TicketsFirst pitch of the 2019 season for University of Cincinnati baseball is set for this Friday, February 15 when UC travels to Florida Atlantic for a three-game series. Friday's matchup is set to being at 6:30 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. game on Saturday and an 11:30 a.m. start on Sunday.
// RETURNING ROSTER
• Despite losing a bulk of the starting lineup and weekend rotation, the Bearcats will return a lot of experience to the field
• On the infield, Eric Santiago and Cole Murphy started 44 and 42 games a year ago, respectively
• In addition, Jace Mercer looks to have a rebound season as he played in just 24 contests in 2018 but hit .273 with 46 starts in his freshman campaign
• Outfielders AJ Bumpass and Joey Wiemer return to provide an athletic presence defensively and both bring power to the plate
• Senior Mason DeAnna is posed to handle the duties behind the plate. He started 19 games last season
• Sophomore Dondrae Bremner also returns with experience to aid the infield
• On the mound, Nathan Kroger enters 2019 with a year of experience in the weekend rotation
• Senior AJ Kullman is primed to have a big year as he takes 22 appearances and two starts from 2018 into the weekend rotation this season
• Sophomore Garrett Schoenle, who threw just 9.0 innings as a rookie, will get the final weekend slot. Schoenle is recognized as one of the top MLB prospects on the team after being drafted out of high school
• The bullpen and midweek arms will return a lot of familiar faces in David Orndorff, Clayton Colvin, Tanner Schimmoeller, Isaac Olson and Jalen Wade
// NEW BUT EXPERIENCED
• Eighteen new names appear on the Bearcats roster this year, but many bring experience to the team
• Redshirt-junior Jeremy Johnson and sophomore Wyatt Stapp both transferred to UC from Division I schools (Auburn and Tennessee, respectively), and will have an immediate impact
• Six newcomers (Joey Bellini, Chase Stewart, Mike McDonough, JP Bitzenhofer, Mitch Holding, Korren Thompson) bring in college-playing experience from community college
// ROOKIE REPORT
• Ten true freshman fill out the remaining spots for UC in 2019
• Nate Meyer, Griffin Merritt and Sean McLaughlin all can fill spots in the infield
• Jack Eyink is the lone outfielder in the freshman class
• Evan Shawver, Nick Murray, Andrew Noelker, Drake Batcho, Brennan Dolwick and Jackson Murphy will all vie for innings on the mound
// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Cincinnati is 1-11 all-time against Florida Atlantic
• The Bearcats lone win came in a 5-3 victory in 2010
• The last contest was a 4-3 ten-inning loss
• All twelve meetings have occurred on the road in the month of February
• The Owls finished 43-19-1 last season with a 19-8-1 C-USA record
• FAU made it to the conference tournament finale where the team fell 12-3 against No. 11 Southern Miss
• From there, the Owls made a run in the Gainesville Regional. After a first-game loss, they beat Columbia and Jacksonville before taking down host No. 1 Florida 7-4
• The 2018 season ended in the regional final with a 5-2 loss against the top-seeded Gators
// ACADEMIC ACHIEVERS
• UC started the 2018-19 school year by having a successful semester in the classroom
• The team posted a 3.206 cumulative GPA with 23 student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or higher and fourteen having a 3.4 or higher
• Dondrae Bremner, Mason DeAnna, Cole Murphy and David Orndorff all posted perfect 4.0 GPAs in the fall
// SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Season tickets for all 27 home games this season are available by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, logging on to GoBEARCATS.com/tickets or by visiting the ticket office located at Richard E. Lindner Center in Varsity Village
• Tickets are only $50 for adults and $30 for seniors (65 and older) and youth (aged 4-12)
• UC students receive free admission to all games with a valid ID
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
| // COVERAGE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday • 6:30 p.m. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets |
| Saturday • 4 p.m. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets |
| Sunday • 11:30 a.m. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets |
| // PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, February 15 | Saturday, February 16 | Sunday, February 17 | |
| Cincinnati | RHP AJ Kullman | RHP Nathan Kroger | LHP Garrett Schoenle |
| Florida Atlantic | RHP Blake Sanderson | RHP Ryan Sandberg | RHP Mike Ruff |
// RETURNING ROSTER
• Despite losing a bulk of the starting lineup and weekend rotation, the Bearcats will return a lot of experience to the field
• On the infield, Eric Santiago and Cole Murphy started 44 and 42 games a year ago, respectively
• In addition, Jace Mercer looks to have a rebound season as he played in just 24 contests in 2018 but hit .273 with 46 starts in his freshman campaign
• Outfielders AJ Bumpass and Joey Wiemer return to provide an athletic presence defensively and both bring power to the plate
• Senior Mason DeAnna is posed to handle the duties behind the plate. He started 19 games last season
• Sophomore Dondrae Bremner also returns with experience to aid the infield
• On the mound, Nathan Kroger enters 2019 with a year of experience in the weekend rotation
• Senior AJ Kullman is primed to have a big year as he takes 22 appearances and two starts from 2018 into the weekend rotation this season
• Sophomore Garrett Schoenle, who threw just 9.0 innings as a rookie, will get the final weekend slot. Schoenle is recognized as one of the top MLB prospects on the team after being drafted out of high school
• The bullpen and midweek arms will return a lot of familiar faces in David Orndorff, Clayton Colvin, Tanner Schimmoeller, Isaac Olson and Jalen Wade
// NEW BUT EXPERIENCED
• Eighteen new names appear on the Bearcats roster this year, but many bring experience to the team
• Redshirt-junior Jeremy Johnson and sophomore Wyatt Stapp both transferred to UC from Division I schools (Auburn and Tennessee, respectively), and will have an immediate impact
• Six newcomers (Joey Bellini, Chase Stewart, Mike McDonough, JP Bitzenhofer, Mitch Holding, Korren Thompson) bring in college-playing experience from community college
// ROOKIE REPORT
• Ten true freshman fill out the remaining spots for UC in 2019
• Nate Meyer, Griffin Merritt and Sean McLaughlin all can fill spots in the infield
• Jack Eyink is the lone outfielder in the freshman class
• Evan Shawver, Nick Murray, Andrew Noelker, Drake Batcho, Brennan Dolwick and Jackson Murphy will all vie for innings on the mound
// SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
• Cincinnati is 1-11 all-time against Florida Atlantic
• The Bearcats lone win came in a 5-3 victory in 2010
• The last contest was a 4-3 ten-inning loss
• All twelve meetings have occurred on the road in the month of February
• The Owls finished 43-19-1 last season with a 19-8-1 C-USA record
• FAU made it to the conference tournament finale where the team fell 12-3 against No. 11 Southern Miss
• From there, the Owls made a run in the Gainesville Regional. After a first-game loss, they beat Columbia and Jacksonville before taking down host No. 1 Florida 7-4
• The 2018 season ended in the regional final with a 5-2 loss against the top-seeded Gators
// ACADEMIC ACHIEVERS
• UC started the 2018-19 school year by having a successful semester in the classroom
• The team posted a 3.206 cumulative GPA with 23 student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or higher and fourteen having a 3.4 or higher
• Dondrae Bremner, Mason DeAnna, Cole Murphy and David Orndorff all posted perfect 4.0 GPAs in the fall
// SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Season tickets for all 27 home games this season are available by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, logging on to GoBEARCATS.com/tickets or by visiting the ticket office located at Richard E. Lindner Center in Varsity Village
• Tickets are only $50 for adults and $30 for seniors (65 and older) and youth (aged 4-12)
• UC students receive free admission to all games with a valid ID
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.