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No. 4 Bearcats Battle No. 1 ECU in Second Round of the AAC Tournament

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team is set to face the top-seeded ECU Pirates in the second round of the 2022 AAC Tournament Thursday afternoon. First pitch set for 1:00 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at BearcatStats.com.

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No. 4 Bearcats Battle No. 1 ECU in Second Round of the AAC TournamentNo. 4 Bearcats Battle No. 1 ECU in Second Round of the AAC Tournament

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team is set to face the top-seeded ECU Pirates in the second round of the 2022 AAC Tournament Thursday afternoon. First pitch set for 1:00 p.m. ET.

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

CINCINNATI
2022 Record: 24-29, 12-12 AAC
Head Coach: Scott Googins
Record at UC: 119-122 (5th)
Career Record: 460-479 (17th)
 
ECU
2022 Record: 39-18
Head Coach: Cliff Godwin
School Record: 296-148-1 (8th)
Career Record: Same

SERIES BUSINESS
UC trails in the all-time series, 8-32-2. The Bearcats took the first of six games between the two teams this season, with ECU taking the next five. 

SETTING THE STAGE

  • The Bearcats took down the No. 5 Tulane Green Wave by a score of 8-1 in the tournament's opening game.
  • ECU was able to get by No. 8 USF Tuesday, winning the game by a score of 7-4.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
  • The Bearcats average 7.0 runs per game, which leads the American Athletic Conference.
  • Griffin Merritt leads the conference and ranks in the top-23 nationally with 19 homers and 0.38 homers per game while Paul Komistek ranks fourth in the conference with a .433 on-base percentage.
  • UC has six players with eight or more home runs. Those six players, Merritt (19), Nicholson (11), Komistek (8), Cole Harting (9), JP Sponseller (8) and Kerrington Cross (8), have accounted for 75% of the team's home runs and over 66% 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: .714, Powell: .574)
  • As a team, UC has hit 84 homers and average 1.58 homers per game, both of which are best in the conference and top-25 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. 

MERRITT MASH

  • Griffin Merritt is currently tied with Kevin Youkilis for the third-most home runs in a single season in UC history. 
  • He is also in sole possession of third place in AAC history for home runs in a single season. 
  • With his next home run, he will move into sole possession of third place for single-season home runs in UC history. 

CINCINNATI SLUGGERS

  • The Bearcats rank 25th in the nation with 84 homers and 23rd in homers per game (1.58), both of which are tops in the AAC. 
  • In the conference, UC leads in slugging % (.486) and in total bases (882). Its .373 on-base percentage is good for third in the AAC.
  • Griffin Merritt ranks first in the AAC with a .714 slugging % and second with 137 total bases. He ranks 23rd in the country with 19 homers.

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 24th in the nation with 1.58 homers per game and 25th with 84 overall.
  • Sponseller and Cross have eight each, Harting has 9, Nicholson has 10, Komistek has eight and Merritt has 16.
  • Merritt's 19 homers have come in 192 at-bats, averaging one every 10.1 ABs.
  • The Bearcats launched 67 homers during the 2021 season, which ranked third in the conference. Their 84 leads 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.
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.