TicketsMarch 23, 2009
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THE MATCH-UP
Following its opening weekend of conference play, Cincinnati (10-8) returns to Marge Schott Stadium on Tuesday, March 24, to take on Miami (OH) at 6:30 p.m. The Bearcats and RedHawks (8-9) met on March 4 with Miami (OH) defeating Cincinnati 11-8. Following its brief stint at home, the Bearcats hit the road for a mid-week contest at Kentucky (15-5) on Wednesday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m. Prior to Wednesday's match-up between the Bearcats and the Wildcats, UK plays fellow BIG EAST foe West Virginia on Tuesday, March 24.
SCOUTING MIAMI (OH)
· Miami (OH) owns an 8-9 overall record after being swept by Toledo in its Mid-American Conference opening series this past weekend.
· The RedHawks are batting .286 as a team and five players own a batting average of over .300.
· Chris Nadeau leads the team with a .448 average and 11 of his team-high 30 hits have gone for extra bases.
· Zak Hatfield owns a team-high six home runs and has driven in a team-best 22 runs.
· On the mound, the RedHawks hurlers own a team ERA of 5.28.
· Jamaal Hollis has been the Red and White's top arm out of the bullpen giving up one earned run in 10.0 innings of work for a 0.90 ERA.
SCOUTING KENTUCKY
· The Wildcats have gotten off to a hot start with a 15-5 overall record and a 3-3 SEC record.
· After dropping two of their first three conference games to LSU, the Wildcats responded by winning two of three games against Vanderbilt last weekend.
· UK owns an 11-1 record at home this season.
· The Wildcats own a team batting average of .312, while its opponents are hitting just .260.
· Marcus Nidiffer is hitting a team-high .413 and has hit a team-best tying four home runs.
· Four UK players have 15-plus RBI this season, including Chris Bisson's team-leading 19 RBI.
· The Wildcat pitchers own a team ERA of 3.47 and eight of the Kentucky pitchers own an ERA less than 4.00.
HONORING MICK SHARKEY
· Mick Sharkey, a popular college and high school baseball umpire, basketball referee and football official throughout southwest Ohio, passed away at his Cincinnati home on Sunday, June 8, 2008.
· Sharkey attended Umpire School in Florida with the goal of reaching the Major Leagues. He worked his way through the minor leagues, but never reached the "bigs" full-time.
· That didn't deter him from pursuing his passion. He became one of the most popular and highly-respected sports officials in the Cincinnati-Dayton corridor.
· The University of Cincinnati baseball team will honor Sharkey prior to the March 24 game versus Miami (OH).
· Light blue wristbands will be passed out to both teams and the umpire crew that say: Mick Sharkey 'A True Blue Friend'.
PROGRAM FIRST
· For the first time in program history, the UC baseball team will host a nationally televised contest on April 5.
· The series finale between Cincinnati and 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.
OL' LEFTHANDER
· On April 14-15, the UC baseball team will host the inaugural Joe Nuxhall Classic at Marge Schott Stadium.
· The Bearcats 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.
SMITH SPELLS RELIEF
· In his last two outings, Tyler Smith has been fantastic in middle relief for the Bearcats.
· Against Western Michigan on Saturday, March 14, Smith came out of the pen and pitched 5.0 innings of relief to earn his first win of the season. In the outing, Smith struck out nine.
· Smith picked up his second win of the season with another 5.0 innings of scoreless relief against Pittsburgh on Sunday, March 22.
· Smith currently owns a 10.0 inning scoreless streak and during that stretch, he has struck out 13 batters and given up only one walk.
POWER SURGE
· In UC's 9-5 win over Pittsburgh on March 22, the Bearcats hit four home runs.
· It was the second time this season that UC has hit four home runs in a game, with the other occurance coming against Purdue in the season opener on Feb. 20.
· Cincinnati has hit 30 home runs this season and UC has hit two-plus home runs in 11 of its 18 games.
· The Red and Black are 8-3 on the season when hitting two-plus home runs.
GEGLEIN CLOSING IN
· With a save against Xavier on March 11 and two saves against Western Michigan on March 14 and 15, Jake Geglein moved into second on UC's all-time saves list.
· Geglein ranked second in the BIG EAST with nine saves last season.
· Since giving up two earned runs against Purdue in the season-opener, Geglein has given up just one earned run in 7.1 innings of work.
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 13 games, Peters is batting .354 (17-for-48), which is third best on the team.
· During that stretch, Peters has six doubles, one home run, and has driven in 11 runs. Peters also has struck out only five times.
OFF AND RUNNING
· The UC bats have been hot in the early going this season as the Bearcats have scored 132 runs in 18 games, averaging out to 7.33 runs per game.
· Cincinnati has scored 10-plus runs in seven games this season.
· Last season, it took UC 39 games to score 10-plus runs seven times.
· This season, UC is 6-1 when scoring 10-plus runs.
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 18 games this season, Spina is off to a hot start as 10 of his 27 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 leads the BIG EAST with 10 home runs, and ranks second in slugging percentage (.806), and RBI (35).
· In his first two at bats in game two of a doubleheader against Western Michigan on March 14, Spina hit two home runs, one of which was a grand slam, upping his home run total to nine. It was Spina's third grand slam this season.
· Only 77 games into his UC career, Spina sits in a tie for sixth place on the UC career home runs chart with 31.
· Spina needs one more home run 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 (.456) and hits (31).
· 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 18 games, Durham leads the team with 11 multi-hit games.
· Durham ranks second on the squad with 14 RBI and his hit three home runs.
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 26 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 18 pinch-hit at-bats this season, the Bearcats have delivered 10 hits.
· Freshman Cory Hough is 3-for-5 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.
· Freshman T.J. Jones broke open a 4-4 game on March 22 against Pittsburgh with a pinch-hit triple. Jones is 2-for-3 in pinch-hitting roles.
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.