TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team hosts the Wright State Raiders on Tuesday at UC Baseball Stadium for the second matchup of the year between the two teams. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at BearcatStats.com.
CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 17-24, 7-8 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 112-117 (5th)
Career Record: 453-474 (17th)
WRIGHT STATE
2022 Record: 21-19, 14-4 HOR
Head Coach: Eric Sogard
School Record: 107-60 (4th)
Career Record: Same
SERIES BUSINESS
UC trails in the all-time series against the Raiders, 40-46-1. In the matchup earlier this season, the Bearcats got the best of Wright State, 7-4.
SETTING THE STAGE
- UC finds itself in the midst of dry spell, dropping each of its past four games.
- On the flip side, the Raiders have won six-straight games and come into Tuesday's game on fire after sweeping Youngstown State this past weekend.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
- The Bearcats average 7.1 runs per game, which leads the American Athletic Conference.
- Griffin Merritt leads the conference with 16 homers and Joe Powell (.353) and Paul Komistek (.349) rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the AAC in batting average.
- UC has seven players with five or more home runs. No other team in the conference has more than five. Those seven players, Merritt (16), Nicholson (9), Komistek (8), Cole Harting (5), JP Sponseller (5), Kerrington Cross (5) and Joe Powell (5), have accounted for over 86% of the team's home runs and over 77% of the RBIs.
- Merritt (1.131) and Powell (1.108) each have over a 1.000 OPS, while their slugging percentages rank first and third in the AAC, respectively (Merritt: .738, Powell: .655)
- As a team, UC has hit 61 homers and 1.49 homers per game, both of which are best in the conference and in the top-41 nationally.
CINCINNATI SLUGGERS
- The Bearcats rank 41st in the nation with 61 homers and 31st in homers per game (1.49), both of which are tops in the AAC.
- In the conference, UC leads in slugging % (.480) and is first in total bases (676). Its .374 on-base percentage is good for third in the AAC.
- Griffin Merritt (.738) and Joe Powell (.655) rank first and third, respectively, in the AAC in slugging %. Merritt's numbers are good for 20th in the nation.
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 297-190 (.610) 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 105-59 (.640).
- The Bearcats had a stretch of games from March 18-April 10 where they played 13 of 15 games at home, going 7-6 in those games.
LAST TIME VS THE RAIDERS
- The two teams faced off on April 6, earlier this year, with UC taking the win by the score of 7-4.
- Ryan Nicholson drove in three runs, hit a two-run homer and hit an RBI double as well.
- The Bearcats threw five different pitchers. Alex Shea shined the brightest with three shutout innings out of the bullpen, striking out four.
- UC trails in the all-time series, 40-46-1.
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 41st in the nation with 61.
- UC has four players that have five each, Nicholson has nine, Komistek has right and Merritt has 16.
- Merritt's 16 homers have come in 149 at-bats, averaging one every 9.3 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 33 games played, catcher Joe Powell is hitting .353 (5th in AAC), has an OBP of .453 and is slugging .655 (3rd in AAC).
- His five homers rank fourth on the team and his four triples are the 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.
THE BULLPEN CREW
- Jackson Murphy (22), Max Bergmann (16), Beau Keathley (14) and Aiden Bradbury (10) were all among the team leader bullpen appearances last season.
- Bergmann has thrown 38.2 innings, including five outings where he's gone four or more innings in relief. Five of his past seven outings have been scoreless.
- Ben Vore hasn't given up an earned run in his past four innings thrown.
- Ryan Steckline has struck out 11 batters in his last 8.2 innings thrown.
- Four of Murphy's last six outings have been scoreless.
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 2.84 ERA in seven starts and threw seven innings against ECU on April 30, giving up just one earned run.
- 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.