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Bearcats Close Out Regular Season Against Visiting Cards

Bearcats Close Out Regular Season Against Visiting CardsBearcats Close Out Regular Season Against Visiting Cards

May 17, 2007

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SETTING THE SCENE: With a BIG EAST Championship berth on the line, Cincinnati (27-26, 9-14 BIG EAST) closes out its 2007 season beginning tonight (May 17), hosting Louisville for a three-game set. The Bearcats, currently in control of the eighth and final spot in the BIG EAST standings need wins to qualify for next week's event in Brookyln, N.Y. The Cardinals (36-17, 17-7 BIG EAST) are still in contention for the regular season championship.

NOTING THE BEARCATS:

  • UC has struggled offensively of late, being held scoreless in 23 straight innings and hitting just .179 in the last four games.
  • 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, tying for 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 nine 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.
  • 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-6th, 10) and RBI (1st, 64).

NOTING THE CARDINALS:

  • The Cardinals are one of the most balanced teams in the BIG EAST, ranking in the top-three in every offense category and boasting the league's top pitching staff. U of L comes to Cincinnati on the heels of a sweep of Notre Dame and a mid-week loss to Evansville that left the squad's record at 36-17, 17-7 BIG EAST.
  • Louisville has a dangerous offense with three batters over .375. Isaiah Howes (.403-11-47) and Logan Johnson (.379-11-50) do it with their bats, while Boomer Whiting is tops in the BIG EAST with 62 stolen bases.
  • All three of the Cards' weekend starters boost a sub-3.00 ERA, including ace Zack Pitts. A junior, Pitts is 8-3 this year with a 1.72 ERA and 71 strikeotus.

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.

HARRISON BACK AT IT: Josh Harrison has picked up where he left off last year in 2007, hitting .340 and ranking among the BIG EAST leaders in runs (T-3rd, 58), home runs (T-9th, nine), RBI (2nd, 56), total bases (T-5th, 118), doubles (T-4th, 17), slugging percentage (7th, .573) and stolen bases (7th, 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 111 games making up his UC career, Harrison has failed to gather a hit in just 19 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).

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 fifth. 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.

LONG BALLS STILL COMING: Even with the loss of some its power hitters from a year ago, the Bearcats find themselves tied for second in the BIG EAST and 57th nationally with 46 home runs. Neall French has been the biggest power provider, tying for sixth 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 nine 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, Brian 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.
  • Recently, both Dustin Alvey and Kevin Johnson have hit the first home runs of their collegiate careers.
  • Cameron 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 second 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 fourth in the country with 2.40 stolen bases per game, through May 13. Efficiency has also been key for the Bearcats as they have stolen safely in 125 of 157 attempts for an 79.6 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 53 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 .336. Campana had a career-best 18-game hit streak snapped on March 25 but has gathered at least one hit in all but nine games this season. In addition to ranking second in the BIG EAST in steals, Campana also ranks among the league leaders in hits (T-5th, 75), runs (T-10th, 49) and walks (5th, 32). He is in the midst of another hot streak currently, batting .347 (35-for-101) in his last 23 games, with at least one hit in all but five 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 sixth in the BIG EAST with 10 home runs. He has been red hot as of late, hitting safely in 25 of his last 30 games, including a recent career-best 11 straight at a .383 clip (44-for-115) 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 12th 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 53 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 .261) and ERA (3.61 to 6.48) are significantly better at Marge Schott Stadium.

BUSY WEEKEND: It will be an exciting weekend on and off the diamond as the Bearcats wrap up their 2007 baseball season against Louisville. The highlighted event will be the dedication of Marge Schott Stadium prior to Saturday's regular season finale. Thanks to a generous donation from the foundation of the late Marge Schott, UC's state-of-the-art stadium has worn the name of the local legend throughout the 2007 season. For the dedication, members of the foundation will be in attendance for an on-field recognition prior to the game. Saturday will also be Senior Day as the Bearcats' Senior Class of 2007 will be recognized along with their parents prior to the contest. The players making up the class are Nick Buscemi, Neall French, Kyle Rapp and Brian Szarmach.