TicketsFeb. 15, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati baseball team will seek improvement and its first victories of the year when it opens a three-game weekend series at North Carolina A&T beginning on Friday. The Bearcats are 0-3 this year after being swept by No. 1 Florida.
NOTES FROM THE FLORIDA SERIES:
- A total of seven Bearcats made their Division I debuts, with Josh Harrison, Cory Hodskins, Nick Maragas and Adam Yeager all recording their first career hits. Steve Blevins and Kyle Rapp made the first pitching starts of their respective careers.
- Jon DeLuca moved into 19th place on UC's career doubles list with 33. He is now tied with Anthony Snowell and is just one back of 18th place Matt Primack.
- The 20-4 defeat during Sunday's finale marked UC's worst loss since a 32-14 loss to East Carolina on April 17, 2004.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- Logan Parker enters the weekend carrying a four-game hit streak that dates back to the end of the 2005 season.
- UC will be meeting a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for just the second time ever and first since 1993.
- Freshman Josh Harrison leads the team in hitting through three games at .333.
NOTING THE AGGIES:
- North Carolina A&T was 27-27 last year, but won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies return 18 letterwinners from that team.
- The Aggies were tabbed to finish second in the MEAC in a preseason poll of the league's coaches. Additionally, NC A&T is listed sixth nationally in the 2006 Black College Baseball Preseason poll.
- Junior OF Jeremy Jones is a preseason All-American according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and is on the Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Watch List. Last season, Jones hit .402 with 20 doubles, three home runs, 46 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
- Senior Michael Hauff is the ace of the pitching staff having led the MEAC in innings pitched (108.0) and strikeouts (132) last season. The right-hander finished with an 8-5 record and a 2.92 ERA.
UC AGAINST THE MEAC: Cincinnati has played just one game against any of the current seven baseball playing schools in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Bearcats won at Bethune-Cookman, 17-10, on March 23, 1993.
START OF SOMETHING NEW: The Bearcats move to the BIG EAST this season marks the opening to UC's sixth conference affiliation since 1949. The move is also noteworthy for UC senior OF LaFringe Hayes. A transfer from the University of Oklahoma (a member of the Big 12) prior to last season, Hayes will be playing in his third Division I Conference in three years.
Conference Inaugural Game Result
Mid-American April 19, 1948 at Miami (OH) Miami (OH) 14, UC 6
Missouri Valley April 26, 1957 at UC UC 9, Bradley 8
Metro May 14, 1976 at Memphis Tulane 4, UC 1
Great Midwest April 4, 1992 at Saint Louis UC 4, Saint Louis 3
Conference USA March 29, 1996 at UAB UAB 4, UC 2
BIG EAST March 24, 2006 at Connecticut TBA
MUSCENTI WINNER OF STEPHENS AWARD: Senior 2B Mark Muscenti received one of the UC Athletic Department's highest honors at halftime of the Feb. 6 men's basketball game when he was announced as the 2006 winner of the Jean Stephens Memorial Award. Named in honor of the former Athletic Department employee, the Stephens Award honors one senior student-athlete each year that exemplifies excellence on and off the field. Muscenti was nominated for the award by UC head coach Brian Cleary.
BEARCATS 10TH IN BIG EAST POLL: In its first season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference, the Bearcats have been tabbed to finish 10th in a poll of the league's 12 coaches. Notre Dame, the defending champions of the conference tournament, were the overwhelming favorites to win the 2006 title. The Fighting Irish picked up a total of nine first place votes, finishing with a total of 117 points. Pittsburgh picked up two first place nods, taking second in the rankings with 103 tallies. Villanova, chosen in a tie for seventh, earned the last first place marker.
FRESH FACES: The Bearcat roster features 12 new faces this season and nowhere will the affects be felt greater than in the starting pitching rotation. UC's three starters last weekend at Florida, freshman Steve Blevins and juniors Kyle Rapp and Glen Simon, had a combined five Division I starts between them entering the series, but none at Cincinnati. Simon, a transfer from Florida State, started five times for the Seminoles as a freshman in 2003. Gone from the fold are two of the three hurlers that started games in UC's 2005 season opening series at Florida Atlantic. Tony Maynard and Jim Olds both graduated, while the third member of the group, Kevin Schrader, will start 2006 in the bullpen.
UNFAMILIAR FOES: The start to the 2006 season marks the dawning of many new rivals for the Bearcats, as the squad will face 11 first time opponents. In addition to six members of the BIG EAST, five of Cincinnati's first seven non-conference opponents are new. In conference play, UC will face Connecticut, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova for the first time. West Virginia, along with Conference USA defectees Louisville and USF, are the only BIG EAST teams on the Bearcats' 2006 docket to battle UC prior to this year. On the non-conference side of the slate, UC will battle Florida, High Point, Niagara, North Carolina A&T and Oakland for the first time in 2006.
HIGH ON HAYES: One of the Bearcats pivotal to UC's success in 2006 is senior OF and lead-off hitter LaFringe Hayes. After joining the Bearcats prior to last season, Hayes went on to lead the team in hitting (.343), triples (seven) and stolen bases (14). With the graduation of second-leading hitter and regular No. 2 batter Mark Haske, Hayes' speed at the top of the line-up will be even more important in 2006. Hayes' 14 stolen bases last year were the most by a UC player since Justin Niefer swiped 15 bags in 2003, while the seven triples tied for the second highest performance in school history. The senior got the new season off to a slow start as he batted just .091 (1-for-11) at Florida, striking out five times.
WHO WILL PLAY?: Entering this season, the Bearcats had three holes to fill in their defense, including one each in the infield and outfield. After one weekend of play, UC appears they will be set at the positions thanks to the abilities of three talented newcomers. Freshman Josh Harrison hit a team leading .333 last weekend, drawing starts at both shortstop and in right field. Adam Yeager also hit .333, with two starts at short, giving UC a choice up the middle. Adam Calez and Cory Hodskins both hit well at Florida, as did UC's new starting catcher, junior Nick Maragas.
EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Last season, the Bearcats starting infield was the same for all 55 games, as the iron man foursome of Logan Parker (1B), Mark Muscenti (2B), Jon DeLuca (3B) and Mark Haske (SS) held down their respective positions. The continuity paid off as the Bearcats were fourth nationally in double plays per game (1.25) and 15th in fielding percentage (.972). That experience should carry over into this season, as minus the drafted Haske, the returning infielders have a combined 347 games of starting experience.
BUCKEYE STRENGTH: The Bearcats will try to continue there recent success against in-state rivals in 2006, with 10 games against Ohio schools scheduled. Last year, UC posted an 8-4 mark against in-state foes and have won 12 of its last 17 games against Ohio adversaries, including four straight against Xavier.
FULLY STOCKED: Cincinnati's offense should be fully stocked this year as much of last year's firepower is back this season. The 10 returning players that took at least one at-bat last season combined to hit .282 for the year. A look at the other key offensive numbers:
- 71 percent of the runs scored returns, including LaFringe Hayes, second on the team with 44.
- 80 percent of the doubles are back, with Logan Parker's team-leading 20 topping the charts.
- 78 percent of the triples is active in 2006, including Hayes' seven.
- 80 percent of the home runs and 75 percent of the RBI will play, led by Parker's 11 and 53, respectively.
KEEPING IT GOING: Cincinnati will hope that Logan Parker can continue the hot streak that he ended the 2005 season on. Over the final 17 games of the year, 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. The first weekend of 2006 saw Parker bat .250, driving in two runs and doubling once.
HANDLING THE HOT CORNER: Jon DeLuca was rock solid at third base for the Bearcats in 2005, 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. He also ably manned the hot corner, committing just seven errors in 55 games, while making numerous spectacular plays. DeLuca's 2006 campaign got off to a slow start as he went just 1-for-9 (.111) in the season-opening series at Florida. Slow starts are nothing due to DeLuca, though as in the last three years he has started the season 2-for-24 (.083) in 2003, 5-for-28 (.179) in 2004 and 1-for-15 (.067) last year before recording his first multi-hit game of the year.
UNDER THE RADAR: Throughout his career, senior 2B Mark Muscenti has flown under the radar, but he has proven to be one of the most valuable members of the Bearcat roster. About to enter his fourth year starting at second base, Muscenti has gradually improved at the plate throughout his career, enjoying a personal best campaign in 2005. For the year, Muscenti hit a career-high .289, while also posting career-highs in doubles (13) and RBI. Always a steady fielder, Muscenti has a career fielding percentage of .970 in 160 games.