TicketsMarch 25, 2010
The University of Cincinnati baseball team kicks off BIG EAST Conference play this weekend when it travels to Villanova, Pa., to take on the Villanova Wildcats in a three-game series at Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth. Cincinnati split a pair of mid-week road contests at Butler and at Dayton this week and enters its first conference series with an 11-7 overall record, while the Wildcats own the second-best record in the conference at 15-3. The series begins at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, March 26, with UC's Dan Jensen facing VU's Brian Streilein. Game 2 of the series is set to start at 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, before the series concludes at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, March 28. All three games will be available through Gametracker on www.GoBEARCATS.com.
ABOUT VILLANOVA
· The Wildcats come into conference play with a 15-3 overall record, the second-best record in the conference.
· Villanova ranks in the Top 2 in the BIG EAST in several offensive categories, including batting average (2nd, .334), on-base percentage (2nd, .431), walks (1st, 95), sacrifice flies (2nd, 11), and stolen bases (1st, 59).
· The Wildcats 59 stolen bases are 22 more than Pittsburgh, who ranks second in the conference in that category with 37.
· Six players are batting over .300, including Matt Szczur, who leads the squad with a .529 average.
· Justin Bencsko has scored a team-high 27 runs and leads the team and the BIG EAST with 18 stolen bases.
· The Villanova pitching staff has posted an ERA of 3.28, led by its starters Kyle Helisek and Brian Streilein. Helisek and Streilein have ERA's of 2.18 and 2.30, respectively, ranking them fourth and fifth in the BIG EAST.
· Streilein has struck out 33 men, placing him in a tie for fifth in the conference.
THE MATCH-UP
· The match-up between the Bearcats and Wildcats pits some compelling match-ups.
· Cincinnati comes into the contest walking the fewest number of batters of anybody in the league (48), while the Wildcats have drawn a conference-best 99 walks.
· Entering the week, VU ranked second in the league in ERA at 3.42, while UC ranked 11th in batting average hitting at a .264 clip.
· The Wildcats have stolen a league-best 59 stolen bases and they will be running against junior catcher Jimmy Jacquot, who has thrown out a conference-best 12 runners in 20 stolen base attempts.
LEADING THE CHARGE
· Senior Jimmy Jacquot has been Cincinnati's hottest hitter as of late.
· Jacquot currently ranks second on the team with a .328 batting average and he is tied for the team lead with three home runs. Jacquot also is second in RBI with 17.
· Over Cincinnati's last 10 games, Jacquot is hitting a team-best .405, with two home runs and 10 RBI. During that stretch, Jacquot has four multi-RBI games.
· Since playing LeMoyne on March 10, opponents have tried to steal 13 bases on Jacquot, and the senior has thrown out eight runners.
· On the season, Jacquot has thrown out 12 of 20 runners attempting to steal.
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 but one this season. Scott is hitting .246 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 10 games, Johnson is hitting .343 (12-of-35).
· Jacquot leads the team in home runs (3), is hitting .328, and has driven in 16 runs and scored 14 runs. Through 18 games last season, Jacquot was hitting .100 and had one home run and four RBI. Over the last 10 games, Jacquot is hitting a team-best .405.
· 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 .375 (6-of-16), with eight RBI.
· Smith has been steady on the mound as UC's Saturday starter and owns an ERA of 3.96.
· Garman has been terrific out of the bullpen this season, picking up a win over Youngstown State and he has an ERA of 1.62 in 16.2 innings of work.
· Finally, Burkett has been UC's closer this season and has three saves for the Bearcats. Burkett owns an ERA of 2.84 and has struck out 11, while walking just three batters.
TRIO PROVIDES RELIEF
· Senior Brian Garman, junior Brian Sand, and senior Andrew Burkett have been spectacular out of the bullpen for Cincinnati this season.
· Garman has posted a 1.62 ERA in six appearances out of the bullpen and struck out 22 batters, while walking six in 16.2 innings.
· Sand owns an ERA of 2.45 and has struck out 18 and given up one walk in 18.1 innings of work.
· In Garman's last five outings against Penn State, Youngstown State, Niagara, Toledo, and Butler he has pitched 14.2 innings of relief, given up 14 hits, three earned runs, and struck out 21 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 four of his six relief appearances and on the season has struck out 11, while giving up one walk, which was an intentional walk against Toledo on March 20.
· Burkett has posted three saves for Cincinnati this season and has struck out 11 in 6.1 innings en route to a 2.84 ERA.
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. Brooks was the hero again with a pinch-hit walk-off sacrifice fly to give UC another 7-6 win.
· Brooks is hitting .375 (6-of-16) on the season and has driven in eight runs in 16 plate appearances.
· Brooks has three multi-RBI games this season, including one against Butler on March 23, when he hit a pinch-hit two-RBI double to kick start Cincinnati's come-from-behind win.
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 18 games of the 2009 season, the Cincinnati's ERA was at 6.28.
· Through 18 games this season, the Bearcats pitching staff has been much improved as Cincinnati has an ERA of 4.11.
· Two of UC's starters, senior Tyler Smith and junior Dan Jensen have ERA's of 3.86 and 3.96, respectively.
· Senior Brian Garman and junior Brian Sand have both pitched 15-plus innings in relief this season and own ERA's of 1.62 and 2.45, respectively.
· The pitching staff has given up 48 walks on the season, the fewest in the BIG EAST Conference, while striking out 132, which ranks among the Top 8.
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.
INJURY UPDATE
· Cincinnati has been without the services of two of its freshmen for most of the season.
· 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 missed nine games with a broken hand. Proctor made his return to the lineup on March 19 against Toledo.