TicketsMay 2, 2008
SETTING THE SCENE: Cincinnati begins the homestretch of its 2008 baseball campaign as the Bearcats host Rutgers this weekend at Marge Schott Stadium. UC picked up a pair of wins over crosstown rival Xavier this weekend to improve to 27-17 overall. The Bearcats will need to get back on track in league play after dropping two of three last weekend at Louisville. UC enters the weekend at 12-6 in league play, just one game out of a first place tie in the BIG EAST standings. Rutgers, the defending BIG EAST Champions, are in eighth place in the league at 8-10 and check in at 19-23-1 overall. Friday's game will feature UC's Dan Osterbrock's first shot at history as he takes the mound just one victory shy of matching the UC career wins record of 19.
SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS: Rutgers earned two important victories last weekend at Seton Hall to move into eighth place in the BIG EAST at 19-23-1 overall and 8-10 in league play. The defending BIG EAST Champions split non-conference match-ups this week vs. Delaware (win) and at Monmouth (loss). Junior OF Luis Feliz tops the Scarlet Knights in hitting at .326, while Jaren Matthews is the top power source with five home runs and 44 RBI. Matt Giannini, the scheduled Friday night starter, shares the team lead with three victories on the mound.
NOTING THE BEARCATS:
- Cincinnati is listed in third place in the current BIG EAST Conference race, at 12-6.
- Junior Dan Osterbrock has a shot at history on Friday night as one more victory will assure the lefty of a share of the school record for career pitching victories with 19.
- Cincinnati's three weekend starting pitchers have amassed 137 strikeouts and only 40 free passes in 158.1 innings of work. A winner in each of his previous five starts, Osterbrock leads UC with his 6-2 record, and 2.69 ERA, while Michael Hill and Tyler Smith each stand at 3-3.
- Mike Spina has raised his stock as the top hitter on the squad, batting .364, with 11 home runs and 49 RBI.
- Campana and Jamel Scott are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the BIG EAST in the stolen base department. Campana has been safe of 34-of-42 tries, while Scott owns 27 thefts on 34 attempts. The duo, along with Josh Harrison, helps UC lead the BIG EAST with 97 stolen bases.
HARRISON A PERFEC `10': Cincinnati second baseman Josh Harrison was a perfect 10-for-10 at the plate in the three-game set at Louisville and posted a 13-for-21 effort (.619) at the plate in six games last week to earn BIG EAST Player of the Week honors. Harrison collected eight runs scored and five RBIs, as UC went 3-3 last week. The junior infielder was successful on 6-of-7 stolen base attempts and displayed his power by belting a home run and a double at Louisville to post an .810 slugging percentage.
HARRISON ENDS APRIL ON HIGH NOTE: Josh Harrison has raised his batting average nearly 60 points, from .274 to .347 by hitting a torrid 27-of-52 (.519) over his last 13 games. Over the last two weeks, Harrison has hit safely in 11 of 13 games and boasts nine multiple-hit games, including five games with three or more hits. The junior shares the team lead with 20 multiple-game hits, including seven three-hit performances.
SPINA CONTINUES TO RACK UP BIG EAST HONORS: For the third time this season, third baseman Mike Spina was recognized the week of April 21 by the BIG EAST Conference for his performance at the plate. The Bearcats' starter at the hot corner for all but two games thus far, earned BIG EAST Honor Roll acclaim after hitting .500 (9-of-18) in five games.
SPINA HITS HIS STRIDE IN APRIL: After seeing his average dip to .256 early in the month, Mike Spina concluded April on a terror. For the month, Spina hit at a .432 clip, belting six doubles and nine home runs, while driving in 32 runs. In 22 games in the month, Spina collected at least one hit in all but three of the contests, posting 13 multi-hit games along the way.
OFF AND RUNNING: The Bearcats' running game was one of the nation's best last year and is listed 11th nationally this week. The Bearcats have reached safely on 2.20 stolen bases per game and have made good on 97-of-125 stolen base attempts (.776) this season. The Bearcats swiped 130 bases in 2007, ranking as the highest total ever by a UC team. This year's squads boasts a fifth-place ranking on UC's single season team list.
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 .313 and is 34-of-42 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 34 thefts this season give him 94 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 6-2 record and a 2.67 ERA, the Cincinnati native has been on a roll of late, winning five straight starts, including three complete games, and holding a 2.14 ERA during the span. The lefty has show masterful control, striking out 50 this year against only eight walks in 67 innings.
OSTERBROCK LIKES TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED: Lefthander Dan Osterbrock has made a habit of finishing BIG EAST Conference games, with three complete games in his last five 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 a complete game in his last outing, an 11-2 triumph at Louisville. Osterbrock tossed five complete games a year ago and currently boasts eight career complete games.
SPEEDY SCOTT: After hitting the Bearcats' first home run of 2008 at Miami (FL), Jamel Scott has shown plenty of speed. UC's swift sophomore trails only teammate Tony Campana in the BIG EAST Conference in stolen bases, having made good on 27-of-34 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 .293 average and a .365 on-base percentage.