TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team will end its six-game road trip Tuesday as it travels to Spartanburg, S.C. this week to take on USC Upstate and Wofford. Monday's game against USC Upstate and Tuesday's game against Wofford will both start at 5 p.m.
Monday's USC Upstate game will be available to stream on the Bearcats' YouTube page. Tuesday's game will be available on ESPN+.
CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 6-7, 0-0 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 101-100 (5th)
Career Record: 442-457 (17th)
OPPONENTS
Combined 2022 Record: 19-12
USC Upstate: 10-5, 0-0 Big South
Wofford: 9-7, 0-0 SoCon
PITCHING MATCHUPS
MONDAY, MARCH 14 vs. USC Upstate
5 p.m. • YouTube
RHP Garrett Harker vs. RHP Trey Miller
TUESDAY, MARCH 15 vs. Wofford
6 p.m. • ESPN+
LHP Conner Linn vs. TBD
SERIES BUSINESS
UC has a 10-0 all-time record against Wofford and has never played USC Upstate.
SETTING THE STAGE
- The Bearcats are currently on a three-game losing streak after dropping both games this weekend by only two runs. Saturday's game against Kansas was canceled due to inclement weather.
- USC Upstate is coming off a series win against NKU this weekend, taking two of three games. It also took down the Citadel Wednesday. Wofford has won three in a row and will finish a series against Lafayette before Tuesday's game.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
- UC's offense put up 14 runs in two games this weekend, keeping up with its seven runs per game pace. Despite playing the fewest games in the conference, UC ranked first in total bases and home runs, third in runs scored and second in hits coming into Friday. They lead the AAC with 24 home runs.
- Redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek leads the team in average (.392) while redshirt junior outfielder Griffin Merritt paces the Bearcats in home runs with six.
- Sophomore outfielder Cole Harting had a breakout game Friday against Michigan State, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Redshirt sophomore catcher Joe Powell also had himself a nice week, going 5-13 (.385) and launching a leadoff homer in Sunday's game in addition to a triple.
ELITE OFFENSE
- The Bearcats ranked 16th in the nation in homers coming into this weekend and 11th in homers per game (1.82), both of which were tops in the AAC. They now have 24 homers (1st in AAC) and average 1.85 per game.
- In the conference, UC ranked first in slugging % (.493), fourth in runs scored per game (7.0) as of Friday. They still average seven runs per game and now have a team .505 slugging percentage.
- Paul Komistek, Ryan Nicholson, JP Sponseller and Griffin Merritt are leading the charge at the plate. Those four have combined for 17 home runs this year, more than Wofford and Upstate have as teams.
- Merritt's now has six homers and he ranked second in the conference coming into the weekend. His .860 slugging percentage was good for 28th in the country on Friday, and it's now up to .900.
GOING, GOING, GONE
- After the first weekend of college baseball this year, Cincinnati led the nation in home runs with nine. They now rank first in the conference with 24..
- Nicholson and Sponseller have four each, Komistek has three and Merritt has six long balls.
- Catcher Cam Scheler has two, including a walk-off against Ohio State. Joe Powell also has two and Kameron Guidry has one.
- The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference. They are on pace for 97 right now.
CARDIAC 'CATS
- The Bearcats have already ended two games this year with walk-off homers.
- On March 2, Cam Scheler hit a pinch-hit walk-off homer to right field to beat Ohio State.
- Just three days later on March 5, Cole Harting hit his first homer of the year at the perfect time, driving one to right to beat Northwestern, 4-2.
- Seven of UC's 13 games have been decided by two or less runs. Cincinnati's record is 4-3 in those games.
KOMISTEK RAKES
- Through 13 games, Komistek has a team-leading average of .392. He leads UC in runs (14) and hits (20).
- Komistek also ranked eighth in slugging percentage (.692) in the AAC coming into the games this weekend.
- 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.
BIG TEN MATCHUPS
- UC wrapped up seven-straight games against Big Ten opponents with a 4-3 record.
- The Bearcats beat Ohio State in their home opener before taking three of four against Northwestern. They dropped one on the road to Indiana and another to Michigan State.
Season tickets for the 2022 season are now on sale! 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.