TicketsMarch 18, 2013
CINCINNATI at WRIGHT STATE
Tuesday, March 19 - 5 p.m. ET | Live Stats
Nischwitz Stadium - Dayton, Ohio
NORTHERN KENTUCKY at CINCINNATI
Wednesday, March 20 - 4 p.m. ET | | Watch Live
Marge Schott Stadium - Cincinnati, Ohio
SETTING THE SCENE
-The University of Cincinnati baseball team plays a pair of midweek nonconference ballgames when the Bearcats visit Wright State on Tuesday before playing host to Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. First pitch for the WSU game is set for 5 p.m. while Wednesday's NKU contest is slated to begin at 4 p.m.
-The Bearcats are coming off a series win vs.Western Michigan over the weekend, in which UC won the first of three contests and outscored the Broncos 18-10. Prior to the WMU series, UC had lost four straight after suffering a midweek defeat to reigning Big Ten Conference champion Purdue, 7-4, on March 12 and getting swept in a three-game series at home versus Eastern Michigan. UC had won four consecutive ballgames prior to the EMU series.
-In four ballgames last week, Jr. OF Justin Glass hit .400 (6 for 15) with four runs, one home run and seven RBIs while slugging .733 and reaching base at .500 rate. During that same period, Fr. 3B Devin Wenzel, who has reached base safely in all 16 games this season and is in the midst of a 12-game hit streak, batted .471 with four runs, one home run and four RBIs while slugging .706 and producing a .500 on-base percentage.
-UC redshirt junior RHP Christian McElroy will make his fifth start of the season on Tuesday at Wright State.
-Bearcats freshman right-hander Austin Pritchard will make his first collegiate start on Wednesday against NKU.
-Live stats for Tuesday's game at WSU will be available at WSURaiders.com.
-GoBEARCATS.com will have live stats via GameTracker and BearcatsTV (subscription required) will carry a live video stream of Wednesday's game vs. NKU.
-Follow the Bearcats baseball program on Twitter @UCincyBaseball and @CoachClearyUC.
NOW PITCHING FOR UC ...
-UC redshirt junior RHP Christian McElroy will make his fifth start of the season on Tuesday at Wright State.
-McElroy was selected in the 32nd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, but opted to remain at UC.
-Last season, McElroy appeared in 13 ballgames with nine starts, posted a 4.41 ERA with four wins and 46 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched. He finished sixth in the BIG EAST Conference in fewest hits allowed (59) and 12th in opponent batting average (.252), and did not allow a triple the entire season. In three of 13 appearances, he did not allow an earned run.
-In four starts in 2013, McElroy has posted a 7.71 ERA in 16 1-3 innings pitched with 11 walks and 13 strikeouts.
-On March 1, McElroy dazzled, going 5 2-3 innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out six en route to his first win of the season.
-Bearcats freshman right-hander Austin Pritchard will make his first collegiate start on Wednesday against NKU.
-Pritchard has appeared in one game, March 1 vs. New York Tech, and has not allowed a run in two innings while walking two and striking out two.
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
-Wright State went 37-21 overall in 2012, including 20-10 in the Horizon League, which was good for a second-place finish.
-WSU was picked to finish third in the 2013 Horizon League coaches poll.
-Raiders Sr. catcher Garrett Gray was named to a 2013 Preseason all-Horizon League selection. Last season, Gray was named WSU's Comeback Player of the Year, as well as a first-team all-Mideast Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings after hitting .354 in 43 games with 27 runs, three home runs and 36 RBIs while slugging .512.
Last season, Northern Kentucky went 36-22 and 25-11 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which was good for a second-place league finish.
-The Norse are playing their first baseball season in Division I in 2013 as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
-NKU was picked to finish 10th out of 10 schools in the Atlantic Sun Preseason Coaches Poll.
THE SERIES VERSUS WSU
-Cincinnati and Wright State have played 71ballgames all time.
-The Raiders own a slight 37-33-1 advantage in the all-time series.
-The first meetings during a May 1 doubleheader in Clifton, with the Bearcats winning both games by counts of 4-1 and 9-1.
-Since 2007, Wright State and Cincinnati have played at least once, with the exception of the 2009 season.
-During that span, the Bearcats won six of the first eight games before Wright State won the three most recent contests.
-Last year, Wright State beat UC 3-2 on April 10 and 10-1 on May 2, both at Marge Schott Stadium.
THE SERIES VERSUS NKU
-Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky have played 42 ballgames all time.
-The Bearcats own a 28-14 advantage in the all-time series.
-The first meeting occurred during the 1972 season with UC winning both games of a May 5 doubleheader by scores of 8-2 and 11-0 (each in seven innings), respectively.
-UC and NKU last played in the 1996 season, with Cincinnati losing at NKU 3-2 on Feb. 25 and 8-6 at home on April 24.
GLASS SMASH
-In four ballgames last week, Jr. OF Justin Glass hit .400 (6 for 15) with four runs, one home run and seven RBIs while slugging .733 and reaching base at .500 rate.
-On March 15 vs. WMU, Glass tied his career high with five RBIs after hitting 2 of 5, which included his second home run of the season.
KEEP ON ROLLING
-Fr. 3B Devin Wenzel has reached base safely in all 16 games played in 2013.
-He is also currently on a 12-game hitting streak.
-During his hitting streak, Wenzel is batting .353 with nine runs, two home runs and 12 RBIs.
-Fr. C Woody Wallace, who enters Tuesday with a nine-game hit streak, has reached base in 12 straight ballgames.
-Wallace is hitting .406 with two runs and six RBIs while reaching base at a .441 clip during the hit streak.