TicketsMarch 13, 2009
THE MATCH-UP
Cincinnati (6-5) welcomes Western Michigan (2-9) to Marge Schott Stadium this weekend for a four-game series beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 13. UC has won five of its last six games to move a game above .500 for the first time this season. Western Michigan is making its first trip to Cincinnati since 1976 and the Bearcats are 2-1 at home all-time against the Broncos.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
· Western Michigan enters the week with a 2-9 record and the Broncos are 0-8 on the road this season.
· The Broncos come into the contest with a .235 batting average and the team has hit 13 home runs.
· Western Michigan is 8-for-11 in stolen base attempts.
· Chris Lewis leads the team with a .375 batting average and he has a team-best two triples.
· Kyle Galbraith owns a team-best four home runs and has driven in a team-high tying 10 runs on the year.
· Derek Mosher has been the top starter this season making three starts and he has pitched 19.1 innings. Mosher has also pitched one complete game.
· As a pitching staff, Dayton has a 7.17 ERA.
PROGRAM FIRST
· For the first time in program history, the UC baseball team will host a nationally televised contest.
· The series finale between Cincinnati on Louisville on Sunday, April 5, will be televised by ESPNU.
· Last season, the Bearcats and the Cardinals met in the BIG EAST Championship game and U of L went on to defeat UC 6-3.
· The game on Sunday, April 5, is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
· Sophomore Chris Peters got off to a rough start in the opening five games as he hit .095 (2-for-21) with eight strikeouts.
· Since the start of the Bradley series on March 6, Peters has been a tough out for opposing pitchers.
· Over the last six games, Peters is batting .458 (11-for-24), which is third best on the team.
· During that stretch, Peters has four doubles, one home run, and has driven in six runs. Peters also has struck out only three times.
OFF AND RUNNING
· The UC bats have been hot in the early going this season as the Bearcats have scored 93 runs in 11 games, averaging out to 8.45 runs per game.
· Three Bearcat players own batting averages over .400, led by Lance Durham and Justin Riddell, who are hitting .488 apiece.
· Cincinnati has scored 10-plus runs in six games this season.
· Last season, it took UC 39 games to score 10-plus runs six 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 11 games this season, Spina is off to a hot start as seven of his 19 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.
· Heading into the week, Spina led the BIG EAST with seven home runs, ranked first in slugging percentage (1.000), and was tied for the BIG EAST lead with 22 RBI,
· Only 70 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 (.488) and hits (21).
· 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 11 games, Durham has driven in eight runs and he leads the team with eight 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 .200 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.
· In the eighth inning vs. Dayton on March 10, Riddell opened up a 7-6 lead in the eighth inning with a three-run home run to give UC a 10-6 lead.
· Of his 20 hits this season, 11 have gone for extra bases. Riddell has six doubles, one triple, and four 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 11 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 .360 in the lead-off spot and is 8-for-10 in stolen bases.
OL' LEFTHANDER
· On April 14-15, the UC baseball team will host the inaugural Joe Nuxhall Classic at Marge Schott Stadium.
· The Bearcats will welcome Miami University, Wright State University, and Xavier University to compete in this year's tournament.
· Cincinnati, Miami, and Xavier will always participate in the tournament and the fourth team will be decided each season.
· The tournament also will alternate between Marge Schott Stadium and McKie Field at Hayden Park on the Miami University campus.
· On April 14, Miami will take on Wright State at 3 p.m. with the Bearcats and Musketeers meeting in the nightcap.
· The following day, the losers and the winners from the previous day will play each other.