TicketsCINCINNATI – The Bearcats are back home on Wednesday to take on the visiting Indiana Hoosiers at 6:00 p.m. ET at UC Baseball Stadium for Margaritaville Night. It is Cincinnati's first game back home in 10 days, as it just completed a road trip to Kentucky and Louisville.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at BearcatStats.com.
Margaritaville Night
- Ticket Promo: Buy one get one for $2 if wearing a tropical shirt (walk-ups only)
- Jimmy Buffett themed music and contests
- Lei giveaway to the first 200 fans
- Koozie giveaway to the first 100 students
- Snow cones available for purchase on the concourse; canned margaritas available for purchase at both concession stands
CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 16-18, 6-3 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 111-111 (5th)
Career Record: 452-468 (17th)
INDIANA
2022 Record: 13-21, 2-7 Big 10
Head Coach: Jeff Mercer
School Record: 85-68 (4th)
Career Record: 162-106 (6th)
PITCHING MATCHUP
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20
6 p.m. • ESPN+
LHP Carter Earls vs. TBD
SERIES BUSINESS
UC trails in the all-time series against the Hoosiers, 12-18. Indiana took the first matchup between the two teams this year, 7-0, back on March 8 in Bloomington, Ind.
SETTING THE STAGE
- UC is on fire after sweeping Wichita State this past weekend. The Bearcats have won five of their past six games.
- Indiana has lost eight of its last 10 games, including three this past weekend on the road against Rutgers.
- The Bearcats average 7.3 runs per game, which leads the American Athletic Conference.
- The Bearcats have two players in the top-5 in home runs in the conference. Griffin Merritt is in first with 13 and Ryan Nicholson ranks fifth with eight of his own. Paul Komistek's 50 hits trail the conference leader by six.
- Cincinnati leads the conference in homers with 50 thanks to a deep lineup filled with pop. Merritt (13), Nicholson (8), Komistek (6), Cole Harting (5) and Joe Powell (5) have accounted for 74% of the team's home runs and over 61% of the RBIs.
- Merritt (1.179), Komistek (1.032) and Powell (1.185) each have over a 1.000 OPS, and Komistek (.370) and Powell's (.370) batting averages are tied for fourth-highest in the AAC.
- As a team, UC has hit 50 homers and 1.47 homers per game, both of which are best in the conference and in the top-33 nationally.
CINCINNATI SLUGGERS
- The Bearcats rank 33rd in the nation with 50 homers and 30th in homers per game (1.47), both of which are tops in the AAC.
- In the conference, UC leads in slugging % (.484) and total bases (567). Its .377 on-base percentage is good for second in the AAC.
- Griffin Merritt (.767) and Joe Powell (.717) rank first and third, respectively, in the AAC in slugging %. Those numbers are good for 15th and 37th in the country.
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 295-185 (.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's home record is 103-56 (.647).
- The Bearcats just finished up a stretch where they played 13 of 15 games at home before hitting the road all of last week.
LAST TIME VS THE HOOSIERS
- The last time UC and Indiana played, the Hoosiers got the best of the Bearcats by shutting them out 7-0.
- Indiana jumped out to a quick start by putting up four runs in the first inning.
- Joe Powell was the only Cincinnati batter to get a hit, notching two of them.
- Indiana used five different pitchers in the game.
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 33rd in the nation with 50.
- Harting and Powell have five each, Nicholson has eight, Komistek has six and Merritt has 13 long balls.
- Merritt has hit his 13 homers in 120 at-bats, averaging one every 9.2 ABs.
- The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference. They are on pace for 78 right now.
NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE
- In 27 games played, catcher Joe Powell is hitting .370 (4th in AAC), has an OBP of .468 (2nd in AAC) and is slugging .717 (3rd in AAC).
- His five homers rank fourth on the team and his three triples are the second-most in the conference.
- In the field, Powell has a 1.000 fielding % and has thrown out nine runners on the base paths this season.
MILESTONE WATCH
- Head coach Scott Googins now has 111 wins at UC in his five seasons, which is the third-most for a Bearcats coach. He ranks behind only Brian Cleary (434) and Glenn Sample (391).
- Cole Harting has 99 career hits in under two seasons.
- Wyatt Stapp and Griffin Merritt are both currently sitting at 98 career RBIs.
- Coming into 2022, Komistek had a career .579 slugging % and a .442 on-base %. The slugging % would rank eighth in UC history and the on-base % would rank sixth.
SHUT 'EM DOWN
- 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 3.81 ERA in five starts and threw six innings of one-run ball against ECU on April 1.
- Tristan Weaver threw a seven-inning complete game against Northwestern on March 4, striking out six.
- In his first home start, Garrett Harker was one out shy from throwing a seven-inning complete game. He was also just named the AAC pitcher of the week for throwing six shutout innings in a 14-inning win on April 15.
To purchase single-game tickets or flex packs, visit GoBearcats.com/Tickets or call 1-877-CATS-TIX (1-877-228-7849).
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NOTE: All dates and times are subject to change due to weather. All schedule changes will be announced on Twitter at @GoBearcatsBASE.