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Bearcats Return Home Against Vikings

Bearcats Return Home Against VikingsBearcats Return Home Against Vikings

March 8, 2007

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati opens a six-game homestand and gets its first crack at an in-state rival this season when Cleveland State visits Marge Schott Stadium for three games this weekend (March 9-11). Action gets underway at 4 p.m. on Friday and continues at 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Bearcats (5-7) must shake off a devastating 21-7 loss to Kentucky on Wednesday. CSU is 2-7 after falling to Ohio earlier this week.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • Junior speedster Tony Campana has already entered the top-20 in UC single season history with 18 stolen bases, sharing a tie for 14th on the list. Campana needs just 18 more swipes to break Ken Schneider's mark of 35 set in 1991.
  • The Bearcats' 21-7 loss at Kentucky marked the worst defeat and most runs yielded since a 32-14 setback to East Carolina on April 17, 2004.
  • Neall French tallied the first multi-home run game of his career and drove in a career-best six at Kentucky. The last UC player to homer twice in a game was Jack Nelson against Akron on April 12, 2006.
  • Cincinnati ranks atop the BIG EAST leaderboard with 36 stolen bases, just 12 fewer than it gathered all of last year. The Bearcats are on pace to set a school record for steals in a season, with the current mark at 119.
  • The Bearcats will put a 12-game win streak against the Vikings on the line this weekend. CSU last toppled UC with a 14-7 win on March 2, 1997.

NOTING THE VIKINGS:

  • Cleveland State has lost five straight to slip to 2-7 this year. The Vikings, picked to finish last in the Horizon League this year, picked up their first win over BIG EAST member West Virginia on Feb. 18.
  • Junior INF Bobby Cash leads the Vikings' hitters, batting .353 with a team-leading four stolen bases.
  • The lefty combo of senior Stephen Procner and Josh Hungerman have been solid, despite a combined 1-4 record. Hungerman (1-2, 0.96 ERA) was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 19 after hurling a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts against West Virginia.

UC AGAINST THE HORIZON: The Bearcats are 71-46-1 (.606) against current members of the Horizon League, including a 19-2 mark against Cleveland State. Since 1958, UC has faced Butler (15-8), Illinois-Chicago (1-0), Wright State (27-32-1) and Youngstown State (9-4), with Wisconsin-Milwaukee the only team UC hasn't faced. This marks the first of five games against Horizon foes for the Bearcats who will also face Wright State (March 28) and Butler (April 25).

OSTERBROCK EARNS BIG EAST HONORS: For the second consecutive week, a member of the UC baseball team has been honored by the BIG EAST as sophomore Dan Osterbrock has been tabbed the league's pitcher of the week. The honor is the first of his career for Osterbrock. Osterbrock earned the award after twirling a three-hit shutout against Dartmouth on Saturday. In the seven-inning outing, Osterbrock allowed just the three hits and three walks, while striking out five. The performance marked the third complete game of Osterbrock's career and his first-ever shutout.

OFF AND RUNNING: The Bearcats' running game has quickly evolved into one of the team's biggest weapons and is on track to be one of the best efforts in school history. In 12 games this year, Cincinnati has swiped 36 bags, just 12 less than its total of 48 attained all of last year. Tony Campana has been the catalyst with 18 steals, more than any Bearcat has totaled since Kevin Youkilis (22) and Matt Singer (18) in 2001. Campana was at his best the week of Feb. 19-24, as he tallied 12 stolen bases, including a school-record six in the second game of a doubleheader at North Carolina A&T on Feb. 24, topping Ken Schneider's previous high of five set in 1991. If the Bearcats stick to their current pace, they will topple the school record of 119 thefts established in 1992.

BLEVINS THE UNLUCKY ONE: In 2006, Steve Blevins had it all. He set a school record for wins by a freshman with nine, while leading the BIG EAST in wins and innings pitched. His offense did the part as the Bearcats averaged 7.3 runs per game in his 16 starts. Early in 2007, Blevins has still been successful on the mound (4.12 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 24.0 innings), but a lack of run support has pushed his record to 1-3. In Blevins' four starts, UC is averaging 4.3 runs per game, far less than the 7.1 the Bearcats are averaging this year. Strikeouts has become a bigger part of Blevins' repertoire this year as he has twice established a career-high, including a personal-best nine at Austin Peay on Feb. 18.

HARRISON BACK AT IT: Josh Harrison has picked up where he left off last year early in 2007, hitting .304 and leading the team in home runs (four) and RBI (14). At Austin Peay on Feb. 18, Harrison saw his career-best 18-game hit streak come to an end, but he bounced back with his fourth long ball one day later. In the 70 games making up his UC career, Harrison has failed to gather a hit in just 10 contests. The sophomore has shown his blend of speed and power this year, adding eight stolen bases to his home run total. For his play at Florida Atlantic (Feb. 9-11), Harrison became the first Bearcat this season to be named to the College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll.

BULLPEN LOCKDOWN: Two newcomers have joined returning ace A.J. Upton in forming a lethal threesome in the Bearcats' bullpen.

  • Junior Billy Welsh has gotten his short stay off to a fine start, holding opponents scoreless in 9.2 innings over a team-leading five appearances and notching a pair of saves. Opponents are hitting just .091 against the righty.
  • After struggling in his initial outing at Florida Atlantic, sophomore Michael Hill has been outstanding ever since. Prior to a rough start at Kentucky on March 7, Hill had hurled 13 consecutive scoreless innings. For the year, opponents are batting just .222 against him.
  • Upton, a candidate for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award shrugged off allowing a walk-off homer at Florida Atlantic with three straight scoreless outings. Despite a tough outing at Kentucky on March 7, Upton is still limiting opponents to a .118 batting average.

GETTING CROWDED: With LaFringe Hayes gone to graduation and Josh Harrison moved to the infield, UC entered the season needing someone to step up in the outfield. With the additions of Tony Campana, Cameron Satterwhite and Michael Obyc, the Bearcats have found the cogs to fill the holes. Campana has been a sparkplug at the top of the line-up, swiping 18 bases and hitting .327. Satterwhite is off to a good start leading the BIG EAST with six doubles. The surprise in the group has been Obyc, who moved into the starting line-up at Austin Peay and is hitting .333 with three doubles and five RBI.

A MUCH NEEDED LIFT: With Logan Parker's big bat lost in the middle of the line-up, seniors Neall French and Brian Szarmach have stepped up to fill the hole:

  • French has been red hot of late, hitting in five straight games at a .412 clip (7-for-17). His power numbers have been up as he has hit three home runs and driven in 11 during the span. French had his best day as a Bearcat at Kentucky on March 7, as he hit a pair of three-run homers for a career-best six RBI.
  • Szarmach is hitting a team-best and career-high .341 and shares the team lead with 14 RBI. He has added four doubles, a triple and two home runs. The stretch from Feb. 19-24 was especially good for Szarmach as he hit .500 (6-for-12) with six runs scored, two doubles, a home run and eight RBI.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: In its two full seasons of existence, Marge Schott Stadium has provided a solid home field advantage for the Bearcats. With 28 home games on this season's home schedule, UC will look to carry over its home field success of 2006 this year. Last season, the Bearcats finished the year with a 22-10 record at home and hit 62 points higher (.319 to .257) at home than on the road, while averaging over three runs per game more. Since its opening, the Bearcats hold a 41-25 (.621) record at home. Prior to a loss to Rutgers on April 14, 2006 the Bearcats had a 12-game home winning streak, the second-longest in school history, behind a 17-game streak in 1960-61.

BUCKEYE STRENGTH: In recent years, Cincinnati has enjoyed success against its in-state rivals, winning 19 of its last 27 games against Ohio adversaries, including 7 of 10 last year. The Bearcats will work to continue that success again in 2007 with 11 match-ups against Ohio schools. The in-state contests are: March 9-11 vs. Cleveland State, March 20 at Xavier, March 21 vs. Toledo, March 28 vs. Wright State, April 3 at Dayton, April 11 vs. Xavier, April 17 vs. Ohio, May 9 vs. Miami and May 16 at Miami. In 2006, UC's .700 winning percentage against other Ohio teams ranked as the third-best in the state behind Kent State and Wright State (.750 each).