Baseball Heads To USF For Weekend Series

CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati baseball team plays the first of eight-straight games on the road this weekend, heading to Tampa, Florida, for a four-game American Athletic Conference series at USF this weekend. The teams will play a Friday doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. ET along with a 4 p.m. Saturday game and a Sunday finale at 11 a.m. 
 
All four games will air on the ESPN+ platform and live stats will also be available on BearcatStats.com.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Live Stats: BearcatStats.com
Watch: ESPN+
Series Record: USF leads 46-23
Last Meeting: March 2019 (@ USF)
 
CINCINNATI
2021 Record: 19-18, 8-8 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 85-85 (4th)
Career Record: 426-442 (16th)
 
SOUTH FLORIDA
2021 Record: 15-19, 5-7 AAC
Head Coach: Billy Mohl
Record at USF: 83-79-1 (4th)
Career Record: Same 
 
PROBABLE STARTING ROTATIONS
FRIDAY, APRIL 30 - 1
3 p.m. • ESPN+
• LHP Garrett Schoenle vs. RHP Dylan Burns
 
FRIDAY, APRIL 30 - 2
7 p.m. • ESPN+
• RHP Zach Segal vs. TBD
 
SATURDAY, MAY 1
4 p.m. • ESPN+
• RHP Beau Keathley vs. TBD
 
SUNDAY, MAY 2
11 a.m. • ESPN+
• RHP Jalen Wade vs. TBD
 
SERIES BUSINESS

• USF leads the all-time series 46-23, but the Bearcats took two of three from the Bulls in Tampa, Florida, in late March 2019.

 
ABOUT THE BEARCATS

• UC is 19-18 and 8-8 in AAC play after taking three of four from Wichita State at UC Baseball Stadium last weekend.
• As a team, UC is hitting at a .276 clip with 53 doubles and 44 home runs with double-digit hits in 18 games.
• The Bearcats have double-digit hits in eight of the last 10 games and 21 out of 37 games this season.
• Paul Komistek jumped his season average to .402 with a .649 slugging percentage. He has six home runs and six doubles among his 39 hits with 28 runs batted in.
• Jace Mercer hits at a .343 clip and leads UC in hits (46), stolen bases (15) and home runs (8).
• Komistek (.424) and Mercer (.413) lead the way with 25 and 26 hits, respectively, in AAC play. Komistek and Griffin Merritt have both belted four home runs against league foes while Mercer has poked three over the fence.
• Joey Bellini (42), Eric Santiago (41) and Cole Harting (40) are on Mercer's heels fort the top spot in hits.
• Harting has put together an impressive freshman campaign in the leadoff spot, belting eight homers and eight doubles.
• Ryan Nicholson has overcome a slow start and has his hit .317 in AAC play. His 20 walks are a team best.
• On the mound, UC has a team ERA of 6.03 with 320 strikeouts over 201 walks. 
• UC's hurlers have struck out five or more batters combined in all but one game this season (Feb. 20 at Clemson).
• Friday starter Garrett Schoenle was the AAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday. He's 4-1 on the year with a 4.03 ERA.
• Jackson Murphy has a team-high 15 appearances out of the bullpen with a 1.71 ERA and 22 strikeouts.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Cincinnati won three of four over Wichita State and took its second-straight league series.
• Cole Harting finished with seven hits, five runs scored, four walks and two stolen bases.
• Jace Mercer had two homers, four hits, six RBIs and 10 total bases and Joey Bellini batted in six runs with four hits.
• Paul Komistek slugged .773 with 11 total bases, seven hits and three RBIs.
• Zach Segal pitched a seven-inning complete game in the back end of the Friday DH as UC won12-2.
• Nate Moore was nearly flawless out of the bullpen on Sunday, striking out six in five scoreless innings, including fanning the side to close the game out in the ninth. 

 
SCHOENLE TABBED AS AAC PITCHER OF THE WEEK

• Garrett Schoenle was named AAC Pitcher of the Week following his longest outing since March 2019 in a 6-0 Friday win over the Shockers. 
• He moved to 4-1 on the year, threw 121 pitches, scattered four hits with two walks while striking out nine and not surrendering an extra-base hit. 
• He notched his 150th career strikeout in the game and has totaled 152 K's over his UC career. 
• His 8.0 innings pitched was the second-longest start of his career and longest since going 8.1 innings in a win at USF on March 24, 2019. 

 
SANTIAGO HAS BIG WEEK VS. WICHITA STATE

• 3B Eric Santiago earned a spot on the American's weekly honor roll after hitting .571 (8-14) for the series with two runs scored, a double and two runs driven in. 
• He laid down a crucial sacrifice bunt on Sunday which led to the go-ahead-run scoring in the bottom of the seventh. 
• UC's leader this season with nine doubles made his 200th career start in the WSU series finale, playing in the 209th game at Cincinnati which moved him into eighth place all-time on the career games played chart.

 
TURN IT UP!

• The Cincinnati infield has turned an AAC-best 39 doubles places this season and trails only Auburn (43) nationally.

 
MOVE ... GET OUT THE WAY

• UC has hit 63 batters this season, a mark which leads the American and ranks sixth nationally. 
• Georgia State and Texas Southern (74) lead the NCAA. 

 
GOING, GOING, GONE

• The Bearcats have belted 50 home runs thus far in 2021, leading the AAC and ranking No. 20 nationally.

 
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS AVAILABLE
Single-game tickets are available for all Bearcats home games. Fans should visit the baseball ticket page for more information or to make their purchase now! Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, 1,000 fans will be allowed in UC Baseball Stadium for game days.
 
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For all the latest information on Cincinnati baseball, please visit GoBEARCATS.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow UC baseball (@GoBearcatsBase) and Coach Googins (@CoachGoogs) on Twitter. You can also find the Bearcats on Instagram and Facebook.