TicketsApril 21, 2009
THE MATCH-UP
Cincinnati (18-18) kicks off a four-game homestand Tuesday, April 21, when the Bearcats welcome Morehead State University (14-21) to Marge Schott Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Both teams are coming off conference series wins last weekend as UC took two-of-three games at St. John's, while MSU took two-of-three games from Tennessee-Martin. Tuesday's game features three of the top hitters in the country as Morehead State junior Drew Lee and Cincinnati junior Lance Durham rank among the nation's elite in batting average, while Lee and UC senior Mike Spina rank among the nation's best in home runs and RBI.
SCOUTING MOREHEAD STATE
· The Eagles head to Clifton with a 14-21 overall record and a 7-7 Ohio Valley Conference record after taking two of three games from UT-Martin this past past weekend.
· Offensively, Morehead State is led in almost every offensive category by Drew Lee, who owns a .465 batting average, 14 home runs, 49 RBI, 67 hits, 15 doubles, and 47 runs sored.
· Lee is one of seven Eagle players that is hitting over .300 on the season and as a squad, they are hitting at a .332 clip.
· On the mound, Morehead State is led by Tyler Bess, who has started six games, made 12 appearances, and thrown four complete games en route to a 4-3 record.
· Bess owns the top ERA among starters (3.83) and as a staff, the Eagles have a ERA of 8.16.
KING OF QUEENS
· Heading into last week, Jimmy Jacquot had played in 18 of UC's 31 games, including 11 starts, and had three hits in 36 at bats for an .083 batting average.
· During that stretch, Jacquot had one home run, four RBI, and had scored five runs.
· Jacquot went 1-for-3 in Cincinnati's 6-1 loss to Miami (OH) and that kick started a huge weekend for Jacquot in Queens.
· During UC's series opening 11-8 win against St. John's on Friday, April 17, Jacquot went 3-for-4, which included a two-run home run in the second inning.
· On Saturday, April 18, Jacquot continued to torch to Red Storm pitching with another 3-for-4 performance, including his second home run, a solo shot, in as many days.
· In the series finale on Sunday, April 19, Jacquot went 3-for-5, his third consecutive three-hit game, and scored two runs.
· For the entire series against St. John's, Jacquot hit .692 (9-of-13), scored seven runs, had two home runs, and drove in three runs.
GEGLEIN HITS MILESTONE
· For almost one month, senior Jake Geglein was tied atop the University of Cincinnati career saves list with Curtis Moak (1998-01).
· Moak was a 25th-round selection by the Cincinnati Reds in 2001 and he finished his career with 15 career saves.
· On Friday, April 17, Geglein recorded a six-out save against St. John's to preserve an 11-8 win and move past Moak on UC's career saves list with 16.
· Geglein has five saves this season, which was tied for third in the BIG EAST entering the week. His two saves in league play are tied for first.
· Geglein ranked second in the BIG EAST with nine saves in 2008.
· In his career, Geglein has collected seven saves in BIG EAST action, and needs just two more saves to tie for 10th on the all-time conference saves lists.
· On Sunday, April 5, Geglein pitched a career-high five innings of relief to earn the win against Louisville. In his five innings of work, Geglein scattered four hits, struck out two, and gave up just one run.
SENIOR SWING
· In the opening 25 games of his senior season, Cameron Satterwhite got off to a rough start hitting .193, with 30 strikeouts.
· Over the past 10 games, Satterwhite has come to life and played a vital role in UC's series win over Notre Dame April 9-11.
· Since the start of the Louisville series on April 9, Satterwhite is hitting .382 (13-of-34), with five doubles, one home run, and a team-best 12 RBI.
· In the second game of a three-game set against Louisville on April 5, Satterwhite went 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI.
· The Cincinnati native collected his second multi-RBI game by driving in three runs against Xavier on April 14.
· Over the past 10 games, Satterwhite has raised his batting average 53 points -- from .193 to .246.
BIG EAST NOTES
· On the season, Cincinnati has hit .284, but hitting in conference play has been tough for the Bearcats.
· In BIG EAST-only action, UC is hitting .253, and only two players own a batting average over .300.
· Junior Lance Durham and freshman T.J. Jones are the Red and Black's top hitters in conference play, owning .350 and .349 averages, respectively.
· However, the Bearcats hit .351 at St. John's April 17-19, helping UC take two of three games from the Red Storm.
· Michael Hill owns the top ERA among starters for UC in conference play with a 5.40 ERA.
· Out of the pen, Jake Geglein has been the top hurler owning a 1.46 ERA in seven appearances.
ON PACE
· Lance Durham, the son of former MLB player Leon Durham, is in his first season with the Red and Black and has made an immediate impact on the UC program.
· Durham enters the week leading the team and the BIG EAST with a .451 average, 65 hits, and an on-base percentage of .526.
· 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 36 games, Durham has 25 multi-hit games and he has reached base safely in 34 games.
· Durham ranks second on the squad with 34 RBI and has hit four home runs.
· On March 31 vs. Wright State, Durham went 3-for-5 from the plate, including a three-run home run, and drove in a career-high five runs.
· Durham is on pace to finish the season with 97 hits, which would rank first in the UC single-season record book, and his .451 average would be the best single-season mark in school history.
· The top single-season batting average in UC history is held by Mark Gabbard, who batted .416 in 1993 (min. 100 at-bats).
ROOKIE SPOTLIGHT
· Freshman T.J. Jones has been one of the catalysts at the top of the order for UC in recent games.
· After starting the season 1-for-14 (.071), Jones has moved from the bottom of the order to the top of the order.
· In the 20 games since March 20, Jones is second on the team in batting average, hitting .354.
· During that span, Jones leads the team in triples and is second on the team with 16 RBI.
· Jones has really stepped up for the Bearcats in conference action.
· In league play, Jones is tied for the conference lead in triples (3), ranks sixth in on-base percentage (.500), and eighth in slugging percentage (.628).
· April 17-19 at St. John's was Jones' first weekend as a lead-off man for UC, and he finished the weekend series with a .450 average, one home run, three RBI, a stolen base, and an on-base percentage of .625.
DOUBLE UP
· Senior Cameron Satterwhite has proven to be a threat to hit for extra bases throughout his career at UC.
· In only three years, Satterwhite ranks in the all-time Top 10 on the UC home runs and doubles charts.
· The Cincinnati, Ohio, native has accumulated 46 doubles in his career and with two doubles against Notre Dame April 9-11, Satterwhite moved into eighth place on UC's all-time doubles list.
· Currently, Chris Hamblen (1999-02), sits in seventh place on UC's all-time doubles list with 47 doubles.
ONE-TWO PUNCH
· Mike Spina and Lance Durham have provided UC with clutch performances this season in the middle of the lineup.
· The duo has combined for 39 multi-hit games and 20 multi-RBI games, including seven four-plus RBI games.
· With runners in scoring position, Spina and Durham have combined to hit .404.
· So far this season, Spina has hit 12 home runs and driven in 47 runs, while Durham has added four home runs and 34 RBI.
· Durham's and Spina's 16 combined home runs account for 41.0 percent of the team's home runs, while their 81 RBI's account for 35.8 percent of the team's RBI's.
OFF AND RUNNING
· Cincinnati has scored 10-plus runs in 12 of 36 games this season.
· Last season, it took UC 52 games to score 10-plus runs 12 times.
· UC has scored 222 runs this season in 36 games, averaging out to 6.94 runs per game.
· This season, UC is 10-2 when scoring 10-plus runs.
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 39 home runs this season and UC has hit two-plus home runs in 14 of its 36 games.
· The Red and Black are 9-5 on the season when hitting two-plus home 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 36 games this season, 12 of Spina's 47 hits have been home runs.
· Spina is averaging one home run for every 11.9 at-bats.
· 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.
· 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.
· Heading into the week, Spina leads the BIG EAST with 12 home runs, and is tied for third in RBI (47).
· Only 93 games into his UC career, Spina ranks sixth on the UC career home runs chart with 33.
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).
· 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 42 hits this season, 14 have gone for extra bases. Riddell has nine doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He also ranks third on the team with a .318 batting average.
PRIME TIME EXPOSURE
· For the first time in program history, the UC baseball team hosted a nationally-televised contest on Sunday, April 5.
· In front of a season-best 1,984 fans, Cincinnati defeated Louisville 10-9 on ESPNU.
· Sophomore Nick Rohlfs went 3-for-4 from the plate and drove in a career-high five runs, including the game-winning RBI's in the seventh inning.
· Senior Jake Geglein pitched the final five innings of the game, earning his second win of the season. In five innings, Geglein gave up just one earned run.
A LOOK BACK
· April 14-15, the University of Cincinnati baseball team hosted the inaugural Joe Nuxhall Classic at Marge Schott Stadium.
· The event honored one of Cincinnati's most beloved figures, Joe Nuxhall, while promoting collegiate baseball in Southwest Ohio.
· On the first day of the tournament, Wright State defeated Miami (OH), 7-3, before Xavier beat Cincinnati 12-8 in the nightcap.
· In the Championship, Xavier rallied to score two runs in the bottom of the eighth to defeat Wright State, 10-9.
· Xavier's Zach Richard was named 2009 Joe Nuxhall Classic Most Valuable player. Richard went 3-for-7 at the plate, with three runs scored and four RBI, including the game-winning RBI in the championship game.
· Opening ceremonies for the event included a video tribute from "The Voice of the Reds", Marty Brennaman, and a first pitch by Joe Nuxhall's son, Kim Nuxhall.