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Homestand Continues For Bearcats Against Chicago State

Homestand Continues For Bearcats Against Chicago StateHomestand Continues For Bearcats Against Chicago State

March 14, 2007

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SETTING THE SCENE: Fresh off its first series sweep of the 2007 season, the University of Cincinnati baseball team continues a six-game homestand this weekend (March 16-18), hosting Chicago State. The Bearcats have won three straight and seven of their last nine to climb above the .500 mark for the first time this season at 8-7. They will take on a Chicago State team that has opened the season with 15 straight defeats.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • Junior speedster Tony Campana has already entered the top-10 in UC single-season history with 20 stolen bases, holding a share of 10th on the list. Campana needs just 16 more swipes to break Ken Schneider's mark of 35 set in 1991.
  • Cincinnati is tied for first on the BIG EAST leaderboard with 41 stolen bases, just seven 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.
  • Neall French has been one of the hottest hitting Bearcats of late, as he brings a career-best eight-game hit streak into the weekend. French was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday after hitting .429 with nine RBI in a 3-1 week.
  • Campana holds the longest hitting streak as he has hit safely in 11 consecutive games. The junior hit in 18 in a row as a freshman at UNC Asheville.
  • Steve Blevins and Dan Osterbrock have utilized the strikeout this season as the duo ranks first and second in the BIG EAST in the category.

NOTING THE COUGARS:

  • Chicago State, which departed the Mid-Continent Conference after last season have started its first season as an independent with an 0-15 record.
  • Junior INF Luke Grow has been the top hitter for the Cougars, batting .298. As a team, CSU is hitting just .203.
  • Pitching has been a struggle for Chicago State this year, as the team holds a collective ERA of 11.45. Junior RHP Robert Vargas has found the most success, holding a 6.35 ERA and an opponents batting average of .271.

BLEVINS HONORED BY BIG EAST: The Bearcats' success in winning BIG EAST Conference Baseball weekly awards continued as sophomore Steve Blevins was named the league's pitcher of the week on Monday. This marks the third consecutive week a member of the Bearcats' squad has been honored by the BIG EAST. Blevins helped UC get its sweep of Cleveland State off on the right foot as he hurled eight shutout innings in the series opener. In gathering his second consecutive victory, Blevins allowed the Vikings just four hits and a walk, while striking out five. The award for Blevins marks the second straight pitcher of the week for the Bearcats after classmate Dan Osterbrock earned it last week. Two weeks ago, junior Tony Campana was tabbed as the BIG EAST Player of the Week.

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.

MILESTONES ON THE HORIZON: With a sweep of Chicago State this weekend, the Bearcats will have a chance at a pair of milestones.

  • With three more victories, the Bearcats will have won 1,000 games since 1958.
  • Three more wins will also hand head coach Brian Cleary his 250th win as Bearcats' skipper. He is just the second coach in program history to reach the plateau.

ROTATION MAINSTAYS: The Bearcats starting pitching has excelled this season thanks to the play of sophomores Steve Blevins and Dan Osterbrock. The pair rank one-two in the BIG EAST in strikeouts and have each won a BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week award. The duo will be joined soon by classmate Michael Hill in the rotation. A closer look at each player's contributions this year:

  • After being victimized by a lack of run support early in the season, Blevins has won two straight outings after starting the year 0-3. He had his best outing on March 9 vs. Cleveland State, hurling eight shutout innings with five strikeouts. Over the course of his last three starts, Blevins hasn't allowed an earned run in 18 consecutive innings. He also has 31 strikeouts and just six walks in 32 innings of work. His ERA is 3.09.
  • Osterbrock has surrendered just one earned run in his last 22.2 innings of work and has won two of his last three starts. The lefty holds a 2-0 record and a 3.14 ERA in 28.2 innings. His best outing came with a three-hit shutout of Dartmouth on March 3. With 27 strikeouts, Osterbrock is just 11 shy of his total attained all of last season.
  • After using a variety of hurlers in the No. 3 spot in the rotation, another sophomore, Michael Hill will take on the slot beginning this weekend. Hill has been impressive this year with two wins and 17 strikeouts, while tying for seventh in the BIG EAST with a .222 opponents batting average.

HARRISON BACK AT IT: Josh Harrison has picked up where he left off last year early in 2007, hitting .316 and leading the team in home runs (four) and RBI (17). 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 73 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 nine 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: The Bearcats have enjoyed solid performances from the bullpen, with a returning ace, a newcomer and a surprising returnee leading the way.

  • Junior A.J. Upton, a candidate for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award shrugged off allowing a walk-off homer at Florida Atlantic with scoreless outings in three of his last four appearances. Despite a tough outing at Kentucky on March 7, Upton is still limiting opponents to a .190 batting average this season.
  • Junior Billy Welsh has gotten his short stay off to a fine start, holding opponents to one run in 12.1 innings (0.73 ERA) over six appearances. The righty got his first win at UC with 2.2 innings of relief against Cleveland State is tied for first in the BIG EAST with a pair of saves. Opponents are hitting just .119 against the righty.
  • Junior southpaw Adam Calez has come on strong of late, holding opponents scoreless in six innings, spanning four appearances. Calez holds a 1-0 record and has struck out 10 this season.

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 20 bases and hitting .323. He enters this weekend riding an 11-game hitting streak in which he has batted .386 (17-for-44).
  • Satterwhite is off to a good start ranking second in the BIG EAST with seven doubles. By hitting .545 vs. Cleveland State March 9-11, Satterwhite has raised his average .302. On March 10, the sophomore hit the game-winning two-run homer to beat the Vikings.
  • Obyc has been the surprise in the group, who moved into the starting line-up at Austin Peay and is hitting .314 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 .407 clip (14-for-27). His power numbers have been up as he has hit five doubles and three home runs and driven in 14 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 career-high .304 and is fifth in the BIG EAST with 16 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-plus seasons of existence, Marge Schott Stadium has provided a solid home field advantage for the Bearcats. Since its opening, the Bearcats hold a 44-25 (.638) 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 22 of its last 30 games against Ohio adversaries, including all three this season. The Bearcats will work to continue that success again in 2007 with 11 match-ups against Ohio schools. The balance of the in-state contests are: 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.