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Bearcats Face Big Challenge This Weekend At St. John's

Bearcats Face Big Challenge This Weekend At St. John'sBearcats Face Big Challenge This Weekend At St. John's

May 10, 2007

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati's drive for a berth in this month's BIG EAST Championship will endure a huge challenge this weekend (May 11-13) as the Bearcats travel to No. 30 St. John's for a three-game series. With just six league games remaining, the Bearcats hold the eighth and final position in the race for post-season play with an 8-12 BIG EAST mark. UC is 26-23 overall. St. John's, the preseason favorite to win the league, shares first place in the standings with Rutgers at 34-13, 16-5 BIG EAST.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • The key to the Bearcats' offensive success this season has been the stolen base as UC leads the BIG EAST with 123 thefts. On May 5 at Rutgers, UC set a new school record for team stolen bases in a season with 120, passing the 15-year old mark.
  • The Bearcats have also shown good power this season, ranking first in the BIG EAST with 46 homers. The count ranks the squad 37th nationally, through games of May 6.
  • On April 1 at Georgetown, junior speedster Tony Campana set a UC single-season record for steals with 36, eclipsing Ken Schneider's previous mark. His current total stands at 57, ranking him first in the BIG EAST and in the nation.
  • Sophomore lefty Dan Osterbrock has become the staff ace, tying for first in the BIG EAST with eight wins and ranking fifth with a 2.50 ERA.
  • Josh Harrison ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in runs, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage and stolen bases.
  • Neall French is among the BIG EAST's best in home runs (T-3rd, 10) and RBI (1st, 63).

NOTING THE RED STORM:

  • St. John's has won 16 of its last 17 games to climb into a first place tie in the BIG EAST. After taking two of three last weekend from Louisville, the Red Storm are 34-13 overall and 16-5 in the BIG EAST.
  • Junior 3B Gil Zayas is the Red Storm's top hitter, batting .370 with 42 RBI. Eight of St. John's nine regular hitters are above the .300 mark, leading the squad to first in the BIG EAST with a .331 batting average. Ryan Mahoney paces the club with 12 homers and 50 RBI.
  • A trio of lefty starters with sub-3.50 ERA's help St. John's rank second among BIG EAST teams with a 3.47 ERA. George Brown leads the way with a 5-1 record and a 3.09 ERA.
  • Needing a pair of wins to qualify for last season's BIG EAST Championship, Cincinnati took two of three from St. John's at Marge Schott Stadium. It marked the first-ever meeting between the schools.

OFF AND RUNNING: The Bearcats' running game has been one of the nation's best this year and recently became the best effort in school history. The Bearcats have swiped 123 bases this year, ranking as the highest total ever by a UC team. Tony Campana has been the catalyst as he has stolen a UC single-season record 57 bags. In 14 games this year, Campana has swiped multiple bags 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 per game and is second in the BIG EAST in total steals. He is joined in double figures by Adam Yeager (22) and Josh Harrison (20), who rank fourth and sixth in the BIG EAST, respectively. As a team, UC ranks second in the country with 2.51 stolen bases per game, through April 29. Efficiency has also been key for the Bearcats as they have stolen safely in 122 of 152 attempts for an 80.3 percent success rate.

YEAGER HEATING UP: Much like he did in 2006, sophomore Adam Yeager is starting to heat up late in the season. UC's starting shortstop in every game this year, Yeager has his batting average up to its highest point since the second week of the season. On the strength of a season-best 10-game hit streak, Yeager has upped his average to .294. During the 10-game stretch, he is hitting .442 (19-for-43) with four doubles, 10 runs scored and eight RBI.

LONG BALLS STILL COMING: Even with the loss of some its power hitters from a year ago, the Bearcats find themselves first in the BIG EAST and 31st nationally with 46 home runs. Neall French has been the biggest power provider, tying for third in the league with 10 homers. Surprisingly, one of UC's biggest power threats has been one of its smaller players as 5'7" Josh Harrison is tied for seventh in the BIG EAST with nine blasts. UC also boats Cameron Satterwhite (T-9th, 8) and Brian Szarmach (T-9th, 8) among the BIG EAST long ball leaders. A look at some other UC home runs notes:

  • The Bearcats' five homers against Ohio on April 17 were the most in a single game by UC since hitting six on May 1, 2004 against Saint Louis.
  • 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 Mark Haske on March 30, 2005 to lead-off a game with a homer. Haske's blast came against Ohio.
  • Adam Yeager, with just two homers all of last season, hit his first on April 29 vs. Villanova.
  • One of UC's usual power suppliers, Szarmach, tallied the first multi-home run game of his career on April 14 at West Virginia.
  • Twice this year, and most recently on April 14 at West Virginia, the Bearcats have hit back-to-back home runs.
  • In the last week, both Dustin Alvey and Kevin Johnson have hit the first home runs of their collegiate careers.
  • Satterwhite had a career game on April 17 vs. Ohio, matching the UC single-game record with three homers.
  • The Bearcats have struggled in turning their long balls into wins as UC is just 14-12 in games it homers this year.

HARRISON BACK AT IT: Josh Harrison has picked up where he left off last year in 2007, hitting .339 and ranking among the BIG EAST leaders in runs (2nd, 58), home runs (T-8th, nine), RBI (2nd, 56), total bases (6th, 113), doubles (3rd, 17), slugging percentage (8th, .589) and stolen bases (6th, 20). 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 107 games making up his UC career, Harrison has failed to gather a hit in just 18 contests. Harrison had his 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. Recently, Harrison has made himself at home on the UC single season lists, ranking in stolen bases (T-11th), RBI (12th), runs (T-14th) and doubles (T-14th).

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 the anchor of the Bearcat line-up, leading the BIG EAST with 63 RBI, to rank sixth on UC's single season list. He has provided a huge power boost, tying for third in the BIG EAST with 10 home runs. He has been red hot as of late, hitting safely in 22 of his last 26 games, including a recent career-best 11 straight at a .392 clip (40-for-102) with 39 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. In the first game of the Rutgers doubleheader on May 5, French tallied a career-best five hits.
  • Szarmach is hitting .293 and has 43 RBI, tying him for eighth in the BIG EAST. He also has 13 doubles, a triple and eight home runs, including his first career multi-homer game on April 14 at West Virginia. Szarmach had a monster game in the first game of the Morehead State doubleheader on May 2, finishing with career-highs in runs (three), hits (four) and RBI (six).

ROTATION MAINSTAYS: The Bearcats' starting pitching has excelled this season thanks to the play of sophomores Dan Osterbrock and Steve Blevins. The pair ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in wins, strikeouts and innings and have each won a BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week award. Recently, John Baird has joined the fold and delivered a strong start right away. A closer look at each player's contributions this year:

  • Osterbrock, who holds a 8-1 record, has won eight of his last nine starts and his 2.50 ERA ranks fifth among BIG EAST pitchers. His best outing came with a three-hit shutout of Dartmouth on March 3. On April 27 vs. Villanova, Osterbrock struck out a career-high 11, and his season total of 77 leads the BIG EAST, as do his eight wins. The lefty hurled his fifth complete game of the season, keying UC's 13-4 win over Villanova on April 27.
  • After being victimized by a lack of run support early in the season and starting 0-3, Blevins now has five wins and leads the team with 83.0 innings pitched. He had his best outing on March 9 vs. Cleveland State, hurling eight shutout innings with five strikeouts. He added a career-high nine K's at Austin Peay on Feb. 18.
  • Baird was strong in his BIG EAST debut vs. Connecticut on April 22, twirling his first career complete game and striking out a career-best six. He, along with Osterbrock the day prior, became the first UC pitchers to throw consecutive nine-inning complete games since Nate Bouldin and B.J. Borsa in 2003.

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 57 bases and hitting .356. Campana had a career-best 18-game hit streak snapped on March 25 but has gathered at least one hit in all but six of UC's 49 games this season. In addition to ranking second in the BIG EAST in steals, Campana also ranks among the league leaders in hits (T-3rd, 74), runs (7th, 49) and walks (T-6th, 30). He is in the midst of another hot streak currently, batting .395 (34-for-86) in his last 19 games, with at least one hit in all but two of those contests.
  • Satterwhite has a 10-game hit streak to his credit this year and is batting .260 overall. It's been a struggle of late for the Indiana transfer as he is in the midst of a 0-for-19 skid. He 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. The sophomore had one of the biggest performances ever by a Bearcat on April 17 vs. Ohio as he tied school records with three home runs and 14 total bases. He barely missed the mark for RBI, finishing one shy with seven.

STEADY IMPROVEMENT: It appears that head coach Brian Cleary's theory about new Division I players needing 100 at-bats to really get comfortable is right on again with junior Ryan Baker. The ironman catcher has started 44 of UC's 49 games behind the plate and is hitting .326 (15-for-46) over his last 13 games since approaching and passing the 100 AB mark. Included in the recent surge are a pair of three-hit games and his first two home runs.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: In its nearly three seasons of existence, Marge Schott Stadium has provided a solid home field advantage for the Bearcats. Since its opening, the Bearcats hold a 58-33 (.637) record at home. As was the case last season, the Bearcats' team numbers have been better at home than on the road. Both UC's team batting average (.317 to .274) and ERA (3.61 to 6.42) are significantly better at Marge Schott Stadium.