TicketsAlthough there will be some new faces in the lineup for the University of Cincinnati baseball team this season, the Bearcats will still bring back a few key bats in 2022; maybe none more important than redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek.
Komistek is back for his third season at UC and the expectations have never been higher for the slugger from Knoxville, Tenn. After earning First Team All-AAC honors in 2021, he was named the 2022 AAC Preseason Player of the Year earlier this month, showing that his performance was recognized around the conference.
The recognition was well-earned, as his .364 batting average, .599 slugging percentage and .459 on-base percentage from last season were the highest among all returning players in the conference this season.
"It's pretty cool to see all the hard work pay off a little bit and start to reap some benefits from that," said Komistek.
The outfielder was one of five Bearcats named to the All-AAC teams in 2021, but only he and redshirt junior Griffin Merritt (second team) will be returning for UC this year out of that group.
That leaves some holes to fill in the lineup for the Bearcats, but Komistek is looking forward to the challenge and thinks the team has the players to step up.
"It's a lot of excitement right now, that's kind of the main thing," said Komistek. "It's a different mixture than it normally is. We've got a lot of younger guys this year that are going to have to step up more than they've had to in a while. We've got a lot of guys in the lineup that can hit, so it'll be nice to see who steps up there."
Two positions that do seem to be filled are the guys that Komistek will share the outfield with. The Bearcats will try to prove that they have the best outfield in the conference this year with Komistek in right, Merritt in left and sophomore Cole Harting patrolling center field.
Komistek may have led the way at the plate last year, but the rest of the lineup was very productive as well. His outfield partners in 2022 just happen to be the two players that tied for the team-lead in homers last season with 10 each. Merritt and Harting each joined Komistek on the 2022 preseason All-AAC team.
Between the three of them, they combined for 29 home runs, 116 RBIs and 121 runs in 2021. For those keeping track, that was 43.3% of the team's homers, 34.8% of the RBIs and 32.7% of the total runs from a year ago for UC.
And while this trio is dynamic during games, the relationship between them extends further than the nine innings when everyone is keeping score.
"Yeah, we should be pretty good this year," said Komistek. "Our relationship is very funny, we're all super close and we joke a lot. But we also take things very seriously and get all our work done together at the field. It's just a great relationship."
This 2022 offense brings back 41 of its 67 home runs hit from last year. With the outfielders leading the charge, the Bearcats hope to continue to get some pop from guys like infielder Ryan Nicholson and catcher Joe Powell, who each had five homers last year.
Despite losing second baseman Jace Mercer and shortstop Joey Bellini, who were both named to the 2021 All-AAC Second Team, Komistek believes in the other players that will get more time in the lineup this year.
"We're a pretty hard-nosed, grind out at-bats kind of team this year," said Komistek. "You've got older guys like Jake Hansen (redshirt senior infielder) and Dondrae Bremner (redshirt senior infielder) that are going to step up, that maybe haven't played key roles yet so far in their careers but are going to this year. Then you've just got guys all around the field that will be competing against each other to see who can fill in the other roles."
We know that Komistek and the offense will have some high expectations for themselves this season, but so will the team as a whole. Cincinnati was picked by the conference's coaches to finish in third place, the highest they've ever been picked to finish in the AAC.
Even with a top-three predicted finish, Komistek thinks the team is laser-focused on what they are doing themselves, not what others are saying about them.
"We've never really been picked high, we've never really cared too much about the preseason stuff," Komistek explained. "It's just like, go down and play baseball. That's our mentality. Who cares what everybody else thinks? Let's do what we know we can do."
UC will get to "go down and play baseball," as Komistek said, 55 times in 2022. Led by a star-studded outfield and a bunch of motivated ballplayers who each want their chance to compete, Komistek and the Bearcats' lineup will look to prove people right for a change and finish near the top of the conference.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets for the 2022 season are now on sale! The Bearcats open up their home slate on Friday, March 4th as they host Northwestern at UC Baseball Stadium. To purchase season tickets, visit cpaw.me/SeasonTickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX (1-877-228-7849).
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @GoBearcatsBASE on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Komistek is back for his third season at UC and the expectations have never been higher for the slugger from Knoxville, Tenn. After earning First Team All-AAC honors in 2021, he was named the 2022 AAC Preseason Player of the Year earlier this month, showing that his performance was recognized around the conference.
The recognition was well-earned, as his .364 batting average, .599 slugging percentage and .459 on-base percentage from last season were the highest among all returning players in the conference this season.
"It's pretty cool to see all the hard work pay off a little bit and start to reap some benefits from that," said Komistek.
The outfielder was one of five Bearcats named to the All-AAC teams in 2021, but only he and redshirt junior Griffin Merritt (second team) will be returning for UC this year out of that group.
That leaves some holes to fill in the lineup for the Bearcats, but Komistek is looking forward to the challenge and thinks the team has the players to step up.
"It's a lot of excitement right now, that's kind of the main thing," said Komistek. "It's a different mixture than it normally is. We've got a lot of younger guys this year that are going to have to step up more than they've had to in a while. We've got a lot of guys in the lineup that can hit, so it'll be nice to see who steps up there."
Two positions that do seem to be filled are the guys that Komistek will share the outfield with. The Bearcats will try to prove that they have the best outfield in the conference this year with Komistek in right, Merritt in left and sophomore Cole Harting patrolling center field.
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
— Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) December 29, 2021
▪️ @PaulKomistek (𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻)
▪️ @coleharting
▪️ @G_Merritt10 #Bearcats | #NatiBoyz pic.twitter.com/2skXjsANMC
Komistek may have led the way at the plate last year, but the rest of the lineup was very productive as well. His outfield partners in 2022 just happen to be the two players that tied for the team-lead in homers last season with 10 each. Merritt and Harting each joined Komistek on the 2022 preseason All-AAC team.
Between the three of them, they combined for 29 home runs, 116 RBIs and 121 runs in 2021. For those keeping track, that was 43.3% of the team's homers, 34.8% of the RBIs and 32.7% of the total runs from a year ago for UC.
And while this trio is dynamic during games, the relationship between them extends further than the nine innings when everyone is keeping score.
"Yeah, we should be pretty good this year," said Komistek. "Our relationship is very funny, we're all super close and we joke a lot. But we also take things very seriously and get all our work done together at the field. It's just a great relationship."
This 2022 offense brings back 41 of its 67 home runs hit from last year. With the outfielders leading the charge, the Bearcats hope to continue to get some pop from guys like infielder Ryan Nicholson and catcher Joe Powell, who each had five homers last year.
Despite losing second baseman Jace Mercer and shortstop Joey Bellini, who were both named to the 2021 All-AAC Second Team, Komistek believes in the other players that will get more time in the lineup this year.
"We're a pretty hard-nosed, grind out at-bats kind of team this year," said Komistek. "You've got older guys like Jake Hansen (redshirt senior infielder) and Dondrae Bremner (redshirt senior infielder) that are going to step up, that maybe haven't played key roles yet so far in their careers but are going to this year. Then you've just got guys all around the field that will be competing against each other to see who can fill in the other roles."
⬇️8⃣@PaulKomistek AGAIN. 💣
— Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) May 25, 2021
The first two home run game of his collegiate career!
📺 https://t.co/fV6vkIJZiV
⚔️ 13 | 🐾 10 pic.twitter.com/5II84PjL6H
We know that Komistek and the offense will have some high expectations for themselves this season, but so will the team as a whole. Cincinnati was picked by the conference's coaches to finish in third place, the highest they've ever been picked to finish in the AAC.
Even with a top-three predicted finish, Komistek thinks the team is laser-focused on what they are doing themselves, not what others are saying about them.
"We've never really been picked high, we've never really cared too much about the preseason stuff," Komistek explained. "It's just like, go down and play baseball. That's our mentality. Who cares what everybody else thinks? Let's do what we know we can do."
UC will get to "go down and play baseball," as Komistek said, 55 times in 2022. Led by a star-studded outfield and a bunch of motivated ballplayers who each want their chance to compete, Komistek and the Bearcats' lineup will look to prove people right for a change and finish near the top of the conference.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets for the 2022 season are now on sale! The Bearcats open up their home slate on Friday, March 4th as they host Northwestern at UC Baseball Stadium. To purchase season tickets, visit cpaw.me/SeasonTickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX (1-877-228-7849).
FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @GoBearcatsBASE on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.