TicketsCINCINNATI – Big 12 Conference play begins this weekend for the University of Cincinnati baseball team as it travels to BYU for a three-game series in Provo.
Game one on Thursday and game two on Friday are both set for 5:00 p.m. ET starts. The finale on Saturday is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
This weekend’s series will be the third straight year UC and BYU have met as Big 12 opponents. The two teams clashed in Provo in 2024, a series that Cincinnati swept, but the Cougars took two out of three at UC Baseball Stadium last season.
The Bearcats enter play having won seven in a row and 11 of their last 12. Their 14-4 record is their best through 18 games of a season since going 15-3 to open the 2000 campaign. During this 12-game stretch, Cincinnati is hitting .320 and averaging 8.4 runs per game while logging a 2.91 team ERA.
Overall this season, Cincinnati is hitting .308 and boasts a 3.57 team ERA, both of which rank inside the top four in the Big 12. UC and West Virginia are the only teams to rank in the top four in both categories.
The latest win in the Bearcats’ winning streak came on Tuesday, a 13-11 comeback victory vs. Evansville, Despite trailing 11-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, Cincinnati scored three in the seventh and six more in the eighth to storm back and win. Enzo Infelise homered twice in the game, the second of which was a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth that proved to be the game winner.
The story of last week was Quinton Coats, who was named Big 12 Player of the Week and NCBWA Dick Howser Trophy National Co-Hitter of the Week following his incredible offensive output. The Olathe, Kan. native hit seven home runs in five games and drove in 17, helping UC go 5-0 in games against Western Kentucky and UC San Diego.
Setting the table for the Cincinnati offense has been Jackson Smith. The sophomore has hit leadoff in 14-of-18 games this season and ranks 12th national in on-base percentage (.588). Smith has been adept at reaching via free bases, earning 14 HBP this year. That number is tied with three others for most in the country.
ABOUT BYU
BYU is 7-8 through the first month of the season. Cincinnati and BYU share to common opponents in Western Kentucky and UC San Diego. The Cougars beat UCSD, 9-8, on Feb. 21 and opened the year with four games at WKU, going 2-2. As a team, BYU’s .291 team batting average ranks in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 and its 5.88 team ERA ranks 12th. Ezra McNaughton has been BYU’s best hitter thus far, leading qualified hitters on the team in batting average (.382), on-base percentage (.440), slugging percentage (.706), home runs (six), and RBI (18).
NEXT UP
Following the series at BYU, Cincinnati will stay in Utah to face Utah Valley next Monday and Tuesday. First pitch on Monday is set for 7:35 p.m. ET and Tuesday’s game will begin at 1:05 p.m. ET.
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