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Bearcats, RedHawks To Meet Again

Bearcats, RedHawks To Meet AgainBearcats, RedHawks To Meet Again

May 15, 2007

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SETTING THE SCENE: For the second time in the past seven days, Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio) will collide on the diamond when the Bearcats make the trek to Oxford on Wednesday night (May 16). First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Revenge will be on the mind of the RedHawks who saw their seven-game win streak over the Bearcats come to an end last week with UC's 7-2 win. The Bearcats will bring a 27-25 record to the contest, while Miami is 28-21.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • The key to the Bearcats' offensive success this season has been the stolen base as UC leads the BIG EAST with a school single-season record 125 thefts.
  • The Bearcats have also shown good power this season, ranking second in the BIG EAST with 46 homers. UC has been in a power outage lately, as the team hasn't homered in the last eight games.
  • 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 second in the BIG EAST.
  • Sophomore lefty Dan Osterbrock is the pitching staff ace, ranking first in the BIG EAST with nine wins and ranking fifth with a 2.61 ERA.
  • Josh Harrison ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage and stolen bases.
  • Neall French is among the BIG EAST's best in home runs (T-5th, 10) and RBI (1st, 64).

NOTING THE REDHAWKS:

  • Miami (Ohio) lost two of three over the weekend at Ohio, before splitting a Monday doubleheader with Marshall. The string leaves Miami's record at 28-21 overall.
  • Senior INF Jeff Carroll holds a team-best .346 average to lead the Miami offense. Jordan Petraitis and Eric Darlage have each hit four home runs, while Chris Nadeau has a team-leading 37 RBI.
  • Cincinnati put an end to Miami's dominance of the recent meetings between the clubs with a 7-2 win last Wednesday at Marge Schott Stadium. In the contest, UC excelled in every area of the game, getting the Bearcats their first win over Miami since an 18-3 drubbing on April 24, 2002.

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 career-best 12-game hit streak that ended on May 13, Yeager has upped his average to .293. During the stretch, he hit .431 (22-for-51) with four doubles, 11 runs scored and eight RBI.

STAFF ACE: As a freshman, Dan Osterbrock showed flashes of greatness, finishing with a 3-3 record, a 5.25 ERA and two complete games. In 2007, he has been one of the BIG EAST's best hurlers. This year, Osterbrock is leading the BIG EAST with nine wins and has won six straight starts. His 2.61 ERA ranks fifth in the BIG EAST and his .224 opponents batting average is second. The Cincinnati native ranks fourth in the BIG EAST with 79 strikeouts, including a career-high 11 against Villanova on April 27. On UC's single season list, Osterbrock finds himself tied for third in wins, 13th in innings pitched (89.2) and 10th in strikeouts. His best outing came with a three-hit shutout of Dartmouth on March 3 and the lefty hurled his fifth complete game of the season, keying UC's 13-4 win over Villanova on April 27.

HARRISON BACK AT IT: Josh Harrison has picked up where he left off last year in 2007, hitting .347 and ranking among the BIG EAST leaders in runs (T-2nd, 58), home runs (T-8th, nine), RBI (2nd, 56), total bases (T-5th, 118), doubles (T-3rd, 17), slugging percentage (7th, .584) 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 110 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).

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. The Bearcats have endured a power outage of late, having not homered in the last eight games. 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.

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 125 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 (23) and Josh Harrison (20), who rank fourth and seventh in the BIG EAST, respectively. As a team, UC ranks third in the country with 2.54 stolen bases per game, through May 6. Efficiency has also been key for the Bearcats as they have stolen safely in 125 of 156 attempts for an 80.1 percent success rate.

LEAD-OFF TERROR: Tony Campana has been a big impact on the top of the Bearcat line-up this year, while patrolling centerfield in all 52 of this season's games. He has been a sparkplug at the top of the line-up, swiping a UC single-season record 57 bases and hitting .342. Campana had a career-best 18-game hit streak snapped on March 25 but has gathered at least one hit in all but eight games this season. In addition to ranking second in the BIG EAST in steals, Campana also ranks among the league leaders in hits (3rd, 75), runs (T-8th, 49) and walks (5th, 32). He is in the midst of another hot streak currently, batting .361 (35-for-97) in his last 22 games, with at least one hit in all but four of those contests. Campana's hit parade has moved him to 14th on the UC single season hits chart.

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 64 RBI, to rank sixth on UC's single season list. He has provided a huge power boost, tying for fifth in the BIG EAST with 10 home runs. He has been red hot as of late, hitting safely in 25 of his last 29 games, including a recent career-best 11 straight at a .389 clip (44-for-113) with 40 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 10th 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).

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 258, trailing only the legendary Glenn Sample who amassed 391 victories. The triumph also marked the program's 1,000 victory since 1958.

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 47 of UC's 52 games behind the plate and is hitting .291 (16-for-55) 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 .268) and ERA (3.61 to 6.69) are significantly better at Marge Schott Stadium.

MOWING `EM DOWN: After ranking ninth in the BIG EAST in strikeouts a season ago, the Bearcats are all the way up to a tie for second this year. Led by Dan Osterbrock's 79 punchouts, the Bearcats have already accumulated the second most strikeouts by a team in school history with 365. UC needs just 36 more K's to establish a new mark.

SENIOR DAY: Cincinnati's Annual Senior Day festivities will take place prior to the Bearcats' regular season finale on Saturday, May 19 against Louisville. UC's senior class of Nick Buscemi, Neall French, Kyle Rapp and Brian Szarmach will all be honored for their contributions.