TicketsMarch 26, 2009
THE MATCH-UP
After recording back-to-back mid-week wins over Miami (OH) and Kentucky, Cincinnati (12-8; 1-2 BIG EAST) looks to get back on track in conference play when it travels to Rutgers (9-12; 0-3 BIG EAST) for a three-game BIG EAST series beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 27. The Bearcats enter the weekend as winners of three straight, while the Scarlet Knights have dropped six of their last seven.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
· The Scarlet Knights enter the second weekend of conference play with a 9-12 overall record and an 0-3 BIG EAST mark.
· In the opening weekend of conference action, Rutgers was swept by USF and the Scarlet Knights have dropped six of their last seven games.
· Luis Feliz leads the squad with a .356 batting average, while Pat Biserta has been the leading run producer for Rutgers, driving in 16 runs.
· The Scarlet Knights are 17-26 on the season in stolen bases, while opponents are 32-46 in the same category.
· As a pitching staff, Rutgers owns an ERA of 7.14 and opponents are hitting .337 off the Rutgers hurlers.
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 event is set to honor the legacy of Joe Nuxhall and promote amateur baseball in southwest Ohio.
· 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 thrree 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.
· The Bryan, Ohio, native pitched 2.0 innings at Kentucky and struck out two, while giving up one hit in relief.
· Smith currently owns a 12.0 inning scoreless streak and during that stretch, he has struck out 15 batters and given up only one walk.
BEACH BALL
· Since being inserted in the starting lineup on March 14 against Western Michigan, Beach Brooks has been swinging one of the top bats on the team.
· Brooks, a junior college transfer from Daytona Beach CC, hit over .300 in his two years at the junior college level and combined to hit three home runs during that time frame.
· Brooks got off to a slow start this season hitting .222 in his first 10 games.
· Over the past eight games, Brooks is hitting .367 and has belted three home runs and driven in five.
· Since March 14, Brooks is tied for the team lead in home runs (3), ranks first on the squad in runs (12) and slugging percentage (.733), and is second in batting average and hits (11).
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 (14).
· 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 two earned runs in 8.1 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 15 games, Peters is batting .327 (18-for-55), which is third best on the team.
· During that stretch, Peters has six doubles, one home run, and has driven in 12 runs. Peters also has struck out only seven times.
OFF AND RUNNING
· The UC bats have been hot in the early going this season as the Bearcats have scored 155 runs in 20 games, averaging out to 7.75 runs per game.
· Cincinnati has scored 10-plus runs in nine of 20 games this season.
· Last season, it took UC 45 games to score 10-plus runs nine times.
· This season, UC is 8-1 when scoring 10-plus runs, with its lone loss coming in the season-opener vs. Purdue, 11-10.
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 20 games this season, Spina is off to a hot start as 10 of his 31 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 (34).
· 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 79 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 (.468) and hits (36).
· 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 20 games, Durham leads the team with 13 multi-hit games.
· Durham ranks second on the squad with 20 RBI and his hit three home runs.
· Against Kentucky on March 25, Durham recorded the first four-RBI game at UC after going 3-for-5 at the dish.
· Over the last three games, Durham is hitting .538 (7-for-15), with four runs scored, and eight 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 28 hits this season, 11 have gone for extra bases. Riddell has six doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He also ranks third on the team with a .354 batting average.
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 20 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.
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 20 games.
· The Red and Black are 8-3 on the season when hitting two-plus home runs.