TicketsMarch 5, 2010
The University of Cincinnati baseball team (3-3) begins its 2010 home campaign on Friday, March 5, when it welcomes Youngstown State to Marge Schott Stadium for the opener of a three-game series at 4 p.m. The game against Youngstown State on Friday also kicks off an 11-game homestand for the Bearcats, where they will take on the Penguins, LeMoyne, Niagara, and Toledo. Following its series-opening game on Friday against YSU, the Bearcats will play the Penguins at 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 6, before closing out the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 7. UC is coming off a weekend where it went 2-1 at the Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge, including wins over Purdue and No. 13 Ohio State.
FEB. 26-28 BIG TEN/BIG EAST BASEBALL CHALLENGE
· In the inaugural BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in 2009, Cincinnati went 0-3, which included an 11-10 loss to Purdue and a 6-5 loss to Ohio State.
· The Bearcats responded in the 2010 edition of the Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge with a 2-1 record.
· Cincinnati lost a heartbreaker in its first game of the challenge to Penn State when the Nittany Lions rallied for two runs in the ninth to tie the game, before winning in the 12th inning.
· In game two, UC trailed 6-0 to Purdue heading into the ninth inning, before the Bearcats rallied for seven runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Boilermakers, 7-6.
· In the finale of the event, Cincinnati jumped in front early and never looked back as it defeated No. 13 Ohio State, 12-4.
· The win over the Buckeyes was the highest-ranked opponent the Bearcats have beaten since beating No. 11 TCU, 12-4, on April 4, 2004.
SAND, JONES NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
· For the second year in a row, Cincinnati had two players named to the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge All-Tournament team.
· In 2009, senior Jamel Scott and junior Justin Riddell were the two Bearcats selected to the all-tournament team.
· This season, UC junior Brian Sand and T.J. Jones were named to the all-tournament team with Sand earning first-team honors and Jones getting the second-team nod.
· In relief, Sand shut down Ohio State and did not surrender a hit in 5.0 innings of work.
· He inherited runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth inning after Ohio State scored two quick runs in the inning to make the score 8-4. Sand was helped out by junior Mikel Huston, who made a leaping catch at the wall to save a three-run home run, before inducing a 4-6-3 double play to end the scoring threat in the fifth.
· From that point on, Sand was untouchable and he picked up his first win of the season. The Cincinnati native forced the Buckeyes into three double plays.
· Jones led the Bearcats offensively for the weekend hitting .462 (6-of-13), with five RBI.
· Jones started the weekend off with a three-hit performance against Penn State, before going 1-for-4 with two RBI in a comeback win over Purdue.
· In the weekend finale against Ohio State, Jones went 2-for-3, scored two runs, and drove in three in the win over the Buckeyes, while defensively he helped turn four of UC's five double plays.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
· Junior Dan Jensen has put together two quality starts as UC's Friday night starter in its first two weekends of the 2010 season.
· Jensen was a reliever in 2009 for UC making 25 appearances and posting a 4.60 ERA in 31.1 innings. Jensen also struck out 18 batters, while giving up 13 walks.
· In two outings as a starter this season, Jensen has an ERA of 2.45 and has punched out nine batters compared to two walks in 11.0 innings of work.
· Jensen gave up one earned run in the first start of his career against Florida Atlantic on Friday, Feb. 19, en route to his first win of the season.
· Against Penn State on Friday, Feb. 22, the Centerville, Ohio native scattered four hits, struck out five, and did not give up a walk in 6.0 innings.
SCOTT LOOKING TO RETURN TO OLD FORM
· After battling injuries through most of the 2009 season, senior Jamel Scott is looking to return to his old form in his final season in the Red and Black.
· As a sophomore in 2008, Scott hit .311 with eight doubles, one home run, and 38 RBI.
· Scott also finished second on the team with 35 stolen bases on 44 attempts.
· This season, Scott is hitting .240 with an on-base percentage of .321.
· Scott has stolen four bases in five attempts this season, which ranks him among the BIG EAST leaders in both stolen bases and stolen base attempts.
· Against, Ohio State, Scott put his speed on display in the fourth inning after reaching base on a single through the left side. During the next at-bat, Scott proceeded to second base and third base to move into scoring position and then scored on a single.
· Scott has 58 career stolen bases and ranks fourth all-time on UC's stolen bases chart.
· Scott needs just three more stolen bases to tie Troy Muckerheide for third on UC's career stolen bases chart.
· Last season, Scott hit .262 and was 12-for-15 in stolen bases.
NEW YEAR, NEW RESULTS
· The Cincinnati pitching staff has 10 returners from last year's staff, giving the Bearcats an experienced group of hurlers.
· Last season, the UC pitching staff struggled with an ERA of 6.56, which ranked last in the BIG EAST.
· In the first six games of the 2009 season, the Cincinnati's ERA was even higher at 7.88.
· Through six games this season, the Bearcats pitching staff has been much improved as Cincinnati has an ERA of 4.61.
· Two of UC's starters, junior Dan Jensen and senior Tyler Smith have ERA's of 2.45 and 4.22, respectively.
· Senior Brian Garman and junior Brian Sand have both pitched six-plus innings in relief this season and own ERA's of 3.00 and 2.70, respectively.
LOOK WHO'S BACK
· The Bearcats have 20 letterwinners returning from the 2009 season including seven seniors.
· The seniors include Jamel Scott, Kevin Johnson, Jimmy Jacquot, Beach Brooks, Brian Garman, Andrew Burkett, and Tyler Smith.
· UC has eight players back that started at least 20 games last year. UC's top returning hitter from 2009 is sophomore second baseman T.J. Jones, who hit .327 as a freshman with four home runs and 32 RBI.
· Junior Chris Peters started all 58 games at shortstop last season and has started every game at shortstop since arriving on campus.
· Jacquot and junior Nick Rohlfs split time behind the plate last season. Jacquot finished the season strong and hit .248, while Rohlfs hit .226 before missing the second half of the season with a shoulder injury.
· Two of UC's top returners coming into the 2009 season, Kevin Johnson and Jamel Scott, were both injured early and battled injuries most of the 2009 season. Both players are healthy and ready to make an impact in their senior campaigns.
· Junior Justin Riddell is also back after a season where he hit .294 with six home runs and 30 RBI.
· On the mound, 10 of the 13 players who pitched last year are back in 2010.
· Junior Dan Jensen owns the top returning ERA among the returners with a 4.60 ERA. Jensen played for the Mat-Su Miners in the Alaskan Summer League where he posted an ERA below 2.00.
· Tyler Smith is the top returning starter from a year ago after posting a 3-4 record with 40 strikeouts in 51.1 innings.
· The other pitchers returning are Brian Garman, Nick Johnson, Brian Sand, Sam Slavik, Dan Glozer, and Andrew Burkett.
NEW FACES
· Head coach Brian Cleary welcomes 10 true freshmen to campus for the 2010 season.
· Seven of the 10 freshmen are pitchers with Marcus Heath splitting time between the outfield and the mound.
· The freshmen class includes Logan Jackson, Jake Proctor, Chris McElroy, Derek Cox, Thomas Gentile, Andrew Strenge, Heath, James Jones, Jason Pascuzzi, and Zach Isler.
· UC has two other newcomers in junior college transfer Mikel Huston and sophomore Anthony Howard.
SMITH NAMED CAPTAIN
· Head coach Brian Cleary announced that senior pitcher Tyler Smith will serve as captain for the 2010 season.
· Smith is the third straight pitcher to be tabbed captain for the Bearcats following in the footsteps of Jake Geglein (2009) and A.J. Upton (2008).
· "Tyler's work ethic and commitment to our team have been tremendous since his arrival at UC," Cleary said. "Because of this, his teammates have indicated great support for him to serve as our captain. The coaching staff also feels strongly about his ability to serve in this role for this coming season."
· Last season, Smith posted a 3-4 record and recorded 40 strikeouts in 51.1 innings of work.
· Smith made 19 appearances and five starts in 2009, with his best performance coming against Western Michigan where he threw five innings of scoreless relief, which included a career-high nine strikeouts.
UC PICKED SEVENTH IN BIG EAST PRESEASON POLL
· In the 2010 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Bearcats were picked to finish in seventh.
· Louisville has been chosen as the favorite to take the 2010 title in the BIG EAST preseason baseball coaches' poll.
· The coaches also selected West Virginia shortstop Jedd Gyorko as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year and tabbed USF righthanded pitcher Randy Fontanez the BIG EAST Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
· Louisville earned nine of a possible 11 first-place votes to edge second-place USF as the 2010 favorite. The Cardinals had 119 points in the poll, while the Bulls were second with 113 points and three first-place votes.
· Connecticut was picked third in the preseason poll following the Huskies' run to the title game of last year's BIG EAST Championship.
· St. John's was tabbed for fourth in the preseason poll. The Red Storm went 30-22 overall and 16-11 in BIG EAST play to finish fourth in the 2009 standings.
· Notre Dame was fifth in the preseason poll on the heels of a 36-23 season in 2009 that saw the Fighting Irish narrowly miss an appearance in the NCAA Championship.
· West Virginia was projected to finish sixth by the BIG EAST coaches after the Mountaineers went 37-18 overall and 17-10 in the BIG EAST last year under head coach Greg Van Zant.
· Cincinnati and Rutgers were picked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the preseason poll. Pittsburgh was ninth, Seton Hall was 10th, Villanova was 11th, and Georgetown was 12th.
· The 2010 BIG EAST Baseball Championship will return to Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., May 26-30, with the championship game to be televised on ESPNU.
2009 SEASON RECAP
· Cincinnati finished the season with a 29-29 record, falling one win shy of back-to-back 30-win seasons.
· The Bearcats made the BIG EAST Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since joining the BIG EAST Conference in 2005-06.
· Senior Mike Spina, who was drafted in the 11th round by Oakland A's, broke his own single-season home run record with 23 home runs and added 69 RBI to lead the squad.
· Junior Lance Durham, who was drafted in the 14th round by Toronto Blue Jays, set a new UC single-season batting average record by hitting .427. Durham also broke Kevin Youkilis' single-season hits record with 99 hits.
· Senior Jake Geglein broke UC's career saves record with 20 and finished the 2009 season with a 6-1 record and nine saves.
INJURY UPDATE
· Cincinnati will be without the services of two of its freshmen for the Youngstown State series.
· Freshman pitcher Chris McElroy will be out for the remainder of the 2010 season with an elbow injury.
· Fellow freshman Jake Proctor was hit by a pitch on the hand on Saturday, Feb. 27, and has a broken hand. His timetable for return is 2-4 weeks.