .977 fielding percentage and is first in Conference USA with 69 double plays. In the NCAA rankings, the Bearcats are second nationally in double plays per game with 1.25 and 18th with a .972 team fielding percentage. Twice this season Muscenti 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.
ON FIRE: Logan Parker wrapped up 2005 swinging a hot bat, taking his average to over .300 for the season. Over the final 17 games of the year, Parker returned to the clean-up spot in the batting order after a short hiatus. During the span, Parker hit at a .420 clip, with 17 runs scored, eight doubles, a triple, six home runs and 27 RBI. Parker recorded at least one hit in 14 of the 17 contests, including eight straight, to raise his batting average from .271 to .313. In the last 10 games of the season, Parker recorded at least one RBI in eight of the contests and had at least one extra-base hit in seven of them.
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.
C-USA COACHES CLOSE: The preseason Conference USA Coaches poll was nearly a mirror image of the final conference standings from this season. Just four of the league?s 12 teams were picked out of place and each was just one spot away from their preseason projection. Southern Miss was picked to finish fourth, but actually finished third, flip flopping spots with East Carolina. The other discrepancy was at the bottom of the standings, were Saint Louis and Memphis switched spots from the respective preseason rankings they received.
PARKER, DeLUCA EARN C-USA NODS: Juniors Jon DeLuca and Logan Parker were each honored by Conference USA this season as conference hitters of the week. DeLuca became the first UC hitter to earn conference honors since Nate Fish in 2002 when he was recognized on Feb. 21 for his play at Duke. Parker earned the award on May 16 after turning in a huge performance in a weekend series with Memphis and two mid-week contests.
CONTINUING TO HIT: While junior 2B Mark Muscenti enjoyed a season that saw him hit a career-best .289, he also did 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, tied for first at the end of the regular season 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 tied for team-high honors with a .416 on-base percentage.
HANDLING THE HOT CORNER: Junior Jon DeLuca was rock solid at third base for the Bearcats this season, both at the plate and in the field. At the dish, DeLuca hit a career-high .276 and was second on the team with 37 RBI, which is also a career-best. DeLuca made the most of his opportunities, hitting .324 with runners in scoring position. He also ably manned the hot corner, committing just seven errors in 55 games, while making numerous spectacular plays.
FRESH ARMS: A trio of freshmen hurlers made significant contributions to the Bearcats? pitching staff this season as true freshmen Matt Heber and Sean Munninghoff and redshirt David Theobald all logged many innings. Heber developed into one of the Bearcats? most reliable middle relievers, holding opponents without a run in 11 of his 20 appearances. For the year, Heber had a 1-0 record and a 4.44 ERA. Munninghoff split time between the rotation and the bullpen, appearing in 19 contests with 10 starts, a 4-5 record and a 4.88 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 was 3-2 with a 5.44 ERA after tossing five innings with a career-best four strikeouts on April 25 vs. Mount St. Joseph.
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 bettered the total with 18 three-baggers and were second in the conference in the category at the end of the regular season. 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 came up just short of Billy Wolff?s school record nine triples this season, as he racked up seven to tie him for second on the UC single season list.
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.
CONFERENCE KILLERS: In spite of a 10-19 Conference USA record, several Bearcats found themselves ranked high in the final conference-only stats. A summary of those players? performances follows:
? Logan Parker is listed in a total of seven categories, including total bases (4th-77), doubles (5th-12), triples (T5th-2), home runs (T6th-6), slugging percentage (8th-.647), RBI (8th-29) and hits (T11th-43).
? Brian Szarmach tied for sixth with six home runs during league play.
? Mark Muscenti ranks 12th in on-base percentage at .460, due in part to 10 hit by pitch, which is fourth.
? Josh Kay is tied for fourth with five saves and 15 appearances.
? Kyle Markle is listed in the appearance category tied for ninth with 14.
? Tony Maynard is 11th with 59.0 innings pitched and is also listed in wins (T6th-4).
FIRST WINS: A total of five Bearcat hurlers broke 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.
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 provided over half of the Bearcats? home runs. Szarmach came out of nowhere to bash 10, while Parker did him one better with a team-high 11. Combined, Parker and Szarmach hit 60 percent of the Bearcats? home runs and droven in 31 percent of the runs.
SERIES SUCCESS: The Bearcats reversed their series fortunes of the past two seasons this year with a total of five series triumphs. Early in the 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. During conference play, the Bearcats took 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, while also winning the Memphis series. In addition, UC won all three of its contests this year against crosstown rival Xavier.
A RARE FEAT: Senior shortstop Mark Haske pulled off one of baseball?s rarest feats at USF on May 20 when he turned an unassisted triple play. With runners on first and second and nobody out in the second inning, Haske caught a liner off the bat of Jeff Baisley, stepped on second to double up Joey Angelberger, then tagged Bryan Hierlmeier to complete the triple play. Both runners had broken on UC hurler Mike Foley?s 3-2 pitch. The triple play was the first by a Bearcat team since 1964 vs. Louisville, prior to the birth of any of the UC players or coaches.