TicketsMarch 18, 2010
The University of Cincinnati baseball team concludes its 11-game homestand this weekend when the University of Toledo comes to town for a three-game series beginning on Friday, March 19, at 4 p.m. at Marge Schott Stadium. Cincinnati (9-4) has won eight of its last nine games, including five in a row, while Toledo comes in winning its mid-week game on Wednesday, 4-0, over IPFW to up its record to 7-6. Following Friday's series opener, the Bearcats and Rockets will meet on Saturday, March 20, at 4 p.m., before concluding their series on Sunday, March 21, with a scheduled 1 p.m. start.
HOME SWEET HOME
· Cincinnati concludes an 11-game homestand this weekend against Toledo and during the home stretch the Bearcats have faced Youngstown State, LeMoyne and Niagara.
· The Bearcats have gone 6-1 thus far in the home stretch, with the only loss coming against Youngstown State on Saturday, March 6.
· UC is hitting .333 as a team in seven home contests, while averaging 9.4 runs per game.
· The .333 average is 47 points higher than its season average of .286 and its 9.4 runs per game is 2.20 runs per game more than its season average.
· Sophomore T.J. Jones and senior Jimmy Jacquot have been UC's most productive hitters at home this far as both are hitting above .400 at Marge Schott Stadium.
· Jones is batting .462 (12-of-26) at home with one home run and 11 RBI.
· Jacquot is batting .414 (12-of-29) and has hit all three of his home runs at Marge Schott Stadium.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
· One of the reasons for Cincinnati's early season success has been the play of its seniors; Jamel Scott, Kevin Johnson, Jimmy Jacquot, Beach Brooks, Tyler Smith, Brian Garman, and Andrew Burkett.
· As a lead-off man, Scott has reached base safely in every game this season. Scott is hitting .308 and leads the team and ranks second in the BIG EAST in stolen bases with 11.
· Johnson has been a steady force at first base and made only one error on the season, while coming on of late at the plate. Over the last five games, Johnson is hitting .471 (8-of-17).
· Jacquot leads the team in home runs (3), is hitting .311, and has driven in 12 runs and scored 12 runs. Through 13 games last season, Jacquot was hitting .111 and had one home run and four RBI.
· In a reserve role, Brooks has come off the bench and delivered two game-winning RBI for UC against Purdue and Youngstown State. Brooks is hitting .556 (5-of-9), with six RBI.
· Smith has been steady on the mound as UC's Saturday starter. Smith has gone at least 5.0 innings in three of his four starts and owns an ERA of 2.78.
· Garman has been terrific out of the bullpen this season, picking up a win over Youngstown State and he has an ERA of 2.31 in 11.2 innings of work.
· Finally, Burkett has been UC's closer this season and has two saves for the Bearcats. Burkett owns an ERA of 3.60 and has struck out nine, while walking just three batters.
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 .308, and he has been a terror on the base paths.
· Scott has stolen 11 bases in 12 attempts this season, which ranks him second in the BIG EAST leaders in both categories.
· 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 65 career stolen bases, ranking him second on UC's all-time stolen bases chart behind Tony Campana (104).
· Over Cincinnati's last four games, Scott is hitting .533 (8-of-15), he has scored seven runs, and stole four bases.
· Last season, Scott hit .262 and was 12-for-15 in stolen bases.
GARMAN, SAND PROVIDING RELIEF
· Senior Brian Garman and junior Brian Sand have been spectacular out of the bullpen for Cincinnati this season.
· Garman has posted a 2.31 ERA in four appearances out of the bullpen and struck out 15 batters, while walking six in 11.2 innings.
· Sand owns an ERA of 2.70 and has struck out 10 without giving up a walk in 13.1 innings of work.
· In Garman's last three outings against Penn State, Youngstown State, and Niagara, he has pitched 9.2 innings of relief, given up 11 hits, three earned runs, and struck out four men while relinquishing two walks.
· In relief, Sand shut down Ohio State on Feb. 28 and did not surrender a hit in 5.0 innings of work to pick up his first win of the season.
· Sand has pitched at least two innings in three of his five relief appearances and on the season has struck out 10 and not relinquished a walk.
ANOTHER DAY AT THE BEACH
· Twice within an eight-day span, senior Beach Brooks delivered two walk-off RBI for Cincinnati.
· Trailing 6-0 heading into the ninth inning against Purdue on Feb. 27, the Bearcats scored seven runs in the final inning, which included a walk-off, pinch-hit single by Brooks, to win, 7-6.
· Eight-days later, senior Jimmy Jacquot hit a one-out triple to put the game-winning run on third base in the series finale against Youngstown State, and Brooks was the hero again with a pinch-hit walk-off sacrifice fly to give UC a 7-6 win.
· In just nine at-bats this season, Brooks has five hits and has driven in six runs.
JACQUOT EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
· Senior Jimmy Jacquot was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll following his performance over four games last week.
· Jacquot extended his hitting streak to eight games with a hit in UC's four wins this past week.
· Jacquot led the team in home runs and tied for the team lead in hits with eight.
· On Wednesday, March 10, against LeMoyne, Jacquot went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, three RBI, a double and a home run.
· In the second game of a three-game set against Niagara, Jacquot went a perfect 3-for-3 with a two-run home run, his third of the season.
· For the week, Jacquot had six RBI, two doubles, two home runs, a stolen base, and scored six runs.
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 13 games of the 2009 season, the Cincinnati's ERA was at 5.73.
· Through 13 games this season, the Bearcats pitching staff has been much improved as Cincinnati has an ERA of 3.97.
· Two of UC's starters, senior Tyler Smith and junior Dan Jensen have ERA's of 2.78 and 3.00, respectively.
· Senior Brian Garman and junior Brian Sand have both pitched 10-plus innings in relief this season and own ERA's of 2.31 and 2.70, respectively.
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 Tulane, 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.
· The five doubles tied a single-game school record.
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.
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.