TicketsMay 16, 2008
Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery
CINCINNATI---It was a record setting day and an important one for the University of Cincinnati baseball team as multiple records fell during a Bearcats' doubleheader sweep of West Virginia on Friday at Marge Schott Stadium. The bats came to life in game one leading to a 14-5 win, while two strong pitching outings highlighted a 9-1 Cincinnati triumph in game two.
Many milestones were reached during the day for UC, starting with the Bearcats matching the school single season wins mark, as they grabbed their 35th of the year. The Bearcats also set a new record for conference victories in a season with win number 18. On the individual side, junior hurler Dan Osterbrock became the school's all-time winningest pitcher when he picked up the 20th win of his career.
The Bearcats (35-19, 18-8 BIG EAST) are now playing the waiting game to see if they will clinch the No. 2 seed in next week's BIG EAST Tournament with a USF win over Notre Dame or if they will have to grab another W tomorrow to earn the position. Either way, the Bearcats will finish no lower than third in the final BIG EAST regular season standings.
In the opening game, the Bearcats jumped on West Virginia starter Josh Whitlock early and often, chasing the junior after he yielded 12 runs and 13 hits in just 3.2 innings of work. Cincinnati scored in each of the first five innings, including five runs in the second and four more in the fourth to give Osterbrock all the room he would need.
The Bearcats got busy early as Cameron Satterwhite netted the first of his six RBI in the game with a two-run double that plated Tony Campana and Josh Harrison. UC went on a five-run terror an inning later and once again Satterwhite was firmly in the middle of the outburst. With two outs and men on the corners, Harrison made it a 4-0 ballgame when he yanked a double just inside the third base line that plated two. Following a Mike Spina single, Satterwhite raised his early game RBI total to five with a long three-run home run to left.
West Virginia cut the deficit to 7-1 in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by Grant Buckner but was down seven again by the bottom of the inning courtesy of a Campana RBI groundout.
UC looked as if they might run away with it with four more fourth innings runs that pushed the host's advantage to 12-1. All nine hitters came to the plate with back-to-back home runs highlighting the explosion. Spina was the first to get in the act as he clubbed a long two-run shot to left, setting the table for Satterwhite's second big fly of the game during the next at-bat. After chasing Whitlock, Campana greeted reliever Jesse Darby with an RBI single for UC's 12th run of the day.
Osterbrock, on a limited pitch count in preparation for next week's conference tournament left with two out in the fifth, but not before West Virginia put three on the board. Tobias Streich ripped a two-run homer down the left field line for the first two runs, before Jedd Gyorko drove in a run with a fielder's choice. At that point, Adam Calez came out of the UC bullpen and struck out Vince Belnome to end the inning.
UC got one of the runs back in the fifth on a sac fly by Tyler Goodro and got another sac fly in the eighth from Jamel Scott for its final run. Calez was outstanding out of the bullpen, allowing just one run in 3.2 innings of work. An RBI single in the ninth by Colin Durborow was the final run of the game.
Satterwhite was one of many offensive stars, tallying three hits and six RBI. Campana had four hits, while Harrison, Satterwhite and Goodro added three apiece.
After the fireworks of game one, starting pitchers Brian Garman and Billy Gross staged an outstanding pitcher's duel through the early frames of the nightcap. Garman worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the first and neither team cracked the scoreboard until Goodro scored on an error by Belnome with two outs in the fourth.
UC's lead stood up until the sixth when West Virginia pushed across an unearned run that sent Garman to the showers. The Mountaineers took advantage of a muffed sac bunt attempt with Joe Agreste's RBI groundout evening the contest. Garman left after that, yielding just four hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Cincinnati broke the game open in the sixth, batting around for the second time in as many games and scoring four times. Campana broke the 1-1 tie when he scampered home on a Jarryd Summers wild pitch and Satterwhite pushed the lead out to 4-1 when he drilled a two-run double into the right centerfield alley. A double by Goodro two batters later made it 5-1 UC.
The Bearcats kept scoring in the next two innings with a pair of markers in each frame. In the seventh, Spina hit his second home run of the day and 17th of the season over the right centerfield fence with a man aboard. One inning later, Kevin Johnson and Campana picked up RBI with a ground out and fielder's choice respectively.
Meanwhile, for the second straight outing, Michael Hill was brilliant on the mound. After taking over for Garman in the sixth, Hill retired all 10 batters he faced in order, stretching his streak to 23 straight. The junior (5-3) struck out four along the way in 3.1 innings of work. Johnson led the Bearcats with three hits, while four other players had two apiece. Spina and Satterwhite contributed a pair of RBI each to the cause.
UC will go for the series sweep and the single season wins record tomorrow on Senior Day. First pitch between the Bearcats and Mountaineers is set for 1 p.m.