TicketsWHEN: Tuesday, May 23 (9 a.m.)
WHERE: BayCare Ballpark, Clearwater, Fla.
2023 RECORDS: Cincinnati (24-31, 10-14 AAC); UCF (32-24, 12-12 AAC)
ALL-TIME SERIES: UCF leads 18-13
LAST MEETING: UCF defeated Cincinnati, 9-7, on May 14, 2023 in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI – The fifth-seeded Cincinnati baseball team will face fourth-seeded UCF in the first round of the 2023 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Tuesday, with the first pitch scheduled for 9 a.m. at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
The tournament will be played in a double-elimination format through the semifinal round. The championship final is a winner-take-all matchup Sunday, May 28, which will determine The American's automatic entrant to the NCAA Championship.
The Bearcats finished the 2023 campaign with a 10-14 mark in conference play. Cincinnati won three of its eight conference series on the season. UC took two of three from Memphis and Tulane and swept three games against USF.
The most up-to-date information on The American Championship, including schedules, results and links to live scoring and the ESPN+ telecasts, can be found on Championship Central here.
Redshirt sophomore Kerrington Cross was named Second Team All-American Athletic Conference, while freshmen Griffin Hugus and Chase Horst were selected to the AAC Freshman All-Conference Team, the league announced on Monday.
Redshirt junior Ryan Nicholson claimed a spot on the final American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll on Sunday. He batted .375 (6-for-16) in four starts last week with three home runs, six RBI, four walks and two stolen bases.
Nicholson has a .301 average (62-for-206) with 15 home runs, 39 RBI and 40 runs scored in 52 starts. He leads the club in hits (62), home runs (15), doubles (15), RBI (39) and multi-hit games (19). He ranks eighth in program history for home runs in a career (32) and is tied for seventh in the category for a single season (15).
Sophomore two-way player Tommy O'Connor finished with a .360 average (18-for-50) in conference games with a .900 slugging percentage and .508 on-base percentage.
UC posted a team batting average of .249 in 55 regular season games, seventh in the league. The Bearcats rank second in the league and 81st nationally with 74 home runs. Cincinnati is 7-3 when they hit three-or-more homers in a game.
Cincinnati ranks first in the conference and 47th nationally in base on balls with 279 walks drawn. UC sits second in the league in stolen bases (102) and stolen bases per game (1.85) – good for 26th and 32nd nationally. The 102 stolen bases are the most in a single season since the Bearcats stole 88 in 2014. The Bearcats had 103 stolen bases in 2013, and the school record is 133.
On the mound, redshirt junior Chase Hopewell (2-6, 5.72) leads the staff in starts (14), strikeouts (49) and innings pitched (61.1).
Freshman Chase Horst finished the regular season with a 3-3 record and a 5.28 ERA. He tied for first on the team in wins (3), was second in strikeouts (46) and ERA (5.28), third in starts (8) and fifth in innings pitched (44.1).
UC and UCF have met 31 times in program history, with the Knights leading the all-time series 18-13. The Knights took two of the three from the Bearcats earlier this season on May 12-14 in Cincinnati.
The most recent postseason meeting between the two teams came on May 25, 2021 in the first round of the AAC Championship. UCF won the game, 14-10.
// SCOUTING UCF
UCF has an overall record of 32-24, including a mark of 12-12 against AAC opponents. The Knights went 21-13 at home and 11-11 on the road this season.
UCF ranked fourth in the conference with a team batting average of .287 in 56 games during the regular season. The Knights finished the regular season fourth in the AAC with a team ERA of 5.82.
// 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.
WHERE: BayCare Ballpark, Clearwater, Fla.
2023 RECORDS: Cincinnati (24-31, 10-14 AAC); UCF (32-24, 12-12 AAC)
ALL-TIME SERIES: UCF leads 18-13
LAST MEETING: UCF defeated Cincinnati, 9-7, on May 14, 2023 in Cincinnati
CINCINNATI – The fifth-seeded Cincinnati baseball team will face fourth-seeded UCF in the first round of the 2023 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship on Tuesday, with the first pitch scheduled for 9 a.m. at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla.
The tournament will be played in a double-elimination format through the semifinal round. The championship final is a winner-take-all matchup Sunday, May 28, which will determine The American's automatic entrant to the NCAA Championship.
The Bearcats finished the 2023 campaign with a 10-14 mark in conference play. Cincinnati won three of its eight conference series on the season. UC took two of three from Memphis and Tulane and swept three games against USF.
The most up-to-date information on The American Championship, including schedules, results and links to live scoring and the ESPN+ telecasts, can be found on Championship Central here.
Redshirt sophomore Kerrington Cross was named Second Team All-American Athletic Conference, while freshmen Griffin Hugus and Chase Horst were selected to the AAC Freshman All-Conference Team, the league announced on Monday.
Redshirt junior Ryan Nicholson claimed a spot on the final American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll on Sunday. He batted .375 (6-for-16) in four starts last week with three home runs, six RBI, four walks and two stolen bases.
Nicholson has a .301 average (62-for-206) with 15 home runs, 39 RBI and 40 runs scored in 52 starts. He leads the club in hits (62), home runs (15), doubles (15), RBI (39) and multi-hit games (19). He ranks eighth in program history for home runs in a career (32) and is tied for seventh in the category for a single season (15).
Sophomore two-way player Tommy O'Connor finished with a .360 average (18-for-50) in conference games with a .900 slugging percentage and .508 on-base percentage.
UC posted a team batting average of .249 in 55 regular season games, seventh in the league. The Bearcats rank second in the league and 81st nationally with 74 home runs. Cincinnati is 7-3 when they hit three-or-more homers in a game.
Cincinnati ranks first in the conference and 47th nationally in base on balls with 279 walks drawn. UC sits second in the league in stolen bases (102) and stolen bases per game (1.85) – good for 26th and 32nd nationally. The 102 stolen bases are the most in a single season since the Bearcats stole 88 in 2014. The Bearcats had 103 stolen bases in 2013, and the school record is 133.
On the mound, redshirt junior Chase Hopewell (2-6, 5.72) leads the staff in starts (14), strikeouts (49) and innings pitched (61.1).
Freshman Chase Horst finished the regular season with a 3-3 record and a 5.28 ERA. He tied for first on the team in wins (3), was second in strikeouts (46) and ERA (5.28), third in starts (8) and fifth in innings pitched (44.1).
UC and UCF have met 31 times in program history, with the Knights leading the all-time series 18-13. The Knights took two of the three from the Bearcats earlier this season on May 12-14 in Cincinnati.
The most recent postseason meeting between the two teams came on May 25, 2021 in the first round of the AAC Championship. UCF won the game, 14-10.
// SCOUTING UCF
UCF has an overall record of 32-24, including a mark of 12-12 against AAC opponents. The Knights went 21-13 at home and 11-11 on the road this season.
UCF ranked fourth in the conference with a team batting average of .287 in 56 games during the regular season. The Knights finished the regular season fourth in the AAC with a team ERA of 5.82.
// 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.