TicketsMay 24, 2010
For the fourth time in five seasons, the University of Cincinnati baseball team will be making a trip to the BIG EAST Conference Championships when it heads down to Clearwater, Fla., to take on the second-seeded and No. 19 UConn Huskies on Wednesday, May 26, at 1 p.m., at Bright House Field. Opening ceremonies and the first Home Run Derby begin on Tuesday, May 25, before action begins at 10 a.m. on May 26. The Bearcats enter the conference tournament with a 29-27 overall record after a three-game sweep of Georgetown to conclude the regular season. Cincinnati owns a 3-5 all-time record in the BIG EAST Tournament, with all three wins coming during the 2008 championships.
ABOUT CONNECTICUT
· The Huskies enter the week ranked No. 19 in the Baseball America poll and own a 43-12 overall record and finished second in the BIG EAST with a 20-6 conference mark.
· Connecticut is just one of two teams in the conference to rank in the Top 4 in the conference in hitting and ERA, with a team batting average of .317 (4th), and an ERA of 3.87 (2nd).
· Matt Nemeth leads the squad with a .389 batting average and has driven in a team-best 70 runs.
· The Huskies have seven other regular starters that are hitting above .300 on the campaign.
· On the mound, the UConn hurlers own the second-best ERA in the BIG EAST at 3.87.
· Elliot Glynn is Connecticut’s top starter with a 2.12 ERA in 12 starts. He has struck out 36 and walked 27 in 76.1 innings of work.
· UConn also has been a terror on the base paths this season with a BIG EAST-leading 149 stolen bases. The 149 stolen bases ranks third nationally.
THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
· The BIG EAST Tournament kicks off on Tuesday, May 25, with the opening ceremonies and the inaugural BIG EAST Home Run Derby.
· Each team will have one participant in the Home Run Derby and Cincinnati’s will be senior Jimmy Jacquot.
· BIGEAST.tv will stream the opening ceremonies and Home Run Derby free through www.BIGEAST.org. All Tournament games besides the championship game can be viewed on BIGEAST.tv for $12.95, which includes live streams of all games and access to full-game archives.
· The opening game of the tournament will pit No. 3-seed Pittsburgh against No. 6-seed Rutgers at 10 a.m. Following UC and UConn at 1 p.m., top-seeded Louisville takes on No. 8-seed West Virginia at 5 p.m., and No. 4-seed St. John’s will meet No. 5-seed USF in the nightcap at 8 p.m.
· The winner of the Cincinnati/Connecticut match-up will meet the winner of the Pittsburgh/Rutgers game at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 27. The losers of those games will play at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
· Cincinnati is 3-5 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament with all three of its wins coming in the 2008 tournament.
· UConn holds a 1-0 lead in the all-time series against UC in the conference tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
· Needing two wins in its doubleheader on Thursday, May 20, to clinch a spot in the 2010 BIG EAST Baseball Championships, the Bearcats did just that in dramatic fashion.
· In Game 1 of the double-dip, the score was tied at six in the eighth inning when junior Justin Riddell brought in two runs with two outs on a double off the wall in center field. The hit proved to be the difference as UC won the opener, 8-7.
· In Game 2, UC trailed 4-1 entering the ninth inning and used a game-tying, three-run home run from senior Jimmy Jacquot to tie the game. Later in the inning, another three-run home run from senior Kevin Johnson gave UC the 7-4 walk-off win.
· The sweep was Cincinnati’s second of the season in league play and marked just the third time this season that UC has scored five-plus runs in each game of a three-game conference series.
LAST OPPORTUNITY
· This season, more than a third of the Bearcats wins have come in their final at-bat.
· With two wins in its final at-bats in a doubleheader against Georgetown on May 20, UC won its ninth and 10th games of the season in its final at-bat.
· Cincinnati’s largest comeback of the season came on Feb. 27, when the Bearcats overcame a sixth-run ninth inning deficit by scoring seven runs in the final frame to beat Purdue, 7-6.
· In the last two weekends, three of UC’s four conference wins have come in its last at-bat.
STRENGE RISES TO THE OCCASSION
· On Sunday, May 9, freshman Andrew Strenge earned his first start of his career and pitched a gem, leading UC to a 3-2 win over the No. 20 Connecticut Huskies.
· Strenge yielded seven hits and gave up two unearned runs, while striking out six batters en route to a complete game.
· With the complete game, Strenge became the first UC freshman to toss one since Dan Osterbrock tossed a complete game at Villanova on May 6, 2006.
· In the second start of his career against No. 22 Pittsburgh on May 16, Strenge continued to impress by holding the top hitting team in the country to one run in 8.0 innings of work to pick up his sixth win of the season.
· Against the nationally-ranked Panthers, Strenge struck out a career-high nine batters without yielding a walk.
· For his efforts against the Panthers, Strenge was named the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, marking UC’s first conference weekly award winner of the season and UC’s first Pitcher of the Week honor since Michael Hill won the award in May of 2008.
· For his efforts against UConn and Pitt, he was to the CollegeBaseball360.com Primetime Performer of the Week honor roll for two consecutive weeks.
· After going two innings vs. Georgetown, Strenge has now pitched 24.2 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run, the second-longest active streak in the country and the sixth-longest streak of the season.
· In conference-only play, Strenge pitched 29.0 innings, struck out 29, walked one, posted a record of 4-0, and owned a 0.62 ERA, setting a new BIG EAST single-season record for ERA.
· Below is the active list of most consecutive innings without giving up an earned run.
Name.... Cl. L/R... School.. IP
1. Tim Boyce Sr.......... RHP Rhode Island 34.0
2. Andrew Strenge ......... Fr. RHP Cincinnati 24.2
IP = Innings pitched w/out allowing an earned run
BURKETT SETS NEW RECORD
· The Cincinnati bullpen has been one of the team’s strengths for most of the season and part of the reason for its success has been due to its anchor, senior Andrew Burkett.
· On Sunday, May 16, against No. 22 Pittsburgh, Burkett entered the game in the ninth inning and closed out the 3-1 win over the nationally-ranked Panthers, his 13th save of the season.
· Burkett passed Shannon Morgan’s 1995 single-season school record of 12 saves, becoming UC’s all-time single-season saves leader.
· On Thursday, May 20, in the opening game of a doubleheader against Georgetown, Burkett recorded his 14th save of the season and his ninth in league play.
· The nine saves in conference play ties him with Louisville’s Neil Holland for the single-season saves record in BIG EAST history.
· Burkett has struck out 28 in 20.1 innings en route to a 3.10 ERA.
· Burkett is also in a tie for second on UC’s career saves list with 15.
RIDDELL CONTINUES HOT STREAK
· Prior to the opening game of the Notre Dame series on April 23, junior Justin Riddell was hitting .235 (19-of-81) in 30 games.
· Over the past 23 games, however, Riddell has been Cincinnati’s top hitter.
· The Lexington, Ky., native is hitting .359 (33-of-92) over the past 23 contests, with six home runs and 17 RBI.
· Riddell has posted 12 multi-hit games in his past 23 contests to lead the team. Five of those 12 multi-hit games have been three-hit performances.
· The last five conference weekends, Riddell has been even more impressive.
· In the last five weekends of conference action, Riddell was 26-for-60 (.433) and he was slugging .767.
· Prior to the Notre Dame series, Riddell was hitting .067 (1-for-15) in conference play and he is currently leading the team with a .371 average in 21 conference games.
THE DECIDING NUMBER
· Despite their offensive struggles this season, the Bearcats have scored five or more runs in 24 of its 56 games.
· UC is 23-1 on the season when scoring five or more runs in a game.
· On Saturday, May 15, the Bearcats suffered their first loss of the season when scoring five or more runs in a game, losing to No. 22 Pittsburgh, 8-5.
· Last season, Cincinnati was 26-11 when scoring more than five runs in a game.
· On the other end of the scale, the Bearcats are just 6-26 when scoring less than five runs.
EXTRA-INNINGS
· Last season, Cincinnati was 4-0 in extra-inning contests.
· The Bearcats have struggled in 2010 in extra-inning games as UC is 0-3 in extra innings.
· The Bearcats lost to Penn State, 5-4, in 12 innings at the Big Ten/BIG EAST Baseball Challenge on Feb. 26, after UC led 4-3 entering the ninth inning.
· UC also dropped an extra-inning contest to Seton Hall, 4-3, on April 11, in addition to losing to Ohio University, 2-1, on April 20.
· The Bearcats have been outscored 4-1 in extra-innings this season.
LEADING THE CHARGE
· All season long, senior Jimmy Jacquot has ranked among the team leaders in home runs and RBI.
· Jacquot currently leads the team with 13 home runs and 49 RBI.
· The 13 home runs and 49 RBI are tops in the league among catchers.
· The Swansea, Ill., native came through in a big way against Wright State on April 13, when he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at five. UC came back later in the game and won, 6-5.
· Jacquot continued his late-game heroics against West Virginia on May 1, when he hit the go-ahead solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to lead UC to the come-from-behind win.
· In the final weekend of the regular season, UC trailed 4-1 in the ninth and Jacquot hit a three-run home run to tie the game at four, a game in which UC eventually won later in that inning.
· Against Georgetown, Jacquot hit .600 in the three-game series against the Hoyas and earned his first BIG EAST Player of the Week honor on May 24.
· Five of Jacquot’s 13 home runs have come in the eighth or ninth innings this season. Two of those five home runs have been game-tying home runs, while one has been a go-ahead home run.
· Jacquot has not only impressed offensively, but he has been an asset behind the plate.
· Entering the weekend, runners have attempted to steal 66 times on Jacquot and he has thrown out 26 runners. The 26 runners caught stealing by Jacquot leads the BIG EAST.
NEW YEAR, NEW RESULTS
· The Cincinnati pitching staff has 10 returners from last year, 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.
· This season, the Bearcats pitching staff has been much improved as Cincinnati has an ERA of 4.15, ranking third in the league.
· Two of UC’s starters, senior Tyler Smith and junior Dan Jensen have ERA’s of 3.75 and 3.46, respectively.
· Senior Brian Garman and freshman Andrew Strenge have both pitched 40-plus innings in relief this season and own ERA’s of 3.67 and 1.73, respectively.
· Six of UC’s pitchers who have completed at least 20.0 innings of action this season have ERA’s below 4.00.
· Entering the week, UC ranked in the Top 25 nationally in earned run average.
JOE NUXHALL CLASSIC
· In the inaugural Joe Nuxhall Classic in 2009, the Bearcats fell to Wright State and Miami (OH) in its two games in the tournament that honors the Ol’ Lefthander.
· UC opened with Wright State in the 2010 Joe Nuxhall Classic at McKie Field at Hayden Park on the campus of Miami University and trailed 5-4 entering the ninth inning.
· In the ninth, senior Jimmy Jacquot belted a one out, solo home run to left field to tie the game up, before senior Kevin Johnson followed Jacquot with a single. Senior Brian Garman pinch ran for Johnson, stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher, and then scored on a wild pitch to give UC the 6-5 come-from-behind win.
· In the championship game against Miami (OH), UC led from the get-go and senior Andrew Burkett nailed down his seventh save of the season to preserve the 3-2 win.
· UC captured its first Joe Nuxhall Classic title and improved to 2-2 all-time in the tournament.
· Junior Chris Peters was named tournament Most Valuable Player after going 4-for-9 (.444), with two RBI, and three stolen bases in the two-day event.
CLEARY HITS 350
In his 14th season at Cincinnati, head coach Brian Cleary became just the second coach in program history to reach 350 wins for his career when UC defeated Seton Hall on Friday, April 9.
After a three-game sweep against Georgetown on May 21, Cleary has accumulated 364 career wins at UC.
Cleary’s joins legendary coach Glenn Sample as the only two baseball coaches in UC history to accumulate 350 wins.
Sample coached the Bearcats from 1961-1981 and led UC to four of the program’s five NCAA Tournament berths and two Missouri Valley Conference championships.
Sample finished his career as UC baseball’s all-time winningest coach with 391 wins.