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Bearcats Welcome Notre Dame To Marge Schott Stadium

Bearcats Welcome Notre Dame To Marge Schott StadiumBearcats Welcome Notre Dame To Marge Schott Stadium

April 4, 2007

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SETTING THE SCENE: Needing victories to stay in contention in the BIG EAST Conference, Cincinnati returns home this week (April 5-7) for a three-game series with Notre Dame. The series, the first in Cincinnati between the schools since 1980, will be played Thursday-Saturday due to the Easter holiday. UC is tied for ninth in the BIG EAST at 2-4 and is 15-13 overall. Notre Dame is 13-14 overall and 1-4 in the BIG EAST.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • The key to the Bearcats' offensive success this season has been the stolen base as UC is second in the BIG EAST with 78 thefts. The mark is the most by a Cincinnati team since the 2001 team finished with 85 stolen bases and is the ninth highest single season total in UC history.
  • On April 1 at Georgetown, junior speedster Tony Campana set a new UC single season record for steals in a season with 36, eclipsing Ken Schneider's previous mark. Campana already ranks 13th on the career list in the category.
  • A recent power surge (16 home runs in last 11 games) has pushed the Bearcats to second in the BIG EAST in homers.
  • The Bearcats' pitching has been anchored by sophomore starters Steve Blevins and Dan Osterbrock. The duo holds a combined 8-5 record and a 3.01 ERA.
  • UC is in the midst of one of its best hitting stretches of the year as the team has double figure hits in five straight games. The team is hitting .322 during the span.

NOTING THE FIGHTING IRISH:

  • Notre Dame, picked to finish second in the BIG EAST prior to the season, has struggled, sitting in 11th place in the league with at 13-14 overall record and 1-4 in the BIG EAST.
  • Freshman INF A.J. Pollock has started his college career with a bang, leading the team with a .393 batting average. Mike Dury is the big bat in the Irish line-up, pacing the squad with six home runs and adding 18 RBI.
  • David Phelps has been the top arm for the Irish, holding a 4-2 record and a 1.58 ERA in seven starts.
  • Notre Dame has won seven straight against the Bearcats, with all but two being played in South Bend. The Irish last played in Cincinnati on March 29, 1980, sweeping a doubleheader.

LONG BALL SUCCESS?: With 16 home runs in the past 11 games, the Bearcats have vaulted near the top of the BIG EAST leaderboard with 28 longballs. The home runs have thus far not transferred to wins, as UC is just 10-8 this season in games where it hits a homer. Surprisingly, UC's biggest power threat has been one of its smaller players as 5'7" Josh Harrison is third in the league with eight blasts. Senior Neall French (T-5th) and freshman Michael Earley also rank among the league leaders with six and five, respectively. The Bearcats four homers at Pittsburgh on March 24 were the most in a single game by UC since May 22, 2005 against UAB. Another of UC's little guys got in the act at Georgetown on March 31 as 5'7" Tony Campana became the first Bearcat since March 30, 2005 to lead-off a game with a homer. Mark Haske was the prior UC player to do it when he went long against Ohio.

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 28 games this year, the Bearcats have swiped 78 bags, already more than any UC team since 2001 and the ninth-most ever in a season. Tony Campana has been the catalyst as he has stolen a UC single season record 36 bags. Eight times this year, Campana has swiped multiple bags in a game including a school-record six in the second half 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 shatter the school record of 119 thefts established in 1992. Campana is second in the BIG EAST in steals and is joined in double figures by Josh Harrison (16) and Adam Yeager (15), who are tied for fourth.

ROTATION MAINSTAYS: The Bearcats' starting pitching has excelled this season thanks to the play of sophomores Steve Blevins and Dan Osterbrock. The pair ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in strikeouts and have each won a BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week award. The duo has now been joined 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 four of his last five 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. Blevins has excelled in the walk-to-strikeout ratio with just 12 free passes and 40 K's in 54 innings of work. His ERA stands at 3.06, nearly three runs better than last year. After yielding 14 home runs last season, Blevins allowed his first of the year on March 24 at Pittsburgh in his 40th inning of the season.
  • Osterbrock has won four of his last five starts and holds a 4-1 record. His 2.96 ERA ranks ninth among BIG EAST starting pitchers. His best outing came with a three-hit shutout of Dartmouth on March 3. On March 31 at Georgetown, Osterbrock struck out a career-high eight, pushing his season-total to 46, already better than his total from all of last season.
  • After using a variety of hurlers in the No. 3 spot in the rotation, Hill has now assumed the slot. Hill has been impressive this year with three wins and 36 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .226 average. His start against Chicago State on March 18 was a good one as he fanned nine in just five innings of work.

BULLPEN LOCKDOWN: The Bearcats have enjoyed solid performances from the bullpen, with a returning ace, a newcomer and a surprising returnee leading the way. Recently, two other hurlers have also joined the fray.

  • 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 four of his last five appearances. Despite a tough outing at Kentucky on March 7, Upton is still limiting opponents to a .167 batting average this season.
  • Junior Billy Welsh has gotten his short stay off to a fine start, holding opponents to three runs in 19.2 innings (1.37 ERA) over 10 appearances. The righty got his first win at UC with 2.2 innings of relief against Cleveland State and he is tied for fourth in the BIG EAST with three saves. Opponents are hitting just .129 against him.
  • Junior southpaw Adam Calez has come on strong of late, holding opponents to just four runs in 12.1 innings, spanning nine appearances. Calez has 16 strikeouts this season, while limiting opponents to a .119 batting average.
  • Sophomore Jake Geglein and Evan Sanford have also performed well in recent weeks. Geglein has yielded just two runs in 10.0 innings over six outings, while striking out 10 and picking up his first-ever save. Sanford has allowed just one run in his last 4.1 innings, striking out nine and gathering his first career win.

HARRISON BACK AT IT: Josh Harrison has picked up where he left off last year in 2007, hitting .330 and ranking among the BIG EAST leaders in runs (T-3rd, 36), home runs (T-3rd, eight), RBI (1st, 35) and stolen bases (T-4th, 16). 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 86 games making up his UC career, Harrison has failed to gather a hit in just 13 contests. The sophomore has shown his blend of speed and power this year, adding 16 stolen bases to his home run total. Harrison had the biggest game as a Bearcat on March 24 at Pittsburgh, homering twice in a game for the first time and tying a school record with eight RBI.

OUTFIELD IN GOOD HANDS: 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. The additions of Tony Campana and Cameron Satterwhite have more than filled the holes.

  • Campana has been a sparkplug at the top of the line-up, swiping a UC single-season record 36 bases and hitting a team-high .342. Campana had a career-best 18-game hit streak snapped on March 25 but has gathered at least one hit in all but three of UC's 28 games this season.
  • Satterwhite is off to a good start tying for sixth in the BIG EAST with eight doubles. On the strength of a recent career-best 10-game hit streak, Satterwhite's average is at .275. Satterwhite has shown a flair for the dramatic this year as he has hit game-winning homers on March 10 vs. Cleveland State and again on March 28 against Wright State.

MILESTONE VICTORY: The Bearcats' victory over Chicago State on March 18 was a special one for UC head coach Brian Cleary as it marked the 250th triumph of his coaching career. Cleary ranks second in school history in coaching wins with 254, trailing only the legendary Glenn Sample who amassed 391 victories.

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

  • French has been hot of late, hitting safely in 16 of his last 21 games at a .356 clip (26-for-73). His power numbers have been up as he has hit six doubles, one triple and six home runs, while driving in 29 during the span. He is ranked second among BIG EAST players with 33 RBI. French had his best day as a Bearcat at Kentucky on March 7, with a career-best six RBI, courtesy of a pair of three-run homers. He barely missed the cycle on March 31 at Georgetown, missing only the single and driving in five.
  • Szarmach is hitting .290 and has added 23 RBI. He also has six doubles, a triple and four home runs, including a solo shot on March 31 at Georgetown.
  • Since returning from a wrist injury in early March, freshman Michael Earley has batted .339 (21-for-62) with two doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI in 20 games.