TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team will host Ohio State Wednesday at UC Baseball Stadium. The Bearcats' home opener will begin on at 5 p.m. The game will be the first of seven-straight games against Big Ten opponents.
The game will have an audio broadcast on gobearcats.com. Live stats will be available at BearcatStats.com.
Tickets for Wednesday's the game versus the Buckeyes will be $2 for season ticket holders, $3 for faculty/staff/military/youth/seniors and $5 for general admission.
Tickets can be purchased over the phone by calling the ticket office at 1-877-CATS-TIX (1-877-228-7849) or in person at the Lindner Athletic Center ticket window. Day of event tickets can be purchased at the baseball ticket office window.
CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 2-3, 0-0 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 97-96 (5th)
Career Record: 438-453 (17th)
OHIO STATE
2022 Record: 3-4, 0-0 Big 10
Head Coach: Greg Beals
School Record: 325-258-1 (12th)
Career Record: 568-460-1 (20th)
PITCHING MATCHUP
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2
5 p.m. • gobearcats.com
LHP Alex Shea vs. RHP Aaron Funk
SERIES BUSINESS
UC has a 26-69-2 all-time record against the Buckeyes. The last time they met in 2019, the Bearcats won, 9-5. UC has won the last three matchups against OSU.
SETTING THE STAGE
- The Bearcats will play their first game of the year at home after getting three games canceled due to inclement weather this past weekend against North Alabama. The only game that was played resulted in a 5-2 UC loss on Friday.
- Ohio State has begun its season 3-4 but is on a four-game losing streak after winning its first three. The Buckeyes got swept this past weekend on the road against Texas State.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
- UC's offense started hot in its opening series against Florida Gulf Coast, but didnt fair as well in its only game since that series. After averaging 9.25 runs per game, which ranked second in the AAC after the first week, the Bearcats only put up two runs on Friday. The Bearcats' nine homers are still second in the conference but after three games got canceled, they'll need to catch up in some other areas to get back to the top of the AAC.
- 2022 AAC preseason player of the year Paul Komistek is hitting .478 with two home runs through five games this season. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Nicholson and redshirt junior Griffin Merritt each have three home runs, which led the conference after one week.
- Graduate transfer Tristan Weaver was the only starter to throw for UC this week, and he sat down nine North Alabama hitters in his outing.
HOME COOKING
- The Bearcats have a 284-180 (.612) all-time record at UC Baseball Stadium and have only had three seasons with a .500 winning percentage or lower at home.
- Since 2016, the team has a 92-49 (.652) record at its home ballpark.
BIG TEN MATCHUPS
- UC's next seven games are against Big Ten teams.
- After one game against Ohio State, the Bearcats host Northwestern for four games then head to Indiana for another.
- After the Indiana roadtrip, UC will take on Michigan State in Greenville, S.C.
ELITE OFFENSE
- The Bearcats ranked 13th in the nation in hits (50) and fourth in home runs (9) after the first week, but were unable to build on those numbers much this weekend after only playing one game.
- In the AAC, UC ranks fourth in slugging % (.464), fourth in runs scored (39), second in home runs (9) and fourth in total bases (90), even after three cancelations this week.
- Komistek, Nicholson and Merritt are leading the charge at the plate. All three are in the top-five in slugging percentage in the AAC and Nicholson and Merritt are still tied for the home run lead.
GOING, GOING, GONE
- After the first weekend of college baseball this year, Cincinnati led the nation in home runs with nine. They now rank second in the conference with the same number.
- Nicholson and Merritt have three each, which lead the AAC, and Komistek has two long balls. Catcher Joe Powell also has a homer.
- The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
- Through five games in 2022, Komistek is second in the conference in average (.478). He has six RBIs, which is tied for the team-lead. He's also recorded a hit in every game this season.
- 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.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Head coach Scott Googins has 97 wins at UC after four seasons, which is the fifth-most for a Bearcats coach. He has 438 in his career. Brian Cleary has the most all-time at UC with 434.
- INF Wyatt Stapp is 6 hits from 150 and 19 RBIs from 100 in his career. He is also 1 game away from playing in 150 in his career (30 at Tennessee, 119 at UC).
- Coming into this season, Komistek has a career .579 slugging percentage and a .442 on-base percentage. The slugging percentage would rank eighth all-time in UC history and the on-base percentage would rank sixth.
WELCOME TO CLIFTON
- The Bearcats brought into some serious talent via the transfer portal in 2022.
- JP Sponseller, a redshirt sophomore outfielder, came from Elon and currently leads the AAC with seven walks. His older brother, Lee, is a volunteer assistant coach in the program.
- Tristan Weaver is a LHP that came to UC from Indiana State. He is expected to start for the Bearcats. He has a 3.86 ERA and 13 strikeouts through two starts.
- Other transfers include Ryan Steckline (LHP, Monmouth), Max Palmieri (INF, Lincoln Memorial) and Kameron Guidry (INF, Georgia).
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.