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Bearcats Head To WVU For Key BIG EAST Series

Bearcats Head To WVU For Key BIG EAST SeriesBearcats Head To WVU For Key BIG EAST Series

April 12, 2007

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SETTING THE SCENE: Following a rain out vs. Xavier, Cincinnati is back in action this weekend (April 13-15) in an important BIG EAST series at West Virginia. The Bearcats find themselves in a three-way tie for sixth in the BIG EAST at 4-5, sharing the spot with Seton Hall and the Mountaineers. UC has been solid of late, winning five of its last seven to improve to 18-14 overall. WVU lost two of three at USF last weekend and holds a 20-10 overall record.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • The key to the Bearcats' offensive success this season has been the stolen base as UC leads the BIG EAST with 87 thefts. The mark is the sixth-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 with 36, eclipsing Ken Schneider's previous mark. Campana is already tied for 11th on the career list in the category, holding a current total of 40.
  • The Bearcats' pitching has been anchored by sophomore starters Steve Blevins and Dan Osterbrock. The duo holds a combined 10-5 record and a 3.03 ERA.
  • Freshman Michael Earley holds the longest current hit streak among the Bearcats, having hit safely in a career-high eight games. He is hitting .357 (10-for-28) during the streak.
  • UC's rained out contest on Wednesday night against Xavier will be made up on Tuesday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. in Marge Schott Stadium

NOTING THE MOUNTAINEERS:

  • After opening the BIG EAST season with a sweep of Seton Hall, West Virginia has lost four its past five league games to fall into a tie for sixth in the league standings. WVU is 20-10 overall and 4-5 in league play.
  • Senior Justin Jenkins is the big hitter in the Mountaineers' line-up, ranking second in the BIG EAST with a .437 batting average and leading the nation in doubles per game.
  • Junior Matt Yurish, the projected Friday starter for WVU is ninth in the BIG EAST with a 3.12 ERA, but has a record of just 1-2.
  • West Virginia swept the first-ever BIG EAST series between the schools in Cincinnati last year, outscoring the Bearcats by a 32-14 count.

LONG BALL SUCCESS?: Even with the loss of some its power hitters from a year ago, the Bearcats find themselves tied for second in the BIG EAST with 29 home runs. UC's current total is actually five higher than the 2006 team posted through the first 32 games. The home runs have thus far not transferred to wins, as UC is just 11-8 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 has also been a big power threat as he is tied for sixth in the league with seven homers. 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.

HARRISON BACK AT IT: Josh Harrison has picked up where he left off last year in 2007, hitting .323 and ranking among the BIG EAST leaders in runs (3rd, 40), home runs (T-3rd, eight), RBI (2nd, 37) and stolen bases (T-5th, 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 90 games making up his UC career, Harrison has failed to gather a hit in just 15 contests. 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.

OFF AND RUNNING: The Bearcats' running game has quickly evolved into one of the team's biggest weapons and is on track to produce one of the best efforts in school history. The Bearcats have already swiped 87 bases this year, the sixth-highest total by a UC team, and need just 33 more steals for a new school record. Tony Campana has been the catalyst as he has stolen a UC single-season record 40 bags. Ten 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. Campana is ranked first nationally in steals and is joined in double figures by Adam Yeager (18) and Josh Harrison (16), who rank fourth and fifth in the BIG EAST, respectively. As a team, UC ranks first in the country with 2.72 stolen bases per game. Efficiency has also been key for the Bearcats as they have stolen safely in 87 of 99 attempts for an 87.8 percent success rate.

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. 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 five of his last six 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 16 free passes and 45 K's in 61 innings of work. His ERA stands at 3.10, 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, who holds a 5-1 record, has won five of his last six starts and his 2.97 ERA ranks seventh among BIG EAST 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, and his season total of 53 ranks third in the BIG EAST. The lefty hurled his third complete game of the season, keying UC's 4-3 win over Notre Dame on April 6.

BULLPEN LOCKDOWN: The Bearcats have enjoyed solid performances from the bullpen, with a newcomer and some surprising returnees leading the way.

  • Junior Billy Welsh has gotten his short stay off to a fine start, holding opponents to four runs in 24.0 innings (1.50 ERA) over 13 appearances. The righty got his first win at UC with 2.2 innings of relief against Cleveland State and he ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in saves (4th-4) and appearances. Opponents are hitting just .141 against him.
  • Junior southpaw Adam Calez has a sparkling 2.08 ERA in 10 appearances, while limiting opponents to a .152 batting average. After struggling with control last season (26 walks, 18 strikeouts), Calez has struck out 16 and walked only six so far this year.
  • Sophomore Jake Geglein and Evan Sanford have also performed well this season. Geglein has yielded just two runs in 11.2 innings over seven outings, while striking out 10 and picking up a win and his first-ever save. Sanford has allowed just one run in his last 5.2 innings, striking out 11 and gathering his first career win.

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 257, trailing only the legendary Glenn Sample who amassed 391 victories.

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, Cameron Satterwhite and Michael Obyc have more than filled the holes.

  • Campana has been a sparkplug at the top of the line-up, swiping a UC single-season record 40 bases and hitting a team-high .333. Campana had a career-best 18-game hit streak snapped on March 25 but has gathered at least one hit in all but four of UC's 32 games this season. In addition to his BIG EAST-leading steal total, Campana also ranks among the league leaders in hits (10th, 40), runs (T-11th, 28) and walks (6th-23).
  • Satterwhite is off to a good start, tying for 10th in the BIG EAST with eight doubles. On the strength of a career-best 10-game hit streak, Satterwhite's average is at .272. 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 vs. Wright State.
  • Obyc has provided another option, starting a total of 15 games between the outfield and first base. He holds a batting average of .300, nearly twice his career average, and has six 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 and freshman Michael Earley have stepped up to fill the hole:

  • French has been the anchor of the Bearcat line-up, leading the BIG EAST with 39 RBI and ranking sixth with seven home runs. He has been red hot as of late, hitting safely in seven of his last nine games at a .378 clip (14-for-38) with 15 RBI during the stretch. 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 a solid .280 and has added 25 RBI. He also has seven doubles, a triple and four home runs.
  • Since returning from a wrist injury in early March, freshman Michael Earley has batted .338 (25-for-74) with four doubles, five home runs and 14 RBI in 24 games.