TicketsUniversity of Cincinnati baseball gets back to American Athletic Conference this weekend as it heads to Houston for a three game series. The first two games are set for 7:30 p.m. EST on Thursday and Friday with the series finale scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. EST.
// PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
// OPPONENT OVERVIEW
• UC is 10-35 all-time against Houston and won the series a year ago
• The Bearcats dropped the first game of a home doubleheader 4-2 then won 2-1 and 4-2 in the finale the next day
• UC won the first game of the series played in Houston in 2017 but then lost the next two
• The Cougars are 22-15 so far this season and an even 6-6 in conference play
• They have won their last five games, including a 4-1 victory over No. 7 Texas A&M on Tuesday
• Last weekend the Cougars swept the AAC series at Wichita State
// HOME COOKING
• A few of the Bearcats' bats have heated up since UC played its first home game
• Joey Bellini is hitting .402 in the past 26 games with 39 hits
• A.J. Bumpass also found his groove, hitting .313 with a .542 slugging percentage thanks to seven doubles, three triples and three homeruns
• Wyatt Stapp joins with an average of .310 since playing the first home game
• On the mound, Nathan Moore holds a 2.75 ERA in the last 26 games with 11 appearances, spanning 19.2 frames
// PRO ROUNDUP
• Many former Bearcats are busy in their professional careers around the country
• Josh Harrison has 57 at-bats for the Detroit Tigers this season after signing with the team this February
• Ryan Atkinson has thrown 6.2 innings in four appearances with the Double-A Jackson Generals
• Connor Walsh has three appearances for the Double-A Birmingham Barons
• Ian Happ has played in 11 games with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs with five doubles and a homerun
• Ryan Noda is with the Dunedin Blue Jays in A-Advanced baseball and is hitting .256
• Manny Rodriguez is also in A-Advanced playing with the St. Lucie Mets. He is hitting .276 in ten games
• In Single-A, Cam Alldred has a tiny 1.04 ERA in 8.2 relief innings with the Greensboro Grasshoppers
• J.T. Perez was last listed with the Gulf Coast League Twins
• Connor McVey is also in Single-A, playing with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
• Kyle Mottice was last assigned to the Gulf Coast League Pirates
// BELLINI RECOGNIZED BY AAC
• Joey Bellini was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly Honor Roll as announced on Monday
• He had a big week at the plate to pace the Bearcats, hitting .550 with a .609 on-base percentage through five games, including a 6-for-10 performance in the weekend conference series against UCF
• Bellini began the week by going 1-for-4 with a double and a RBI in a 2-1 win over Xavier. He followed with a 4-for-6 outing in the Joe Nuxhall Classic championship game versus Miami that lasted eleven innings
• In the weekend series against UCF, he was one of the only UC players to have success at the plate in Friday night's loss then spearheaded a doubleheader sweep with three hits and two RBI in the first game and two hits and two runs scored in the second game
• Bellini started at shortstop in all five games last week and did not commit an error with eight putouts and twelve assists. He added in a sacrifice hit and was successful on his lone stolen base attempt.
// TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Season tickets for all home games this season are available by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, logging on to GoBearcats.com 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
• Single game tickets may also be purchased for any game set to be played at Marge Schott Stadium this season
• A flex plan option is available, allowing fans to purchase ten undated vouchers for $35
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
// PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
| Thursday, April 18 | Friday, April 19 | Saturday, April 20 | |
| Cincinnati | RHP David Orndorff | LHP Evan Shawver | LHP Garrett Schoenle |
| Houston | LHP Lael Lockhart Jr. | LHP Clay Aguilar | TBD |
// OPPONENT OVERVIEW
• UC is 10-35 all-time against Houston and won the series a year ago
• The Bearcats dropped the first game of a home doubleheader 4-2 then won 2-1 and 4-2 in the finale the next day
• UC won the first game of the series played in Houston in 2017 but then lost the next two
• The Cougars are 22-15 so far this season and an even 6-6 in conference play
• They have won their last five games, including a 4-1 victory over No. 7 Texas A&M on Tuesday
• Last weekend the Cougars swept the AAC series at Wichita State
// HOME COOKING
• A few of the Bearcats' bats have heated up since UC played its first home game
• Joey Bellini is hitting .402 in the past 26 games with 39 hits
• A.J. Bumpass also found his groove, hitting .313 with a .542 slugging percentage thanks to seven doubles, three triples and three homeruns
• Wyatt Stapp joins with an average of .310 since playing the first home game
• On the mound, Nathan Moore holds a 2.75 ERA in the last 26 games with 11 appearances, spanning 19.2 frames
// PRO ROUNDUP
• Many former Bearcats are busy in their professional careers around the country
• Josh Harrison has 57 at-bats for the Detroit Tigers this season after signing with the team this February
• Ryan Atkinson has thrown 6.2 innings in four appearances with the Double-A Jackson Generals
• Connor Walsh has three appearances for the Double-A Birmingham Barons
• Ian Happ has played in 11 games with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs with five doubles and a homerun
• Ryan Noda is with the Dunedin Blue Jays in A-Advanced baseball and is hitting .256
• Manny Rodriguez is also in A-Advanced playing with the St. Lucie Mets. He is hitting .276 in ten games
• In Single-A, Cam Alldred has a tiny 1.04 ERA in 8.2 relief innings with the Greensboro Grasshoppers
• J.T. Perez was last listed with the Gulf Coast League Twins
• Connor McVey is also in Single-A, playing with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
• Kyle Mottice was last assigned to the Gulf Coast League Pirates
// BELLINI RECOGNIZED BY AAC
• Joey Bellini was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly Honor Roll as announced on Monday
• He had a big week at the plate to pace the Bearcats, hitting .550 with a .609 on-base percentage through five games, including a 6-for-10 performance in the weekend conference series against UCF
• Bellini began the week by going 1-for-4 with a double and a RBI in a 2-1 win over Xavier. He followed with a 4-for-6 outing in the Joe Nuxhall Classic championship game versus Miami that lasted eleven innings
• In the weekend series against UCF, he was one of the only UC players to have success at the plate in Friday night's loss then spearheaded a doubleheader sweep with three hits and two RBI in the first game and two hits and two runs scored in the second game
• Bellini started at shortstop in all five games last week and did not commit an error with eight putouts and twelve assists. He added in a sacrifice hit and was successful on his lone stolen base attempt.
// TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Season tickets for all home games this season are available by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX, logging on to GoBearcats.com 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
• Single game tickets may also be purchased for any game set to be played at Marge Schott Stadium this season
• A flex plan option is available, allowing fans to purchase ten undated vouchers for $35
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Stay connected with Bearcats Baseball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.