TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team will host Northwestern this weekend at UC Baseball Stadium. The Bearcats' first home series will begin with a doubleheader on Friday. Game one will start at 1 p.m. EST. Saturday's doubleheader will also begin at 1 p.m. Both doubleheaders will consist of a seven-inning game followed by a nine-inning game. The second game each day will begin approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
All four games will air on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at BearcatStats.com.
The game times for the second game of the doubleheaders may change depending on the length of the first game. The second game will begin approximately 40 minutes after the first game ends and will not start before 4:02 p.m. EST.
CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 3-3, 0-0 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 98-96 (5th)
Career Record: 439-453 (17th)
NORTHWESTERN
2022 Record: 1-7, 0-0 Big 10
Head Coach: Josh Reynolds
School Record: 1-7 (1st)
Career Record: Same
PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY, MARCH 4 (GAME 1)
1 p.m. • ESPN+
LHP Tristan Weaver vs. RHP Mike Doherty
FRIDAY, MARCH 4 (GAME 2)
4:30 p.m. • ESPN+
RHP Zach Segal vs. LHP Sean Sullivan
SATURDAY, MARCH 5 (GAME 1)
1 p.m. • ESPN+
RHP Garrett Harker vs. TBD
SATURDAY, MARCH 5 (GAME 2)
4:30 p.m. • ESPN+
TBD vs. RHP Kellen Pate
SERIES BUSINESS
UC has a 4-5 all-time record against Northwestern. The last time they met in 2016, the Bearcats swept the series.
SETTING THE STAGE
- The Bearcats are coming off a thrilling 5-4 victory against Ohio State that ended with a Cam Scheler pinch-hit walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The win gets UC back up to .500 with a 3-3 record.
- Northwestern has had a rough start early on in 2022, beginning the year 1-7. In its most recent series, it lost three out of four against Santa Clara on the road. The Wildcats' season began with four losses against UAB.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
- UC's offense ranks eighth in the country in home runs per game with 2.00. In the win against Ohio State, three home runs paved the way to victory.
- 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. Currently, he is hitting .500 and ranks sixth nationally in hits per game (2.17).
- Redshirt junior outfielder Griffin Merritt launched his fourth homer of the year against Ohio State, which ranks sixth in the country and leads the AAC.
- Graduate transfer Tristan Weaver has a 3.86 ERA through two starts. He had a nine-strikeout outing against North Alabama in his last time out.
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.
- The Bearcats have a 285-180 (.613) 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 93-49 (.655) record at its home ballpark.
ELITE OFFENSE
- The Bearcats ranked 13th in the nation in hits (50) and fourth in home runs (9) after the first week.
- In the AAC, UC now ranks second in slugging % (.480), third in runs scored per game (7.3), and first in home runs (12) despite playing the least amount of games in the conference.
- UC's offense ranks eighth in the country in home runs per game with 2.00.
- Paul Komistek, Ryan Nicholson and Griffin Merritt are leading the charge at the plate. All three are in the top-five in slugging percentage and home runs in the AAC.
- Merritt is the AAC leader in homers and is second in slugging percentage (.880). His four home runs rank fourth in the nation.
KOMISTEK RAKES
- Through six games in 2022, Komistek leads the conference in average (.500). He has seven RBIs, which is the second-most on the team. He's recorded a hit in every game this season.
- In the conference, Komistek leads all players in batting average (.500), slugging percentage (.923) and on-base percentage (.567).
- 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.
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 12.
- Nicholson and Komistek have three each, which is tied for second-most in the AAC. Merritt is the leader with four long balls. Catchers Joe Powell and Cam Scheler also have a homer.
- The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference.
BIG TEN MATCHUPS
- UC's next six games are against Big Ten teams. It just beat their first Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, 5-4.
- The Bearcats host Northwestern for four games then head to Indiana for another.
- After the Indiana road trip, UC will take on Michigan State in Greenville, S.C.
OPENING DAY IN CINCY
- The Bearcats hosted Ohio State on March 2 for opening day, scheduled less than 48 hours before first pitch.
- Fans set a new stadium attendance record at 2,451.
- The game ended on Cam Scheler's pinch-hit walk-off home run in the ninth-inning.
- Beau Keathley threw 6.1 scoreless innings in relief to earn the win.
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.