TicketsFeb. 28, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: The University of Cincinnati baseball team closes a season-opening 10-game road swing when it travels to regional rival Kentucky for a 3 p.m. match-up on Wednesday, March 1. The Bearcats have won four of their last five contests to improve to 4-5 on the year. The mid-week match-up will serve as a tune-up for UC's home opener this weekend vs. Niagara. Kentucky enters the game with a 5-1 record.
NOTES FROM THE HIGH POINT SERIES:
- Jon DeLuca moved into a tie for 18th place on UC's career doubles list with 34. He also climbed to 16th on the at-bats chart with 613.
- Jack Nelson became UC's fourth first-time winner with a relief victory on Sunday. Nelson joins freshman Steve Blevins and junior transfers Kyle Rapp and Glen Simon.
- The Bearcats' 18 hits in Friday's opener were a season-high and the most by UC since getting 16 on May 14, 2005 against Memphis.
- A.J. Upton tallied his first collegiate save with four shutout innings in the opener.
- Brian Szarmach's six RBI on Sunday were the most by a Bearcat since Logan Parker had seven on May 8, 2005 vs. TCU. His grand slam was the first by a UC batter since Mark Haske hit one on May 14, 2005 against Memphis.
- Josh Harrison and Nick Maragas each recorded the first four-hit day of their careers in Friday's opener.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- Mark Muscenti leads the team in hitting at .375, well above the career average of .277 he held entering the season.
- LaFringe Hayes enters the week holding a team-best seven-game hit streak that has seen the senior bat .419.
- Sophomore Kevin Schrader will make his first start of the season on the mound on Wednesday vs. Kentucky. Schrader started 10 games last season as a true freshman.
NOTING THE WILDCATS:
- The Wildcats have gotten their season off to a 5-1 start after weekend victories over Lamar and Michigan State. Kentucky hosts Evansville on Tuesday prior to meeting the Bearcats.
- Kentucky was tabbed to finish last in the six-member SEC Eastern Division in a preseason poll of league coaches. The Wildcats are coming off of a 29-27 season last year.
- Junior INF John Shelby was a preseason second team All-American choice by Baseball America, but has hit just .167 through six games this year.
- Sophomore OF Collin Cowgill has been UK's top offensive threat this year, leading the team with two home runs and 10 RBI and ranking second with a .400 average.
- UK will start senior RHP Matt Robinson against the Bearcats. Robinson allowed four runs in three innings in his first start of the year on Feb. 17 vs. Texas-San Antonio.
UC AGAINST THE SEC: Cincinnati has played 105 games against current members of the Southeastern Conference since 1958, with Kentucky (9-27) and South Carolina (12-26) being the most frequent opponents. The Bearcats hold a record of 24-81 (.229) against members of the SEC. Other SEC teams the Bearcats have played against include Alabama (0-3), Auburn (0-1), Florida (0-3), Tennessee (2-12) and Vanderbilt (1-9). In addition to the game at Kentucky, UC has already played reigning SEC Champion Florida this season. The Bearcats lost all three games of the season-opening series to the then No. 1-ranked Gators.
BEARCATS EARN CONFERENCE HONORS: During the 2006 baseball season, UC has seen its players honored by the BIG EAST Conference. A look at the award winners:
- Junior pitcher Glen Simon was chosen Co-Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 20 after recording a three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts over North Carolina A&T.
- Senior outfielder LaFringe Hayes earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 20 after batting .545, scoring six runs and driving in four in the N.C. A&T series. He also stole three bases and matched a school record with two triples in the Feb. 17 series-opener.
- Freshman shortstop Josh Harrison earned a BIG EAST Honor Roll Mention on Feb. 27 after batting .545 (6-for-11) with a double, a home run, three RBI and four runs scored vs. High Point.
ENDING A SLUMP: Junior OF Brian Szarmach found a big way to end a 0-for-13 slump with his performance at High Point on Feb. 26. With UC trailing 4-3 in the sixth inning, the junior launched his second career grand slam to put the Bearcats ahead to stay. He would add two RBI later in the game to give him a career-high six. The grand slam was the first by a UC player since Mark Haske's on May 14, 2005 vs. Memphis and was also Szarmach's second long ball of 2006.
THE ANCHOR: Logan Parker has been the anchor of the Bearcats' line-up in 2006, beating opponents with both his bat and his patience. This year, Parker is fourth on the team in hitting at .344, while adding three doubles, two homers and 10 RBI. He has also shown great patience at the plate, drawing a BIG EAST-leading 11 walks and striking out just three times in 32 at-bats.
SCORING MACHINE: The Bearcats have turned into a scoring machine as of late, averaging 10 runs per game in their last six outings, despite being shutout at High Point on Feb. 25. UC started the outburst with a 19-4 rout of North Carolina A&T in game one of a Feb. 19 doubleheader. UC's 19 runs were the most by the Bearcats since a 21-8 thrashing of Xavier on April 29, 2004. The Bearcats exploded for 10 runs in the sixth inning against the Aggies, marking the first 10-run frame for UC since May 5, 2005 vs. Kentucky State.
UNDER THE RADAR: Throughout his career, senior 2B Mark Muscenti has flown under the radar, but if he continues the play he has early this season, that won't be the case for long. This year, Muscenti is hitting a team-best .375, well above his career average of .277. He also has recorded seven RBI, putting him on pace to easily top his career-high of 28 set last season. Always a steady fielder, Muscenti has a career fielding percentage of .969 in 166 games and has started 79 consecutive games at second base.
STEADY ARMS: Junior lefty Jack Nelson and sophomore right-hander A.J. Upton have formed a solid 1-2 punch out of the Bearcat bullpen early in 2006, helping UC overcome the loss of graduated relievers Josh Kay and Kyle Markle. After tossing a combined 10.1 innings last year, Nelson and Upton have been UC's most reliable relievers thus far. Upton ranks eighth in the BIG EAST with a 0.93 ERA and is holding hitters to a .152 batting average. Minus a rough outing at Florida on opening weekend, Nelson has allowed no runs and just two hits in his last 3.1 innings of work. In UC's two wins at High Point Feb. 24-26, Nelson earned his first career victory, while Upton gathered his first career save.
SIMON SAYS SIT DOWN: In just his second outing in a Cincinnati uniform, junior RHP Glen Simon turned in one of the most dominating performances in recent memory. On Feb. 19 at North Carolina A&T, the Florida State transfer tossed a three-hit shutout over seven innings, while striking out a career-high 13 Aggie hitters. Simon's shutout also was an achievement as it was the first crafted by a UC starter since Chad Pennington shut out Saint Louis on May 18, 2002. The 13 strikeouts by Simon were the most by a Bearcat pitcher since Sean Munninghoff registered 12 against Memphis on May 14, 2005. For his efforts, Simon was named BIG EAST Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week.
HIGH ON HAYES: After a slow start, senior OF and lead-off hitter LaFringe Hayes is back to his old tricks at the top of the UC line-up. Now riding a seven-game hitting streak, Hayes has raised his batting average to .351, third-best on the squad. In game one of UC's Feb. 19 doubleheader at North Carolina A&T, Hayes scored five runs, becoming the first UC player to reach the total since Craig Tewes on March 7, 2001 vs. Xavier. Hayes showed his speed in a number of ways, legging out a pair of triples in the Feb. 17 series opener and swiping three bases in three tries. The two three-baggers once again tied the school record for most in a single game, a mark that Hayes has already achieved one other time in his career.
A NICE COMPLIMENT: Freshman SS Josh Harrison has been a nice compliment to LaFringe Hayes at the top of the line-up, as he is hitting .371 through nine games. The Cincinnati native has helped the Bearcats in a number of ways, stealing two bases, notching his first career home run and committing just one error since moving to shortstop. Harrison's play fills a void left by Mark Haske who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers following last season.
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
ALL THE WAY: During the 2005 season, Cincinnati's pitchers turned in only one complete game, but the 2006 staff doubled that total in just one day with its Feb. 19 doubleheader performance at North Carolina A&T. In the twinbill, juniors Kyle Rapp and Glen Simon each pitched all seven innings, leading the Bearcats to a sweep. In the first complete game of either pitcher's career, each struck out a career-high with Rapp fanning seven and Simon 13. The back-to-back complete games were the first for Bearcat hurlers since B.J. Borsa and Nate Bouldin each went all the way on April 5-6, 2003 vs. Southern Miss.
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.
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.
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.