TicketsFeb. 18, 2009
Game Notes | BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge Venue Changes | Part IV: 2009 Baseball Season Preview
THE BIG EAST/BIG TEN BASEBALL CHALLENGE
Cincinnati opens its season on Friday, Feb. 20, when it plays Purdue at 1 p.m. (ET) in the inaugural BIG EAST/Big Ten Baseball Challenge. The Bearcats also will challenge Michigan and Ohio State on Saturday, Feb. 21, and Sunday, Feb. 22, respectively. Last season, Michigan, Purdue, and Ohio State finished first, second, and fifth, respectively, in the Big Ten. UC is coming off a school record 39 wins and a second-place finish in the BIG EAST.
ABOUT THE FIELD
· Cincinnati will be the away team vs. Purdue and the home team against Michigan and Ohio State.
· The BIG EAST-Big Ten Baseball Challenge will take place at major league-caliber facilities throughout the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area from Feb. 20-22.
· All 10 of the Big Ten's baseball-playing institutions will compete in the inaugural event, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Purdue.
· Eight BIG EAST representatives will participate, including South Florida, Connecticut, Georgetown, St. John's, Seton Hall, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame.
· Games will take place in St. Petersburg at the Raymond A. Naimoli Complex, in Tampa at Red McEwen Field and at McKechnie Field, in Clearwater at Jack Russell Stadium and Bright House Field, and in Dunedin at Dunedin Stadium.
SCOUTING PURDUE
· Purdue is coming off a 32-26 overall record and a 21-10 Big Ten mark in 2008. The Boilermakers conference record landed them in second place behind Michigan.
· Five of Purdue's top six hitters from last season return in 2009, led by Brandon Haveman, who owned a a team-high .379 batting average and scored a team-leading 60 runs.
· Additionally, Purdue's leading home run hitter and run producer, Dan Black, returns in 2009 after belting 18 home runs and driving in 70 runs a year ago.
· Black's 18 home runs ranked 39th nationally and he also ranked 33rd nationally in RBI per game (1.21).
· The Boilermakers will have to replace the anchor out of their bullpen, Josh Lindblom, who recorded 14 saves in 30 appearances last season.
· In 2008, Purdue ranked in the Top 70 nationally in batting average (.309/66th), doubles (124/61st), sacrifice bunts (44/60th), and ERA (4.54/49th).
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
· The Wolverines are coming off one of their finest seasons in school history after going 46-14, which set a school-record for wins.
· Michigan won their third consecutive Big Ten title with a 26-5 conference mark. The Wolverines 26 conference wins also broke the Big Ten record for most conference wins in a season.
· The Maize and Blue also earned its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance last season and their fourth in as many seasons.
· The Wolverines lost six key position players from a season ago and all started 45-plus games.
· Kevin Cislo is the team's top returning bat from last season. Cislo hit .348 on the season and had one home run and 28 RBI in 54 games.
· Despite what Michigan lost offensively, they return one of the top pitching staff's in the country this season led by Chris Fetter.
· Fetter collected NCAA and Louisville Slugger All-America second-team honors last season after going 10-2 with a 2.47 ERA in 14 starts. Fetter struck out 82 batters and walked just 28 men in 94.2 innings of work.
· As a pitching staff, the Wolverines ranked seventh nationally last season in hits allowed per nine innings (8.4), and 29th in ERA (4.19).
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
· Coming off a 30-26 campaign in 2008, Ohio State returns 21 letterwinners to the diamond in 2009.
· Justin Miller comes back to Columbus after hitting .395 last season. A .348 career hitter, he's coming off a junior season in which he led the team in eight offensive categories.
· Cory Kovanda hit .304 last year and led the team in runs (45) and on base pct. (.441).
· Ryan Dew led all outfielders with 27 RBI in 2008, while Michael Arp hit .419 in 18 Big Ten games and Zach Hurley hit .302 in 48 games last year.
· Despite losing J.B. Shuck in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB Draft, the Buckeyes have five of their top six pitchers back on the mound this season.
· After redshirting his first season in Columbus, redshirt sophomore Dean Wolosiansky went 7-4 in 14 appearances last season, which included 11 starts. Wolosiansky led the team in complete games (3), and innings pitched (70.1).
· Despite finishing with an 0-3 record, Alex Wimmers was strong out of the bullpen for OSU. Wimmers struck out 51 men in 40.0 innings of work.
· OSU hit just 19 home runs last season, but the Buckeyes were one of the top teams in the country at manufacturing runs.
· The Buckeyes were fourth in the nation in sacrifice flies last season with 43.
· Overall, Ohio State ranked in the Top 60 nationally last season in sacrifice flies, batting average (.318/40th), and strikeouts per nine innings (7.7/54th).
BIG EAST PREDICTIONS
· In the 2009 BIG EAST preseason poll, UC was picked to finish fifth by the BIG EAST head coaches.
· Seniors Michael Hill and Cameron Satterwhite were chosen to the all-BIG EAST Preseason Team.
· Louisville was unanimously chosen as the favorite to win the 2009 conference championship. Louisville's Chris Dominguez and Justin Marks took home Preseason Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively.
· USF was picked to finish in second place with 103 votes, followed by Notre Dame (99 votes), St. John's (93 votes), and Cincinnati (77 votes). Filling out spots six through 10 were Connecticut, West Virginia, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and Villanova. Pittsburgh and Georgetown were selected 11th, and 12th, respectively.
UC TRIO MAKES BROOKS WALLACE WATCH LIST
· Seniors Mike Spina , Cameron Satterwhite, and Jake Geglein were named to the 2009 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Watch List, the College Baseball Foundation announced on Dec. 4.
· Last season, Spina hit .377, which ranked eighth in the BIG EAST, and belted 21 home runs. Spina's 21 home runs were matched by Louisville's Chris Dominguez. Spina also drove in 79 runs last season, which ranked first in the BIG EAST.
· Satterwhite hit .364 for UC last season, which ranked third on the team, while recording 21 doubles, 14 home runs, and 61 RBI en route to second-team all-BIG EAST honors and second-team ABCA Rawlings all-Mideast recognition.
· Geglein made 26 appearances out of the bullpen last season and pitched 43.0 innings with 36 strikeouts compared to just seven walks. Geglein finished the season with nine saves and a 2.30 ERA, and his nine saves ranked third in the BIG EAST.
· The Wallace Award is dedicated to the memory of former Texas Tech player and assistant coach Brooks Wallace. Wallace was a slick-fielding shortstop at Texas Tech from 1977 to 1980. In the summer of 1984, he was diagnosed with cancer and fought the disease courageously until his death on March 24, 1985, at age 27.
MORE PRESEASON HONORS
· Coming off a season in which he tied for the BIG EAST Conference lead in home runs (21) and led the conference in RBI (79), senior Mike Spina earned preseason second-team all-America honors by RecruitingCloser.com, the website announced on Wednesday, January 21.
· On Feb. 17, Spina also was tabbed a preseason honorable-mention all-American by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.
· Spina posted a .377 batting average last season and added 12 doubles to accompany his home run and RBI numbers. Spina also led the conference with a .731 slugging percentage and ranked in the Top 12 of the league in nine statistical categories.
· The Newberry, Fla., native was drafted in the 35th round by the Minnesota Twins in the 2008 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, but elected to return to UC for his senior season.
OH CAPTAIN
· On its first official practice on Sunday, Feb. 1, head coach Brian Cleary announced that the captain for the 2009 Cincinnati squad will be senior Jake Geglein.
· "Jake is coming off a great season last year," Cleary said. "He is incredibly well respected by our staff and his teammates, who selected him as captain, which I think is a great choice."
· Last season, Geglein saw action in 26 games and did not give up an earned run in 20 of 26 appearances. His 26 appearances tie for ninth on the UC single-season appearances chart.
LOOK WHO'S BACK
· Coming off one of the most successful seasons in school history, Cincinnati lost some key parts from last year's squad, including 2008 BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year Josh Harrison. Despite the losses of Harrison, UC's all-time wins leader Dan Osterbrock, and UC's career stolen bases leader Tony Campana, the Bearcats also return a core group of players that look to build upon last seasons success.
· Seniors Mike Spina and Cameron Satterwhite return to Clifton after both players had career seasons in 2009. The duo combined to hit 35 home runs and drive in 140 RBI.
· In 2008, Spina and Satterwhite accounted for 51.5 percent of UC's home runs and 35.8 percent of Cincinnati's RBI.
· With the departure of Campana, who stole a UC record 104 stolen bases in his two seasons in the Red and Black, junior Jamel Scott will be counted on to manufacture runs with his legs.
· A season ago, Scott swiped 35 bases in 44 attempts, ranking second on the team and second in the BIG EAST.
· Cincinnati also has a solid mix of hurlers returning with seniors Michael Hill and Jake Geglein.
· Despite the fact that 7th round 2008 MLB Draft choice Dan Osterbrock received most of the attention from opposing teams last season, Hill owned the top ERA among all UC starters in 2008.
· Hill owned a 6-4 record last season and struck out 65 batters in 80.2 innings of work en route to a 3.46 ERA.
· Geglein was UC's anchor out of the bullpen last season, appearing in 26 games and finishing with nine saves.
· Alongside Hill and Geglein, junior Brian Garman looks to add to the success gained from his final six starts of the 2008 campaign.
· From April 30 - May 25, Garman went 3-1 and owned a 2.43 ERA in five starts. Garman sent UC to the BIG EAST Championship game after giving up six hits in 6.1 innings in a 13-2 win over USF.