Bearcats Set For Four Games Against North Alabama

CINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team will travel to Florence, Ala. to take on North Alabama for a four-game series from Friday to Sunday. The first game will start at 4 p.m. ET on Friday and will be followed by a doubleheader on Saturday, with those games starting at 2 p.m. and approximately 4:30 p.m. Sunday's game will wrap up the series, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.

The games on Friday and Sunday will air on ESPN+ and the two games on Saturday will be on ESPN3. Live stats will be available at BearcatStats.com.

CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 2-2, 0-0 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 97-95 (5th)
Career Record: 438-452 (17th)
 
NORTH ALABAMA
2022 Record: 0-3, 0-0 ASUN
Head Coach: Mike Keehn
School Record: 334-295-1 (14th)
Career Record: Same 

PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY, FEB. 25
4 p.m. • ESPN+
LHP Tristan Weaver vs. RHP Jacob Bradshaw
 
SATURDAY, FEB. 26
GAME ONE
2 p.m. • ESPN3
LHP Alex Shea vs. RHP Will Haberstock
 
SATURDAY, FEB. 26
GAME TWO
4:30 p.m. • ESPN3
RHP Zach Segal vs. RHP Brycen Parrish
 
SUNDAY, FEB. 27
1 p.m. • ESPN+
RHP Garrett Harker vs. TBA

SERIES BUSINESS
The Bearcats and Lions have never played each other. Friday will mark the first-ever game between the two baseball programs.

SETTING THE STAGE

• The Bearcats will arrive in Florence, Ala. with a 2-2 record after splitting the series with Florida Gulf Coast this past weekend. Cincinnati won the first two games before dropping the second two.
• North Alabama will be looking for its first win of the season this weekend. The Lions dropped all three games to Southern Mississippi this past weekend by a combined score of 29-5. 

ABOUT THE BEARCATS

• UC's offense had a terrific start to the season, averaging 9.25 runs per game, which ranks second in the AAC. The Bearcats' nine homers rank fourth in the entire NCAA and their 50 hits rank 13th nationally. 
• 2022 AAC preseason player of the year Paul Komistek earned a spot on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after hitting .500 and two home runs in the first weekend. His 10 hits are the third-most in the country. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Nicholson and redshirt junior Griffin Merritt each had three home runs as well, which is tied for fifth in the country. 
• Graduate transfer Tristan Weaver had a nice debut on the mound, throwing five innings and giving up only one run.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS

• Through four games in 2022, Komistek is third in the NCAA with 10 hits. He's hitting .500 with two homers and six RBIs. The six RBI's are tied with teammate Griffin Merrit for the most in the conference. 
• The redshirt junior outfielder from Knoxville, Tenn. was named the 2022 Preseason AAC Player of the Year by the league's coaches.
• In the conference, he ranked second in BA (.364), third in slugging percentage (.599) and second in on-base percentage (.459), which all led UC in 2021.
• Komistek is the second UC player to be named the AAC Preseason Player of the Year. The other was Ian Happ in 2015, who is now an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs.

ELITE OFFENSE

• The Bearcats exploded on offense in the first weekend. They currently rank 13th in the nation in hits (50) and fourth in home runs (9).
• In the AAC, UC ranks third in slugging % (.515), second in runs scored (37), first in hits (50) and first in total bases (84).
• Komistek, Nicholson and Merritt are leading the charge at the plate. All three rank in the top five in the conference in slugging %, runs scored, hits, RBIs, home runs and total bases after the first weekend.

GOING, GOING, GONE

• After the first weekend of college baseball this year, Cincinnati led the nation in home runs with nine. They now rank fourth.
• Nicholson and Merritt have three each and Komistek has two long balls. Catcher Joe Powell also had a homer.
• The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference.

UC DEBUTS

• Graduate transfer Tristan Weaver made his UC debut on Feb. 18, throwing five innings while only giving up two hits and one run. He struck out four and earned the win. 
• Harker and freshman catcher Boston Smith both made their collegiate debuts on Feb. 19. That was the first time a UC pitcher and catcher made their debuts on the same day since LHP Dalton Lehnen and catcher Joey Thomas did it on Feb. 13, 2015.

RETURNING TO THE MOUND

• Zach Segal looks to help lead a UC pitching staff that lost a few key arms. Segal appeared in 18 games, started nine and pitched to a 5-4 record in his sophomore season.  He's made two appearances so far in 2022, throwing 3.2 innings without giving up any runs. 
• Beau Keathley, while mostly working in relief in 2021, hopes to help anchor the pitching staff after striking out 42 batters in 41.0 innings with a 1.44 WHIP.
• Jackson Murphy will be back to anchor a Bearcats bullpen. In 2021, Murphy had a 3.21 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He also led the team in pitching appearances with 22, all out of the bullpen. He's pitched 1.1 innings without giving up a run in 2022.

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.

NOTE: All dates and times are subject to change due to weather. All schedule changes will be announced on Twitter at @GoBearcatsBASE.