TicketsMarch 3, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati opens its 2006 home schedule and a season-long 11-game homestand when Niagara visits the UC Baseball Stadium for a three-game weekend series. After starting the season 0-4, the Bearcats have won five of their last six games, including a 10-9 thriller over Kentucky on Wednesday, to improve to 5-5 on the year. Niagara of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference are 2-4 this season.
NOTES FROM THE KENTUCKY GAME:
- The Bearcats scored double figure runs for the fifth time this season in 10 games, after reaching the feat seven times in 55 games last year.
- Jon DeLuca passed Jamie Baker for 15th place on UC's career at-bats list with 618. Mark Muscenti cracked the top-20 on the same list with 577. He moves in front of Chris Newton.
- Redshirt freshman Jake Geglein made the first appearance of his collegiate career, pitching one inning.
- Cincinnati's 18 hits matched its season-high and marked the sixth time in 10 games this year the Bearcats recorded at least 10 in a game.
- The Bearcats won in Lexington for just the third time in 22 chances and for the first time since an 11-4 victory on April 25, 2001.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- The Bearcats have been red hot at the plate since starting the season 0-3. In their last seven games, UC holds a 5-2 record, is averaging 10 runs per game and batting .340.
- LaFringe Hayes enters the Niagara series carrying an eight-game hit streak in which he has batted .444. Josh Harrison has hit safely in six straight contests, with a .542 average.
- Harrison leads the team and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST with a .425 average.
- UC players lead or share the lead in the BIG EAST in runs, RBI, triples, walks and hit by pitch.
NOTING THE PURPLE EAGLES:
- Niagara fell to 2-4 on the year after dropping two games to Davidson and one to Appalachian State last weekend. NU was 25-28 last year.
- The Purple Eagles were chosen to finish fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference by a preseason poll of the league's coaches.
- Niagara features this week's MAAC Hitter and Pitcher of the Week on its roster. Senior Mike Alati earned the hitter award and leads the team with a .526 batting average. Senior LHP Mike Radanovic was the conference's top pitcher and is 1-0 this year with a 2.70 ERA. Radanovic is holding opponents to a .140 batting average and has registered 21 strikeouts in 13.1 innings of work.
UC AGAINST THE MAAC: This weekend marks the first time Cincinnati was ever faced a member of the 10-member Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
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.
SCORING MACHINE: The Bearcats have turned into a scoring machine as of late, averaging 10 runs per game in their last seven 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. In 10 games this season, the Bearcats have reached double-figure scoring five times, after doing so just seven times in 55 games last year.
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 .343, while adding three doubles, two homers and a team-leading 11 RBI. He has also shown great patience at the plate, drawing a BIG EAST-leading 12 walks and striking out just three times in 35 at-bats.
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 .389, well above his career average of .277. He also has recorded 10 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 167 games and has started 80 consecutive games at second base.
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 a team-leading .425 through 10 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 two errors since moving to shortstop. On March 1 at Kentucky, Harrison recorded the second four-hit day of his short career. Harrison's play fills a void left by Mark Haske who was drafted by the Detroit Tigers following last season.
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 an eight-game hitting streak, Hayes has raised his batting average to .381, 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.
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.
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 has been one of the biggest surprises of 2006 as he has evolved into the Bearcats' closer. After preserving the Bearcats win on March 1 at Kentucky, Upton moved into a tie for first place in the BIG EAST with two saves. He also holds a 1.54 ERA and is limiting batters to a .175 batting average. Minus a rough outing at Florida on opening weekend, Nelson has allowed just one run and two hits in his last 4.0 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.
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.
PLAYING `EM TIGHT: The Bearcats picked up their first close win of the season on March 1 at Kentucky, taking a 10-9 victory. UC had previously dropped a pair of one-run tilts to North Carolina A&T and High Point. The victory was another step towards reversing a trend that hurt the Bearcats prior to last season. Improved performance in close games helped UC better its win total by 10 in 2005, as the Bearcats finished the year with a record of 10-10 in games decided by two runs or less. The Bearcats were just 5-10 in those games in 2004 and 5-17 in 2003.