TicketsFeb. 20, 2008
INSIDE PITCH
The University of Cincinnati opens the 2008 baseball season, its 12th under head coach Brian Cleary, this weekend (Feb. 22-24) in Coral Gables, Fla., against Miami (Fla.). The Bearcats are picked to finish ninth in the BIG EAST Conference this year and return 19 letterwinners from the 2007 squad that finished with a 28-28 record. The Hurricanes enter the campaign boasting 21 returning letterwinners from a team that advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament and finished 37-24.
SCOUTING THE HURRICANES: Miami (Fla.) posted a 37-24 overall record and a 17-13 in the Atlantic Coast Conference a year ago. Miami earned an appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament, before being knocked off by eventual College World Series participant Louisville. Five of the Hurricanes' top six hitters from 2007 return, while two of their three weekend starting pitchers are back. Junior first baseman Yonder Alonso has started 127 consecutive games over the last two seasons. A 2008 Baseball America Preseason First Team All-American, Alonso led the Hurricanes and ACC with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs, while hitting a team-best .376 in 61 games. Head coach Jim Morris is in his 15th season at Miami and has led the program to 10 trips to the College World Series.
NOTING THE BEARCATS: Cincinnati was chosen to finish ninth in the BIG EAST in a preseason poll of the league's coaches. Baseball America picked the Bearcats to finish fifth. The Bearcats are led by a trio of returning all-BIG EAST performers pitcher Dan Osterbrock, infielder Josh Harrison and outfielder Tony Campana.
OPENING IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: For the fourth time in as many years, the Bearcats start their campaign in the State of Florida. Returning to the home state of head coach Brian Cleary, the Bearcats are in search of their first victory in a season opener in four years. Owning a record of 4-7 on Opening Day under Cleary, UC's last victory in a season opener came on Feb. 13, 2004, with a 3-2 win at Duke.
STAFF ACE: As a freshman, Dan Osterbrock showed flashes of greatness, and in 2007 he was one of the BIG EAST's best hurlers. Osterbrock paced the BIG EAST with nine wins and finished the year with a string of six straight starts. His 2.67 ERA and .223 opponents' batting average were ranked fourth in the BIG EAST Conference. The Cincinnati native finished seventh in the BIG EAST with 82 strikeouts. The lefthander's 2007 totals put him third on UC's single season list in wins (9), eighth in innings pitched (94.1) and seventh in strikeouts (82).
OFF AND RUNNING: The Bearcats' running game was one of the nation's best last year and became the best effort in school history. The Bearcats swiped 130 bases in 2007, ranking as the highest total ever by a UC team. Tony Campana was the catalyst, setting a Cincinnati single-season record 60 stolen bases. In 14 games, Campana 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 finished as the NCAA leader in steals at better than one per game. As a team, UC ranked fourth in the country with 2.32 stolen bases per game. Efficiency was also key for the Bearcats as they stole safely in 130 of 164 attempts for an 79.3 percent success rate.
LEAD-OFF TERROR: Tony Campana was a big impact at the top of the Bearcats lineup as a junior, while patrolling center field in all 56 of this season's games. A spark plug at with a UC single-season record 60 stolen bases and hitting .329. Campana had a career-best 18-game hit streak snapped on March 25, 2007, but gathered at least one hit in all but nine games this season. In addition to leading the nation in steals per game, Campana's hit parade moved him to 11th on the UC single season hits chart with 78.
LOOKING AHEAD: After the trip to Coral Gables, Cincinnati returns to Marge Schott Stadium on Friday, Feb. 29 at 4 p.m. to take on Chicago State in the first of four games. The Bearcats own a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series after sweeping a three-game series against the Cougars last season.