Baseball Takes Three-Game Winning Streak To Cincinnati
5/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Weekend Notes (pdf)
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. The Seton Hall Pirates baseball team (23-22, 12-12) are set to travel to Cincinnati (26-26, 11-13) for their final regular season trip of the 2009 campaign. The series will open on Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.
The Pirates enter the series in seventh place, a half game behind sixth place Connecticut. The Bearcats sit in 11th place at 11-13, a half game behind eighth place Pittsburgh. The top eight teams advance to the BIG EAST Tournament held in Clearwater, Fla. May 19-23.
BIG EAST Conference Tournament Scenarios
- The Seton Hall Pirates will earn a trip to the 2009 BIG EAST Conference Tournament if:
- They win the three-game series at Cincinnati (Winning two or three games)
- They win one (1) game at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh loses two (2) against West Virginia
- They get swept at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh gets swept against West Virginia
Pirates vs. Bearcats
Dating back to their first meeting in 2006, the Pirates and Bearcats have each won three of the six games against each other, however Cincinnati has outscored the Pirates, 20-17, in that time.
Last season the teams squared-off for a three-game series at Owen T. Carroll Field with Cincinnati winning games one and three by a combined scored of, 11-2. The Pirates sandwiched in a, 5-2, victory to force the rubber match. In 2006, the Pirates lost the first game, 5-1, before winning games two and three scoring nine runs to the Bearcats two in South Orange. This series will be the first trip to Cincinnati in the history of the program.
Following Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. start, the Pirates and Bearcats will return for another 6:30 p.m. start on Friday, followed by a 1:00 p.m. series finale on Saturday.
Scouting The Bearcats
Lance Durham is one of four players hitting above .300 with a team-leading .442 batting average, followed by Mike Spina (.337) and his team-leading 48 runs scored, 65 RBI, 21 home runs, and .668 slugging percentage. T.J. Jones enters the series with a .317 average with 33 runs scored, 28 RBI and 46 hits, including 17 for extra-bases and a team-high four triples. Justin Riddell rounds out the .300 hitters with a.306 average. Cameron Satterwhite (.253) leads the team with 19 doubles one ahead of Durham.
On the mound, Michael Hill leads the team with a 6.75 ERA starting all 12 games he’s appeared. Hill has tossed a team-leading 69.1 innings as well as the only complete game for the Bearcats this season with 57 strikeouts. Brian Garman is behind him with an 8.85 ERA and team-leading four wins with 15 appearances and 11 starts. He has allowed 62 runs, 60 earned, with 51 strikeouts in 61 innings of work. Jake Geglein is posting a 4-1 record - tying him for the team lead in wins with Garman - in a team-high 25 relief appearances. He has allowed only 11 earned runs in 31.1 innings surrendering 31 hits, but striking out 31 batters.
