TicketsMay 12, 2009
Game Notes | | Listen
THE MATCH-UP
Cincinnati heads into its final week of its regular-season and the Bearcats play their final mid-week, non-conference contest of the season when they travel to Ohio University on Tuesday, May 12, for a 6 p.m. start. The game will be played at Bob Wren Stadium on the Ohio University campus. The Bobcats and Bearcats recently met on May 5 for a pair of seven-inning games. Ohio University took the first game, 7-1, before Cincinnati rebounded to take Game 2, 12-8. Following Cincinnati's match-up with Ohio, Cincinnati welcomes Seton Hall to Marge Schott Stadium for a crucial BIG EAST Conference series May 12-14.
SCOUTING OHIO
· Ohio enters the week with a 25-21 record after taking two-of-three Mid-American Conference games from Miami (OH).
· The Bearcats and Bobcats played two seven-inning contests against each other last week with Ohio taking Game 1, 7-1, before UC took Game 2, 12-8.
· OU comes into the contest with a .314 team batting average and the Bobcats are 16-7 when playing at home.
· Marc Krauss leads the Bobcats in several offensive categories, including batting average (.408), runs scored (62), home runs (21), and RBI (60).
· Ohio has hit 87 home runs this season compared to 60 for its opponents.
· Freshman left-handed pitcher Brent Choban will get the start for Ohio and UC and Choban has a 9.50 ERA, owns a record of 1-0, and has 22 punch outs and eight walks in 18.0 innings.
FINAL HOMESTAND
· Cincinnati hosts its final home games of the 2009 season May 12-14 when the Bearcats welcome the Seton Hall Pirates to Marge Schott Stadium.
· Seton Hall is tied for seventh in the BIG EAST Conference with a 12-12 record, one game ahead of Cincinnati.
· The Cincinnati Department of Athletics has several promotions going on at this weekend's games.
· Thursday's series opener is Date Night as all couples will enter for free. In addition to Date Night, Thursday will also be Cause Awareness Night, raising awareness for Leukemia/Lymphoma. Pompons and black and red Mardi Gras beads will be sold for $1 apiece to also raise money for Lymphoma and Leukemia through Team in Training.
· Friday's game will be Superhero Night as all fans who come dressed as their favorite superhero will receive free admission.
· Saturday, May 16, marks Senior Day as UC seniors Jake Geglein, Michael Hill, Cameron Satterwhite, Mike Spina, and Billy Welsh will play their final game at Marge Schott Stadium and will be honored prior to the start of the game. Saturday's game also will be Beach Day as all fans who wear swimsuits, wetsuits, or bikinis receive free admission. Following the completion of Saturday's game, all kids in attendance are invited to come down to the field, run the bases, and get autographs from the team.
· Both Friday's and Saturday's games will also be Diamond Club Awareness Games. In conjunction with the Cincinnati Reds, the Bearcats are raising awareness for collegiate baseball in Cincinnati. The Reds and Bearcats have collaborated on raffle prizes which will be available as a drawing. All money raised will go towards the Diamond Club which directly funds the UC baseball team. The raffle will take place both Friday and Saturday and the winners will be notified on Monday, May 18.
· Finally, there are several $1 deals at Marge Schott Stadium throughout the weekend. All youth tickets will be just $1 for all three days, there is $1 admission for anyone who shows a Cincinnati Reds ticket stub at the ticket office, and there will be $1 hot dogs on both Friday and Saturday.
WHAT LIES AHEAD
· Heading into the final weekend of BIG EAST Conference play, Cincinnati sits in ninth place in the conference, 1/2 game behind No. 8 Pittsburgh and one full game behind Seton Hall and Connecticut.
· Going into the final weekend, Connecticut plays at Villanova, Pittsburgh hosts West Virginia, and UC hosts Seton Hall.
· While there are plenty of scenarios for UC to qualify for the BIG EAST Championships in Clearwater, Fla., May 18-23, the Bearcats control their own destiny to reach to conference tournament.
· If Cincinnati wins 2-of-3 three games against Seton Hall, UC will finish with a 13-14 conference mark, which would equal Seton Hall. The Bearcats would own the tiebreaker over the Pirates with the series win.
RECORD WATCH
· Heading into the final week of the regular season, UC has several players making their way up the UC single-season and career record charts.
· Senior Mike Spina enters the week with 21 home runs on the season and 65 RBI. His 21 home runs ties for first on the single-season home runs chart and his 65 RBI ties for sixth on the single-season list. Spina needs just one home runs and 15 RBI to break the UC single-season records in those categories.
· Additionally, Spina has 42 career home runs, which ranks third in school history. Spina's 144 career RBI ranks sixth and he also ranks in the career Top 10 in batting average (.357), sacrifice flies (10), slugging percentage (.701), and on-base percentage (.442).
· Senior Cameron Satterwhite is also making a name for himself on the UC career record books. Satterwhite has 52 doubles for his career, which is tied for fifth on the UC career doubles list, and he became the seventh player in Bearcats history to reach 50 career doubles with three doubles over the weekend at West Virginia. The Cincinnati native also ranks seventh on the career home runs chart with 32 and is tied for sixth on the sacrifice flies chart with 10.
· With every save, senior Jake Geglein continues to add to his all-time saves record. Geglein enters the week with 19 career saves. Geglein also ranks sixth in career appearances with 81. In the single-season books, Geglein's eight saves this season ranks fifth on the single-season charts.
· Junior Lance Durham is terrorizing the UC single-season record books as we approach the end of the regular season. Durham currently ranks first in UC single-season history in batting average with a .442 average. The current UC record holder in batting average is Mark Gabbard, who hit .416 in 1993.
· Durham also ranks third on the single-season hits list (92), and is second on the single-season on-base percentage list (.516).
UC HONORS ONE OF ITS ALL-TIME GREATS
· On Wednesday, April 29, the UC baseball program honored its all-time winningest coach, Glenn Sample, who passed away on Nov. 21, 2008.
· Prior to the game, a video from the "Voice of the Reds", Marty Brennaman, was played and the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Sample's grandsons, Maxx Sample and Tory Heithaus.
· Honoring him the best way they knew how, the Bearcats defeated Xavier, 19-3, which included a nine-run fourth inning.
· Chris Peters finished 3-for-4 with two triples and a home run, while Mike Spina also recorded three hits and drove home four runs.
· In the fourth inning, Lance Durham became the first player in Marge Schott Stadium history to hit a home run that landed on top of Fifth Third Arena in a game.
· When all was said and done, Cincinnati finished the game with a season-high 19 runs and boasted a season-best 22 hits.
IT ONLY TAKES TWO
· Since arriving in Clifton in 2008, Mike Spina has turned himself into one of top players in UC history in only two seasons.
· After hitting 21 home runs last season, Spina has matched last year's total with 21 this season. His 42 career home runs ranks third on UC's all-time list. He is just the third player in UC history to reach 40 career home runs, joining Matt Singer and current Boston Red Sox first baseman, Kevin Youkilis.
· Of the top seven players on Cincinnati's all-time home run list, Spina is the only player on that list not to play four years in the Red and Black.
· Spina also ranks in the Top 10 on UC's career batting average list, on-base percentage list, slugging percentage list, and sacrifice flies list.
· Spina also has driven in 144 runs in his career, which ranks sixth on the school's career RBI list.
· This season, his 21 home runs are tied for first on the single-season home runs list and his 65 RBI is tied for sixth on the single-season chart.
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 weekend leading the team and ranking first in BIG EAST with a .442 average. Durham is the league leader in hits (92), and is second in on-base percentage (.516).
· In 52 games, Durham has 32 multi-hit games and he has reached base safely in 49 games.
· Durham ranks second on the squad with 47 RBI and has hit seven 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.
· On April 29 vs. Xavier, Durham hit his seventh home run of the year, which landed on top of Fifth Third Arena becoming the first player to achieve that feat in a game. It is estimated that Durham hit the home run about 500 feet.
· Durham is on pace to finish the season with 99 hits, which would rank first in the UC single-season record book, and his .442 average would be the best single-season mark in school history. Durham needs just five hits to break Kevin Youkilis' single-season hits record of 96 set in 1999.
· The top single-season batting average in UC history is held by Mark Gabbard, who batted .416 in 1993.
KING OF THE HILL
· 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 added to his career saves mark with saves in UC's last two series' against Villanova and USF, and a mid-week save against Butler.
· Geglein enters the week with eight saves, which is tied for first in the BIG EAST. His four saves in league play also ranks first.
· Geglein ranked second in the BIG EAST with nine saves in 2008.
· With the save at USF on Saturday, May 2, Geglein earned his ninth career save in BIG EAST play. One more save will tie Geglein for fourth in BIG EAST history in saves.
· The BIG EAST career leader in saves is current Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Craig Hansen, who collected 14 saves at St. John's from 2003-05.
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 27 games, Satterwhite has come to life and played a vital role in UC's series wins over Notre Dame, St. John's and Villanova.
· Since the start of the Louisville series on April 3, Satterwhite is hitting .304 (31-of-102), with 12 doubles, four home runs, and 21 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.
· In the series opener against Villanova on April 24, Satterwhite hit two home runs, marking his second multi-home run game of the season.
· Over his past 24 games, Satterwhite has raised his batting average 60 points -- from .193 to .253.
ROOKIE SPOTLIGHT
· Freshman T.J. Jones has been one of the catalysts at the top of the order for UC in the second half of the season.
· 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 36 games since March 20, Jones is second on the team in batting average, hitting .344.
· During that span, Jones leads the team in triples (4) and is third on the team with 28 RBI.
· For the season, Jones is batting .317, which is the sixth best batting average among all freshmen in the league.
· In league play, Jones is tied for second in the conference in triples (3).
· 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.
· As a lead-off hitter this season, Jones is batting .351, with two home runs and 13 RBI, and owns an on-base percentage of .474.
POWER SURGE
· In UC's 15-9 loss at West Virginia on May 9, the Bearcats hit a season-high five home runs.
· It was the fifth time this season that UC has hit four-plus home runs in a game, with the other occurrences coming against Purdue in the season opener on Feb. 20, against Pittsburgh on March 22, and against Villanova on April 26, and again against Villanova on April 28.
· Cincinnati has hit 65 home runs this season and UC has hit two-plus home runs in 21 of its 52 games.
· The Red and Black are 14-7 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 52 games this season, 21 of Spina's 69 hits have been home runs.
· Spina is averaging one home run for every 9.8 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.
· Against Villanova on April 25, the Bearcats were down 8-7 in the bottom of the 10th and Spina was down in the count, one ball, two strikes. Spina delivered a home run on the next pitch that tied the game at eight, and during the next at-bat Lance Durham hit a solo home run giving UC the win.
· Spina leads the BIG EAST with 21 home runs, and is third in RBI (65).
· 109 games into his UC career, Spina ranks third on the UC career home runs chart with 42 and ranks sixth in career RBI with 144.
MAKING THE MOST OF HIS CHANCE
· Jimmy Jacquot was inserted into the starting lineup following the Notre Dame series and since he was inserted into the lineup, he has been an asset at the bottom of the order.
· Since the start of the St. John's series on April 17, Jacquot has improved his batting average from .083 to .288.
· During that span, Jacquot ranks second on the team with a .400 batting average.
· Since April 17, Jacquot has hit five home runs and driven in 12 runs. He owns a .692 slugging percentage during that span which is tops on the squad.