TicketsCINCINNATI – The University of Cincinnati baseball team hits the road this weekend for a big conference series at No. 21 Oklahoma State.
First pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 7 PM ET, and Saturday's game will begin at 7 PM ET as well. The finale on Sunday in Stillwater will start at 1 PM ET.
Both the Bearcats (20-13, 7-5 Big 12) and Oklahoma State (21-11, 7-5 Big 12) are tied for third place in the conference standings and a game out of first place. They're both deadlocked with Kansas State (20-10, 7-5 Big 12) and Texas (19-13, 7-5 Big 12), and all four teams trail West Virginia (19-12, 8-4 Big 12) and Oklahoma (17-14, 8-4 Big 12) by a game.
The Big 12 standings will undoubtedly look different after this weekend. In addition to UC and OSU facing off, Oklahoma and Kansas State will battle in Norman this weekend and West Virginia hosts UCF (21-8, 8-7 Big 12).
Cincinnati and Oklahoma State have met four times previously and the Cowboys lead the all-time series, 3-1. The last time these two teams met was Feb. 23, 1997 in a neutral site matchup, a game that OSU won 13-3.
The Bearcats are currently riding a four-game winning streak after their 5-2 win vs. Xavier in the Joe Nuxhall Classic on Tuesday.
Following this weekend's series, Cincinnati will return home next week for a five-game homestand at UC Baseball Stadium. UC hosts Eastern Kentucky and Xavier in midweek action before welcoming Houston for a three-game conference series next weekend.
// LAST TIME OUT
Cincinnati played Xavier on Tuesday night at Prasco Park in the Joe Nuxhall Classic and came away with a 5-2 victory against its crosstown rival.
UC scored twice in the first inning and led for the rest of the game thanks to some solid pitching. Carson Marsh had the best night of the bunch, striking out six in four scoreless innings, his longest outing of the year. Josh Hegemann reached base in all five of his plate appearances, tallying a hit, three walks, and getting hit by a pitch. Josh Kross was 3-for-5 at the plate and scored twice, and Dalton Pearson recorded his fifth multi-RBI performance of the year with two runs driven in.
// ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
Ranked No. 21 in the latest D1Baseball Top 25 poll, Oklahoma State brings a 22-11 overall record and a 7-5 conference mark into this weekend's series. OSU most recently won, 9-5, at Wichita State in non-conference action on Tuesday night, and last weekend it won two out of three games at home vs. Oklahoma. The Cowboys sport one of the top pitching staffs in the Big 12, ranking atop the league in ERA (4.10), K/BB ratio (3.02) and second in K/9 (10.6) and H/9 (7.99). Weekend starters Sam Garcia (61) and Brian Holiday (60) rank second and third, respectively, in strikeouts in the Big 12.
// 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.
First pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 7 PM ET, and Saturday's game will begin at 7 PM ET as well. The finale on Sunday in Stillwater will start at 1 PM ET.
Both the Bearcats (20-13, 7-5 Big 12) and Oklahoma State (21-11, 7-5 Big 12) are tied for third place in the conference standings and a game out of first place. They're both deadlocked with Kansas State (20-10, 7-5 Big 12) and Texas (19-13, 7-5 Big 12), and all four teams trail West Virginia (19-12, 8-4 Big 12) and Oklahoma (17-14, 8-4 Big 12) by a game.
The Big 12 standings will undoubtedly look different after this weekend. In addition to UC and OSU facing off, Oklahoma and Kansas State will battle in Norman this weekend and West Virginia hosts UCF (21-8, 8-7 Big 12).
Cincinnati and Oklahoma State have met four times previously and the Cowboys lead the all-time series, 3-1. The last time these two teams met was Feb. 23, 1997 in a neutral site matchup, a game that OSU won 13-3.
The Bearcats are currently riding a four-game winning streak after their 5-2 win vs. Xavier in the Joe Nuxhall Classic on Tuesday.
Following this weekend's series, Cincinnati will return home next week for a five-game homestand at UC Baseball Stadium. UC hosts Eastern Kentucky and Xavier in midweek action before welcoming Houston for a three-game conference series next weekend.
// LAST TIME OUT
Cincinnati played Xavier on Tuesday night at Prasco Park in the Joe Nuxhall Classic and came away with a 5-2 victory against its crosstown rival.
UC scored twice in the first inning and led for the rest of the game thanks to some solid pitching. Carson Marsh had the best night of the bunch, striking out six in four scoreless innings, his longest outing of the year. Josh Hegemann reached base in all five of his plate appearances, tallying a hit, three walks, and getting hit by a pitch. Josh Kross was 3-for-5 at the plate and scored twice, and Dalton Pearson recorded his fifth multi-RBI performance of the year with two runs driven in.
// ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
Ranked No. 21 in the latest D1Baseball Top 25 poll, Oklahoma State brings a 22-11 overall record and a 7-5 conference mark into this weekend's series. OSU most recently won, 9-5, at Wichita State in non-conference action on Tuesday night, and last weekend it won two out of three games at home vs. Oklahoma. The Cowboys sport one of the top pitching staffs in the Big 12, ranking atop the league in ERA (4.10), K/BB ratio (3.02) and second in K/9 (10.6) and H/9 (7.99). Weekend starters Sam Garcia (61) and Brian Holiday (60) rank second and third, respectively, in strikeouts in the Big 12.
// 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.