TicketsApril 18, 2008
SETTING THE SCENE: After splitting a pair of mid-week contests, the University of Cincinnati baseball team returns to BIG EAST Conference play with a three-game series against Georgetown. Tied for second place in the BIG EAST standings, Cincinnati is off to its best start in three years of league competition. Entering the midway point of the league docket, UC is one win shy of equaling its total BIG EAST victory count from last season. Cincinnati is 8-2 over its last 10 games and is currently listed eighth in the nation in stolen bases with 78 thefts on 100 attempts. Lefthander Dan Osterbrock (4-2) takes the mound on Friday as the Bearcats' as the No. 1 starter.
SCOUTING THE HOYAS: Georgetown travels to Cincinnati after a Wednesday's win over Navy, 6-2. The triumph stopped a four-game slide. The Hoyas' offense is headed by four hitters that are batting .325 or better. Top hitter, Erick Fernandez heads into the weekend batting at a .336 clip to lead the team. Sean Lamont is hitting .325, including a .643 slugging percentage, keyed by his team-high 10 doubles, 10 home runs, and 28 RBIs. The Georgetown pitching staff carries a 5.89 earned run average into the weekend series. Saturday's projected starter, Michael Gaggioli leads the team with a 3.86 ERA over his 44 and one-third innings of work.
NOTING THE BEARCATS: Cincinnati has won eight of its last 10 and 14 of its of last 17 contests. After taking two out of three games against Pittsburgh, UC stands tied for second place in the BIG EAST Conference standings at 9-3. Junior right fielder Cameron Satterwhite is tops on the team with a .350 batting average, including 12 doubles. Senior center fielder Tony Campana is close behind with his .340 average and owns four triples. Campana and Jamel Scott are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the BIG EAST with 27 and 25 stolen bases respectively. As a team, the Bearcats are hitting .286 with 22 home runs, 49 doubles and nine triples. Cincinnati's three weekend starting pitchers have amassed 111 strikeouts and only 32 free passes in 139 innings of work. Dan Osterbrock is 4-2 with a 3.06 ERA, while Tyler Smith is 3-2, with a 3.53 earned run average, to go with 44 punch outs and 15 walks in 43.1 innings. Michael Hill owns a 3-2 record and the lowest earned run average of the group, at 2.17.
SATTERWHITE SEEING THE BALL ALRIGHT: Over the last 15 games, no one is hitting better for the Bearcats than Cameron Satterwhite. Leading the team with his .431 average over the span, Satterwhite is hitting (25-of-58) since March 26. The Bearcats' right fielder earned BIG EAST Conference Honor Roll acclaim earlier this season after hitting .533 (8-for-15), with a pair of doubles and a .667 slugging percentage.
THREE OF A KIND FOR HARRISON: In both of this week's non-league tilts this week, Josh Harrison has found hits in bundles of three. In Tuesday's loss to Kentucky, Harrison notched a triple in his first at-bat and went on to a 3-for-5 performance at the plate. The infielder followed the next day with three singles and two runs scored in the 7-1 win at Butler. The junior is second on the team with 13 multiple-game hits, including five three-hit performances.
WELSH SAVES THE WEEKEND IN STORRS: Off of an injury to his throwing arm a year ago, Billy Welsh has enjoyed a fine senior season with 13 appearances on the season. After allowing his first runs of the season against Miami (OH), the senior right-hander responded by notching a save in each of UC's three victories at Connecticut. Welsh allowed one hit in two innings of relief to earn his first save. He bounced back in the nightcap to work a scoreless ninth to secure the doubleheader sweep. With Sunday's outcome hanging in the balance, he came in with two men on and two men out in the ninth inning and struck out the only batter he faced.
OFF AND RUNNING: The Bearcats' running game was one of the nation's best last year and is listed eighth nationally this week. The Bearcats have reached safely on 2.32 stolen bases per game and have made good on 78-of-100 stolen base attempts (.780) this season. The Bearcats swiped 130 bases in 2007, ranking as the highest total ever by a UC team. As a team, UC ranked fourth last season with 2.32 steals per game.
LEAD-OFF TERROR: Tony Campana continues to be a big impact at the top of the Bearcats' lineup, while patrolling center field in every game since transferring to Cincinnati. A spark plug at the top of the order, Campana is hitting .340 and is 27-of-34 in stolen base attempts.
RECORD SETTING THIEF: An offensive catalyst at the top of the lineup, Tony Campana set a Cincinnati single-season record with 60 stolen bases as a junior. Campana finished as the NCAA leader in steals at better than one stolen base per game. In his first year with the Bearcats, he came up one stolen base short of equaling the program's career record of 61. Already this season Campana eclipsed the mark for career stolen bases and his 27 thefts this season give him 87 career steals and counting.
STAFF ACE: In 2007, Dan Osterbrock was one of the BIG EAST's best hurlers posting a 9-1 record. Owning a 4-2 record and a 3.06 ERA, the Cincinnati native opened the season by striking out eight in six innings of work at Miami (FL). The lefty has show masterful control, striking out 34 this year against only seven walks in 50 innings.
OSTERBROCK LIKES TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED: Lefthander Dan Osterbrock has made a habit of finishing BIG EAST Conference games, with two complete games in his last three outings. Although he did not record a strikeout, the Cincinnati native pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on six hits in a 5-3 win at Notre Dame. Two weeks later, the lefty did it again, striking out eight over nine innings to garner a 6-3 victory against Pittsburgh. Osterbrock tossed five complete games a year ago and currently boasts eight career complete games.
SPEEDY SCOTT: After showing he was loaded with power at Miami (FL), where he hit the Bearcats' first home run of 2008, Jamel Scott has shown plenty speed. UC's swift sophomore is sharing the top spot in the BIG EAST Conference in stolen bases, having made good on 25-of-30 attempts this season. Scott started the campaign with a string of 14 consecutive steals before being caught. The Bearcats' No. 2 hitter, Scott boasts a .295 average and a .385 on-base percentage.
LOOKING AHEAD: After the BIG EAST series against Georgetown, Cincinnati plays three games in three days, hosting Xavier on Monday, traveling to Athens to face Ohio on Tuesday, before returning home to entertain Morehead State. Both home games start at 6:30 p.m.