TicketsFeb. 16, 2010
Following a season that saw the University of Cincinnati baseball team reach the BIG EAST Baseball Championships in back-to-back seasons for the first time since joining the conference in 2006, the Bearcats look to continue their ascent to conference prominence in 2010. UC lost 57 percent of its home run total and 45 percent of its RBI totals in Mike Spina, Lance Durham, and Cameron Satterwhite, along with its all-time saves leader in Jake Geglein, but the Bearcats have a large group of young players looking to step in and make their mark on Cincinnati baseball.
PITCHERS
Nine pitchers return from the 2009 squad and they will be joined by a talented group of freshmen arms. Senior Tyler Smith will serve as captain for the Bearcats this season and anchors the group on the mound. Junior Dan Jensen, senior Andrew Burkett, and sophomore Brian Sand all had solid years in 2009 and had productive off-seasons in their respective summer leagues.
Senior Brian Garman, junior Nick Johnson, sophomore Sam Slavik, and junior Dan Glozer all saw valuable time during the 2009 campaign giving UC a variety of options on the mound.
The incoming class of Thomas Gentile, Christian McElroy, Zach Isler, Andrew Strenge, Derek Cox, James, Jones, Jason Pascuzzi, Proctor, and Heath give Cincinnati an explosive talent pool of young pitchers and all are in the running to make immediate contributions.
CATCHERS
UC has all four catchers back behind the plate in 2010 in senior Jimmy Jacquot, junior Nick Rohlfs, sophomore Braden Kline, and redshirt freshman Cramer Dethy. Jacquot and Rohlfs split duty last season and both displayed their potential at different points of the season.
Jacquot and Rohlfs hit .248 and .226, respectively, but the duo single handedly helped the Bearcats triumph in clutch situations. Rohlfs led UC to a come-from-behind win with a career-high five RBI performance against rival Louisville on April 5 in front of a nationally-televised audience on ESPNU to snap a six-game losing skid mid-way through the season, while Jacquot helped UC take two of three games at St. John's in a crucial three-game set late in the season after hitting .692 with two home runs in the series.
Dethy and Kline are UC's other catchers, adding depth to a strong group of signal callers.