TicketsMarch 22, 2012
CINCINNATI at NO. 21 LOUISVILLE
WEEKEND PITCHING MATCHUPS - (2012 Stats)
FRIDAY, MARCH 23 | 6 p.m. | Watch | Listen |
UC RHP Christian McElroy 6-4/211 R-So. 2.70 ERA 1-1 W-L 16.2 IP 10 BB 14 SO
UofL RHP Justin Amlung 6-1/180 Jr. 3.06 ERA 3-2 W-L 35.1 IP 7 BB 31 SO
SATURDAY, MARCH 24 | 1 p.m. | Watch | Listen |
UC LHP Zach Morris 6-6/225 Fr. 3.38 ERA 1-1 W-L 21.1 IP 6 BB 17 SO
UofL RHP Jeff Thompson 6-6/245 So. 4.18 ERA 4-0 W-L 28.0 IP 13 BB 27 SO
SUNDAY, MARCH 25 | 1 p.m. | Watch | Listen |
UC TBA
UofL RHP Travis Tingle 6-5/213 Sr. 5.47 ERA 3-1 W-L 24.2 IP 5 BB 15 SO
The University of Cincinnati baseball team (8-11) looks to end a five-game losing streak when it opens BIG EAST Conference play with a three-game road series at longtime rival University of Louisville (15-6) Friday through Sunday at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Ky. Game 1 of the series begins 6 p.m. Friday, when the Bearcats will start right-hander Christian McElroy against Cardinals ace Justin Amlung. The second game of the series is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. UC will send to the mound freshman lefty Zach Morris, who has a string of two consecutive quality starts. The finale of the series will begin 1 p.m. Sunday with Cincinnati's starter to be announced. All three games can be viewed on UofLSports.com/allaccess with a paid subscription. Saturday and Sunday's games can be heard on Real Talk 1160 WQRT-AM. Live stats via GameTracker will be available on GoBEARCATS.com.
SETTING THE SCENE
-UC opens BIG EAST Conference play with a three-game road series at No. 21 Louisville Friday at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
-UC has lost five consecutive ballgames after getting swept in a three-game series by Michigan State and dropping midweek games at Butler and against No. 2 Kentucky.
-Prior to the losing streak, Cincinnati had won eight of nine contests.
-Both midweek games against Butler and Kentucky saw the Bearcats fall behind early, and then rally late to close the gap, but eventually come up short of completing the comeback.
-Trailing 7-2 in the eighth inning against Butler, the Bearcats rallied for three runs to get to within two runs at 7-5, but could not get any closer with bases loaded and one out at UC lost at Butler 7-5 on Tuesday.
-Against No. 2 Kentucky, UC trailed 7-0 before combining for six runs in the sixth and seventh innings. But the Wildcats added two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to hold off the Cincinnati rally.
ON THE MOUND FOR THE BEARCATS
-Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Christian McElroy will make his first fifth start of the season Friday against Louisville. In his last start, McElroy allowed three runs on six hits with one strikeout in 5.2 innings in UC's 4-3 loss to Michigan State on Friday. On the season, the 6-foot-4 flamethrower owns a 2.70 ERA with 14 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched.
-Freshman left-hander Zach Morris will look to extend his quality start streak to three against the Cardinals on Saturday. Morris allowed three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts against Michigan State on Saturday.
-The Cincinnati Sunday starter is to be determined.
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
-Louisville was picked to finish the 2012 season in second place in the BIG EAST Conference preseason coaches' poll.
- Louisville sophomore infielder Ty Young was selected as the BIG EAST Baseball Player of the Week on Monday after he hit .529 (9-for-17) with his first career home run, five RBIs, seven runs scored and two stolen bases on two attempts as the Cardinals went 4-1 during the week.
-Young leads Louisville with a .453 batting average this season to go with a .717 slugging percentage, 14 RBIs, and six stolen bases in his six attempts.
-With his team-leading seven home runs, senior OF/1B Stewart Ijames has 40 career home runs and is tied for 10th on the Cardinals' career list. Along with the seven home runs, Ijames leads the Cardinals with 26 RBI and is hitting .325 overall this season.
-Junior 2B Nick Ratajczak has hit safely in 12 straight games and has reached base safely in all 21 games this season. Overall, Ratajczak is hitting .451 with 25 runs and nine RBI.
-Sophomore OF and leadoff hitter Adam Engel has hit safely in 10 straight games and leads the Cardinals with 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts. As a team, Louisville is 42 of 50 on stolen bases this season.
MR. 400
-UC baseball head coach Brian Cleary earned career win No. 400 after the Bearcats defeated Chicago State 6-0 in the first game of a March 10th doubleheader.
-Heading into the midweek vs. Butler and Kentucky, Cleary has 402 career wins, which are two away from tying UC hall-of-famer Glenn Sample's all-time UC mark of 404 career victories.
-Sample coached the Bearcats baseball team for 21 seasons from 1961-1981.
SHOWING THE GLOVE
-Cincinnati ranks third in the BIG EAST Conference with a .971 fielding percentage as a team.
-UC's 22 fielding errors are the third fewest of any team in the BIG EAST.
-The Bearcats lead the conference in fewest stolen bases allowed (12) and most runners caught stealing (12).
-Senior catcher Jake Saylor is tied for first in the conference with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 119 chances.
-Saylor has thrown out eight base runners this season, which ranks first in the BIG EAST.
BIELEK'S 12-GAME HIT STREAK ENDS
-Freshman third baseman Joey Bielek saw his 12-game hitting streak that began Feb. 26 vs. UMBC at the Wake Forest Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C. come to end Wednesday against No. 2 Kentucky after he recorded an 0-for-4 day.
-During the streak, Bielek hit .415 (22 of 53) with 13 RBIs and .429 on-base and .547 slugging percentages.
-Twice during the streak, Bielek has recorded a 4-for-5 game: Game 1 of a March 3 doubleheader vs. Oakland; and the second game of a doubleheader on March 10 vs. Chicago State.
RAKING OUTFIELDERS
-Sophomore right fielder Justin Glass (11 games), senior OF/C Braden Kline (7), freshman OF Taylor Schmidt (7) and junior center fielder Jake Proctor (6) are in the midst of hit streaks.
-In his last 11 games beginning with the second game of a doubleheader March 3 vs. Oakland, Glass is hitting .422 with six RBIs and a .509 on-base percentage.
-During Kline's seven-game hit streak, which started March 10 vs. Chicago State in Game 2 of a doubleheader, the senior is hitting .333 with one home run and 10 RBIs to go along with a .630 slugging percentage.
-Schmidt's seven-game streak began March 4 vs. Oakland. The freshman from Pittsburgh, Pa. is batting .500 (13 of 26) with five RBIs and a .517 on-base percentage during the streak.
-During Proctor's six-game hit streak, the Cincinnati native is hitting .345 with one homer and five RBIs and a .552 slugging percentage.
IRON MAN SPENCE
-Senior first baseman was not in the starting lineup for the first time in his UC career Wednesday against No. 2 Kentucky.
-After starting all 57 games at first base for the Bearcats in 2011, Spence started UC's first 18 ballgames in 2012, a string of 75 games.
-Senior Kiley Jones started at first base against UK and was pinch-ran for in the seventh inning, which allowed Spence to enter the field at first base in the eighth inning.