TicketsMarch 9, 2009
Cincinnati (4-5) continues its 11-game home stretch when it welcomes Dayton (5-5) and Xavier (6-4) to Marge Schott Stadium for games on Tuesday, March 10, and Wednesday, March 11, respectively. Both games are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday's game versus Xavier is an addition the original schedule as both Xavier and Cincinnati added the game due to game cancellations Feb. 27-March 1. Cincinnati, Dayton and Xavier have all won three of their last four contests heading into this week.
SCOUTING DAYTON
· Dayton enters the week with a 5-5 record after defeating Butler and taking two-of-three games from Cleveland State last week.
· The Flyers come into the contest with a .322 batting average and the team has hit 14 home runs.
· Dayton has five players that have stolen two or more bases this season and the Flyers are 13-for-21 in stolen base attempts.
· Max Navalinski leads the team with a .406 batting average and he has scored a team-best 11 runs.
· Marshall MacDonald owns a team-best four home runs and has driven in a team-high tying 10 runs on the year.
· Burny Mitchem has been the ace this season making three starts and giving up just one earned run in 16.1 innings of work. Mitchem owns a 0.96 ERA.
· As a pitching staff, Dayton has a 6.08 ERA.
SCOUTING XAVIER
· Xavier comes to Marge Schott Stadium with a 6-4 overall mark after winning three of four games at the Bethune-Cookman Spring Break Challenge.
· The Musketeers have posted big wins over teams in BCS conferences such as N.C. State, and Michigan State.
· Xavier has a solid pitching staff that has put together a team ERA of 3.56.
· Five pitchers own an ERA of 3.00 or less, led by Danny Rosenbaum's 0.00 ERA in 16.0 innings of work.
· As a team, the Musketeers are hitting .240 and Zac Richard has been the team's top hitter with a .368 average in five games.
· Xavier's defense has been superb so far in the young campaign as the team has committed just 13 errors, compared to 24 for its opponents, and the Musketeers have turned 13 double plays.
OFF AND RUNNING
· The UC bats have been hot in the early going this season as the Bearcats have scored 76 runs in nine games, averaging out to 8.44 runs per game.
· Three Bearcat players own batting averages over .400, led by Lance Durham's .472 batting average, which ranks sixth in the BIG EAST.
· Cincinnati has scored 10-plus runs in five games this season.
· Last season, it took UC 27 games to score 10-plus runs five times.
TOUCH 'EM ALL
· In his first season in the Red and Black in 2008, Mike Spina hit a UC single-season record 21 home runs and drove in a UC single-season record tying 79 RBI.
· Through nine games this season, Spina is off to a hot start as seven of his 16 hits have been home runs.
· In the first game vs. Purdue on Feb. 20, Spina hit two home runs to continue where he left off last season and finished the weekend with two home runs and six RBI.
· In the only game played at Davidson on Feb. 27, Spina hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to put UC on top, 9-5, his third home run of the season.
· A first-inning two run home run against Miami (OH) on March 4 gave Spina his fourth home run of the season and the 25th of his career.
· In the series finale against Bradley, Spina went 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI, as one of his home runs was a grand slam -- his second of the season.
· Spina leads the BIG EAST with seven home runs, ranks first in slugging percentage (1.000), and is tied for the BIG EAST lead with 22 RBI,
· Only 68 games into his UC career, Spina sits in eighth place on the UC career home runs chart with 28.
· Spina needs four more home runs to move into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time home runs chart.
DURHAM WASTES NO TIME
· Lance Durham, the son of former MLB player Leon Durham, is in his first season with the Red and Black and has not wasted any time making an impact.
· Durham leads the team in batting average (.472) and hits (17).
· Against Bradley on March 6, Durham hit his first career home run, which cleared the scoreboard beyond the right field fence and bounced off of Fifth Third Arena.
· In nine games, Durham has driven in seven runs and he leads the team with seven multi-hit games.
FROM THE GRIDIRON TO THE DIAMOND
· Redshirt freshman Zach Collaros is probably best known around the UC campus for driving the UC football team to a winning score at Akron during the 2008 football season, but the Steubenville, Ohio native has also been impressive on the diamond for head coach Brian Cleary.
· Collaros earned his first start on the diamond on Sunday, March 8 vs. Bradley and went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
· In limited plate appearances, Collaros is batting .429 with a double and two RBI.
SOPHOMORE SURGE
· In his rookie campaign at UC last season, Justin Riddell played in 40 games and made 35 starts for the Bearcats. In those 40 games, Riddell collected two home runs, 15 RBI, and owned a slugging percentage of .360.
· At the BIG EAST/Big Ten Baseball Challenge Feb. 20-22, Riddell was a tough out as he batted .615, going 8-for-13 from the plate.
· In the season-opener vs. Purdue, Riddell went 4-for-4 from the plate and equalled his home run total from 2008 with two home runs in the contest.
· Against Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 22, Riddell hit his third home run of the season, surpassing his total from 2008.
· At the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, Riddell led the tournament in home runs (3), total bases (19), and slugging percentage (1.462), while tying for the tournament lead in batting average (.615).
· Riddell also ranked second among all players in on-base percentage (.643) and hits (8).
· For his efforts, Riddell was named to the BIG EAST/Big Ten Baseball Challenge All-Tournament team presented by CollegeBaseball360.com, and was also one of 12 players nationally selected as Players of the Week by RecruitingCloser.com.
· Of his 15 hits this season, eight have gone for extra bases. Riddell has four doubles, one triple, and three home runs.
OFF THE BENCH
· Head coach Brian Cleary said one of the strengths of the Bearcat team in 2009 would be its depth off the bench.
· In 10 pinch-hit at-bats this season, the Bearcats have delivered seven hits.
· Freshman Cory Hough is 3-for-4 in pinch-hitting opportunities, while freshman Dorian West, redshirt freshman Zach Collaros, sophomore Justin Riddell, and junior Beach Brooks have all collected hits in pinch-hitting roles.
· In the seventh inning against Miami (OH) on March 4, Hough and Brooks strung together back-to-back two-out pinch-hit base hits to keep the inning alive. Later in the inning, both scored on passed balls to tie the game at eight.
GREAT SCOTT
· With the departure of Tony Campana, junior Jamel Scott stepped into the lead-off spot in the line-up and has gotten off to a great start.
· At the BIG EAST/Big Ten Baseball Challenge, Scott batted .500, including a 4-for-5 performance against Michigan.
· Against the Wolverines, Scott made arguably the top defensive play of the week when he made an over-the-shoulder catch before slamming into the wall in the fourth inning, preventing two runs from scoring.
· Scott also proved to be a terror on the base paths, going 3-for-3 in stolen bases.
· Scott joined sophomore Justin Riddell as a BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament Team selection, presented by CollegeBaseball360.com.
· Through nine games, Scott is batting .390 in the lead-off spot and is 7-for-8 in stolen bases.