TicketsFeb. 28, 2008
University of Cincinnati Bearcats
vs. Chicago State (0-3)
Friday, Feb. 29, 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 1, 1 p.m.(DH)
Sunday, March 2, 1 p.m.
Marge Schott Stadium Cincinnati, OH
Live Stats www.GoBEARCATS.com
Series Record/Streak Cincinnati leads 3-1/UC-- 3
INSIDE PITCH
The University of Cincinnati starts the home portion of the 2008 baseball season, this weekend (Feb. 29-March 2) with a four-game series against Chicago State. UC gets a 17-game homestand underway after returning from Coral Gables, Fla., where they faced off in a three-game series against No. 10 Miami (FL).
SCOUTING THE COUGARS: Chicago State enters Marge Schott Stadium with an early season record of 0-3 after three games at the HBCU Classic, hosted by Savannah State University. An independent in NCAA Division I baseball, CSU returns four starters in the field and five pitchers from last season's squad that finished 4-53. Chicago State is directed by first-year head coach Husain Mahmoud. In their first game of the season, the Cougars gave up eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to the host Tigers en route to a 13-5 loss. On Sunday, CSU dropped both games of a doubleheader against Norfolk State, 9-2 and 11-0.
NOTING THE BEARCATS: Cincinnati pushed the No. 10-rated Miami (FL) in all three games, but could not come away with any victories in an 0-3 start to the season. In the first weekend of action, leadoff batter Tony Campana paced the UC offense, with a .250 average (3-of-12) and a triple. The smallest man on the Bearcats roster, at 5-3, Jamel Scott came through with the biggest hit, a solo home run, in Game Two against the Hurricanes.
LOOKING TO CONTINUE WIN STREAK IN HOME OPENERS: Playing a program-record 34 home games, Cincinnati is looking to start the home slate on a winning note this weekend with four games against Chicago State. UC is undefeated in its last home openers under Brian Cleary, dating back to the 2005 campaign. A year ago, Cincinnati topped Dartmouth, 9-1, in the first home lid lifter. The previous season, UC used a 7-1 win over Niagara to start the home slate. The current streak began with a 9-0 victory against Cleveland State on March 4, 2005.
BIG EAST EXPECTATIONS: Picked 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.
STAFF ACE: As a freshman, Dan Osterbrock showed flashes of greatness, and in 2007 he was one of the BIG EAST's best hurlers. His 2.67 ERA and .223 opponents' batting average were ranked fourth in the BIG EAST Conference. The Cincinnati native opened the season by striking out eight and allowing two runs in six innings of work at No. 10 Miami (FL). Owning a 3.00 ERA, Osterbrock yielded six hits in his 2008 debut outing.
OFF AND RUNNING: The Bearcats' running game was one of the nation's best last year and became the best effort in school history. They started out sluggish in their opening weekend, succeeding on 1-of-5 stolen base attempts. 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. 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.
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 the top of the lineup, Campana hit .250 in the first three-game series of 2008.
LOOKING AHEAD: After the four-game set against Chicago State, Cincinnati continues its 17-game home stand at Marge Schott Stadium on Wednesday, March 5 when it entertains Marshall. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.