Bearcats Take On Tulane to Kick-Off AAC Tournament

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team will take on the Tulane Green Wave in the first round of the 2022 TicketSmarter American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship. First pitch is set for 9:00 a.m. ET.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at BearcatStats.com.

CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 23-29, 12-12 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 118-122 (5th)
Career Record: 459-479 (17th)
 
TULANE
2022 Record: 31-24-1
Head Coach: Jay Uhlman
School Record: 76-48-1 (3rd)
Career Record: Same

SERIES BUSINESS
UC trails in the all-time series, 19-46. The Bearcats took two of three against Tulane earlier this year and have won eight of the last nine matchups.

SETTING THE STAGE

• The Bearcats clinched the No. 4 seed with a series win over UCF this weekend.
• Tulane is the No. 5 seed, but they have lost its last four series and five of its past six games.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS

• The Bearcats average 7.0 runs per game, which leads the American Athletic Conference.
• Griffin Merritt leads the conference with 17 homers and 0.35 homers per game while Paul Komistek ranks fourth in the conference with a .436 on-base percentage.
• UC has six players with eight or more home runs. Those six players, Merritt (17), Nicholson (11), Komistek (8), Cole Harting (9), JP Sponseller (8) and Kerrington Cross (8), have accounted for over 74% of the team's home runs and over 65% of the RBIs. 
• Merritt (1.053) and Powell 0.996) each have around a 1.000 OPS, while their slugging percentages rank first and fifth in the AAC, respectively (Merritt: .676, Powell: .574)
• As a team, UC has hit 82 homers and average 1.61 homers per game, both of which are best in the conference and top-23 in the nation.

POSTSEASON HARDWARE

• Griffin Merritt was named the 2022 AAC Player of the Year. He joins Ian Happ (2015) as the only two Bearcats to win the award. He's the fourth Bearcat to win a conference player of the year award. Happ, Josh Harrison (2008 Big East Player of the Year) and Chris Holt (1995 Great Midwest MVP) are the others.
• Five Bearcats took home postseason honors in total, tying the Bearcats record since joining the AAC. They also had five players named in 2021.
• Merritt was named to the All-AAC First Team while Paul Komistek, Ryan Nicholson, Conner Linn and Beau Keathley were all named to the All-AAC Second Team. 

CINCINNATI SLUGGERS

• The Bearcats rank 23rd in the nation with 82 homers and 22nd in homers per game (1.61), both of which are tops in the AAC. 
• In the conference, UC leads in slugging % (.488) and in total bases (865). Its .373 on-base percentage is good for third in the AAC.
• Griffin Merritt ranks first in the AAC with a .676 slugging % and third with 127 total bases. He ranks 33rd in the country with 17 homers.

LAST TIME VS THE GREEN WAVE

• UC took two of three from Tulane May 6-8 and have won eight of the past nine games.
• All three games were decided by one run.
• UC hit four homers in game three of the series, winning 8-7.

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 22nd in the nation with 1.61 homer per game and 23rd with 82 overall.
• Sponseller and Cross have six each, Harting has 8, Nicholson has 10, Komistek has eight and Merritt has 16.
• Merritt's 17 homers have come in 188 at-bats, averaging one every 11.1 ABs.
• The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference. Their 82 led the conference this season.

AAC PLAY

• The Bearcats ended the year 12-12 in AAC play, and are coming off a series win at UCF.
• Early on, UC took two of three from Houston at home before traveling to Wichita State to sweep the Shockers.
• Head coach Scott Googins has a 55-49 (.529) record at UC in conference play.

FLASHBACK TO 2019

• Head Coach Scott Googins led the Bearcats to one of the most successful seasons in program history in 2019. 
• The Bearcats won the AAC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Baseball Tournament for the first time in 45 years. 
• In the 2019 NCAA regional, UC took down the reigning national champion Oregon State, 7-6.

THE BEAU SHOW

• Beau Keathley earned AAC pitcher of the week after throwing six shutout innings against Saint Joseph's while striking out 12 batters on March 19.
• He threw a complete game against Houston on April 9 and has two of those on the year.
• In two starts against Tulane and Memphis, he threw 17 innings, gave up four runs and struck out 15.
• He threw at least five innings in nine-straight starts from March 19-May 13.

FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
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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.