TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team will take on Xavier for three games this weekend. The first game, starting at 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday, will take place at UC Baseball Stadium. Saturday's game will take place at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, and begin at 4:00 p.m., with Xavier as the home team. Sunday's game will begin at 1:00 p.m., and take place at Hayden Field on Xavier's campus.
CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 9-10, 0-0 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 104-103 (5th)
Career Record: 445-460 (17th)
XAVIER
2022 Record: 9-13, 0-0 Big East
Head Coach: Billy O'Conner
School Record: 89-115 (5th)
Career Record: Same
PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY, MARCH 25
4 p.m. • ESPN+
LHP Tristan Weaver vs. LHP Trevor Olsen
SATURDAY, MARCH 26
4 p.m. • YouTube
RHP Beau Keathley vs. RHP Lane Flamm
SUNDAY, MARCH 27
1 p.m. • FloSports
RHP Zach Segal vs. RHP George Eisenhardt
SERIES BUSINESS
UC leads the all-time series against Xavier, 99-58-1. The Bearcats have won six of the last 10 matchups.
SETTING THE STAGE
- The Bearcats bounced back in a big way this weekend, snapping their six-game losing streak by taking three of four against Saint Joseph's, outscoring the Hawks 43-25 between the four games.
- Xavier is coming off of a series-win against Indiana and a win against Michigan. The Musketeers have won four of their last five games.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
- The Bearcats' offense exploded once again this weekend, averaging 12.3 runs per game in the last three game of the series. Coming into this week, they had six more home runs than any other team in the conference.
- Redshirt junior outfielder Griffin Merritt has gotten off to a scorching start this year. In the conference, UC's left fielder ranks second in batting average (.394), first in slugging percentage (.859) and second in home runs (8).
- Cincinnati currently has five starters with four or more home runs - Merritt (8), redshirt junior outfielder Paul Komistek (4), redshirt sophomore infielder Ryan Nicholson (4), redshirt sophomore JP Sponseller (4) and sophomore outfielder Cole Harting (4).
- Senior pitcher Beau Keathley earned AAC Pitcher of the Week honors Monday for his performance on the mound against Saint Joseph's on Saturday. He threw six innings, gave up no earned runs, only three hits, and struck out a season-high 12 batters.
ELITE OFFENSE
- The Bearcats rank 23th in the nation with 31 homers after last weekend and 20th in homers per game (1.63), both of which are tops in the AAC.
- In the conference, UC leads in slugging % (.506), is second in runs scored per game (7.3), second in batting average (.290), first in hits (188) and first in total bases (327).
- Griffin Merritt is leading the charge at the plate. His eight homers are good for 19th-most in the country and his 21 RBIs rank fourth in the conference.
- Merritt's .859 slugging percentage is the 13th-highest in the nation and by far the most in the AAC. The next closest slugging percentage in the conference is .693.
CARDIAC 'CATS
- The Bearcats have already ended two games this year with walk-off homers and another via a walk-off wild pitch.
- 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.
- UC is 4-0 in one-run games this year.
GOING, GOING, GONE
- After the first weekend of college baseball this year, UC led the nation in home runs with nine. They now rank first in the conference and 23rd in the nation with 31.
- Nicholson, Komistek, Harting and Sponseller have four each, and Merritt has 8 long balls.
- Catchers Cam Scheler Joe Powell have two and infielders Kerrington Cross (2) and Kameron Guidry (1) have pitched in a little bit too..
- The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference. They are on pace for 86 right now.
HOME COOKING
- UC won its first home game against Ohio State, 5-4. That marks the sixth-straight year it has won its home opener.
- Cincinnati followed that up by winning three of four against Northwestern. starting the year 4-1 at home.
- The Bearcats have a 291-182 (.615) 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's home record is 99-51 (.660).
BIG BEAU
- Beau Keathley has been one of UC's steadiest arms all year after his rough first two outings.
- He has only given up two earned runs in his last four outings (17 innings).
- Keathley was named the AAC Pitcher of the Week on March 21 for his six-inning, 12-strikeout performance against Saint Joseph's on March 19.
- The senior also threw 6.1 scoreless innings in relief against Ohio State on March 2, striking out eight and securing the win. He struck out six in 4.1 innings of relief work against Michigan State on March 10.
SHUT 'EM DOWN
- The Bearcats' pitching staff has had some other standout performances over the past few weeks too.
- Tristan Weaver threw a seven-inning complete game against Northwestern on March 4, striking out six.
- In his first career home start, Garrett Harker was one out shy from throwing a seven-inning complete game.
- Conner Linn pitched a quality start in his first-ever start, going 6.1 innings while only giving up three runs. He now has a 2.61 ERA through two starts.
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.