TicketsUniversity of Cincinnati baseball returns to American Athletic Conference competition this weekend with a three-game series at conference-newcomer Wichita State. Game times are scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m., all local time.
// COVERAGE
• Watch live at GoShockers.com
• Matt Noonan will provide play-by-play at GoBearcats.com/watch
• Live stats for all three games will be available via GoShockers.com
// PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• This is the first meeting of the two teams
• Wichita State is in its first season as part of the American Athletic Conference and is currently 28-14 on the season and 5-10 in conference play
• The Shockers lost two out of three at ECU, won two out of three against Tulane, dropped a series against UConn, was swept at Houston and lost a series a UCF
• In 2017 Wichita State went 28-30 overall and 10-11 as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference
• The Shockers were ranked as high as No. 18 in the national polls back in late March but have dropped out of the rankings recently. The team spent eight weeks with a spot on at least one national poll this season
• Cincinnati was voted to finish ninth in the preseason coaches' poll and Wichita State was selected to finish sixth. UC is tied for fourth and WSU is in eighth in the current standings
// CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
• It remains a close contest in the AAC with three weekends in the regular season remaining
• Multiple teams are ranked in the national polls this week and the conference RPI ranks third in the country
• Houston leads with a 13-5 record (.722)
• USF is two games behind in second place at 11-7 (.611)
• UConn is third (9-6, .600) and ECU and Cincinnati are tied in fourth place at 8-7 (.533)
• UCF is close behind in sixth (9-9, .500)
• Tulane (7-8, .467), Wichita State (5-10, .333) and Memphis (2-13, .133) hold down the bottom three spots in the current conference rankings
• This weekend, UCF travels to Houston, UConn visits Memphis and ECU makes the trip to Tulane
• The top eight teams qualify for the postseason
• The AAC Tournament is hosted in Clearwater, Florida, May 22-27
// WEEKLY HONORS
• Senior catcher Joey Thomas was honored on Monday with a spot on the conference's weekly Honor Roll
• Thomas hit .429 in the series sweep of Kansas, including a 4-for-7 performance in Saturday's thirteen-inning game where he also threw out three base runners
• He becomes the eighth different Bearcats player to earn Honor Roll recognition this season
// LOOKING AHEAD
• Cincinnati is currently in the midst of a nine-game road swing
• The Bearcats travel to Xavier and Louisville for midweek matchups upon returning from Wichita
• Next weekend UC travels to ECU
• The Bearcats return home for an 11 a.m. game against Ohio State on Tuesday, May 15
• The regular season comes to a close at home Thursday, May 17 through Saturday, May 19 in a conference series with USF
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook (GoBearcatsBase), Twitter (@GoBearcatsBase) and Instagram (GoBearcatsBase)
// COVERAGE
• Watch live at GoShockers.com
• Matt Noonan will provide play-by-play at GoBearcats.com/watch
• Live stats for all three games will be available via GoShockers.com
// PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
| Friday, May 4 | Saturday, May 5 | Sunday, May 6 | |
| Cincinnati | LHP J.T. Perez | RHP Nathan Kroger | LHP Cam Alldred |
| Wichita State | RHP Codi Heuer | RHP Tyler Davis | TBD |
// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• This is the first meeting of the two teams
• Wichita State is in its first season as part of the American Athletic Conference and is currently 28-14 on the season and 5-10 in conference play
• The Shockers lost two out of three at ECU, won two out of three against Tulane, dropped a series against UConn, was swept at Houston and lost a series a UCF
• In 2017 Wichita State went 28-30 overall and 10-11 as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference
• The Shockers were ranked as high as No. 18 in the national polls back in late March but have dropped out of the rankings recently. The team spent eight weeks with a spot on at least one national poll this season
• Cincinnati was voted to finish ninth in the preseason coaches' poll and Wichita State was selected to finish sixth. UC is tied for fourth and WSU is in eighth in the current standings
// CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
• It remains a close contest in the AAC with three weekends in the regular season remaining
• Multiple teams are ranked in the national polls this week and the conference RPI ranks third in the country
• Houston leads with a 13-5 record (.722)
• USF is two games behind in second place at 11-7 (.611)
• UConn is third (9-6, .600) and ECU and Cincinnati are tied in fourth place at 8-7 (.533)
• UCF is close behind in sixth (9-9, .500)
• Tulane (7-8, .467), Wichita State (5-10, .333) and Memphis (2-13, .133) hold down the bottom three spots in the current conference rankings
• This weekend, UCF travels to Houston, UConn visits Memphis and ECU makes the trip to Tulane
• The top eight teams qualify for the postseason
• The AAC Tournament is hosted in Clearwater, Florida, May 22-27
// WEEKLY HONORS
• Senior catcher Joey Thomas was honored on Monday with a spot on the conference's weekly Honor Roll
• Thomas hit .429 in the series sweep of Kansas, including a 4-for-7 performance in Saturday's thirteen-inning game where he also threw out three base runners
• He becomes the eighth different Bearcats player to earn Honor Roll recognition this season
// LOOKING AHEAD
• Cincinnati is currently in the midst of a nine-game road swing
• The Bearcats travel to Xavier and Louisville for midweek matchups upon returning from Wichita
• Next weekend UC travels to ECU
• The Bearcats return home for an 11 a.m. game against Ohio State on Tuesday, May 15
• The regular season comes to a close at home Thursday, May 17 through Saturday, May 19 in a conference series with USF
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook (GoBearcatsBase), Twitter (@GoBearcatsBase) and Instagram (GoBearcatsBase)