At 37 wins, the Cincinnati Bearcats baseball squad is three wins away from a school record.
Coach Jordan Bischel’s third UC Bearcats team is also three wins away from a Big 12 tournament championship. Thanks to taking two out of three in their final regular-season homestand vs. Texas Tech, the Bearcats earned a double-bye.
UC and TCU finished with identical 17-13 records in Big 12 play, but a 6-4 win by West Virginia (No. 9 in DI Baseball Top 25) over TCU May 16 gave the Bearcats the edge on a tiebreaker. UC had won two of three against the Mountaineers during the season, while TCU dropped two of three in Morgantown to end their regular season.
Cincinnati Bearcats eye 2nd straight NCAA Tournament appearance
UC made their first NCAA tournament appearance under Bischel in his second season last year when they qualified for the Knoxville Regional. After beating Wake Forest from the ACC, they dropped a game to the hometown SEC Volunteers, then an elimination game to the Demon Deacons to finish the season 33-26 (16-14 Big 12).
Bischel’s first UC team was 32-25 (17-13 Big 12). In year three, he has the Bearcats 37-19 (17-13) with some lofty expectations and projections.
Before their series win over Texas Tech, DI Baseball had the Bearcats projected as the No. 2 seed in the College Station Regional hosted by top seed Texas A&M. UTSA (Texas-San Antonio) and Binghamton were the other projected teams.
USA Today also has them in College Station in the same grouping with the exception of having Clemson there instead of UTSA.
Baseball America’s projection is the Hattiesburg Regional as the No. 2 seed behind host Southern Miss, with High Point and SIU-Edwardsville the other two teams.
“I don’t think there’s another coach in the country that does what he does and turns programs around,” senior Christian Mitchelle said of his three years at UC with Bischel. “We came to Cincinnati, they were an average baseball team and he turned it around. Year one, we went 17-13 in the Big 12, didn’t make a regional, but that was still a win in our books. After that, we knew we could make regionals and things like that.”
Before NCAA announcement, UC Bearcats look to surprise in Arizona
The double-bye means the Bearcats won’t play until late Thursday, May 21 in Surprise, Arizona, spring training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. The Big 12 tournament starts Tuesday, May 19 and runs through the championship game Saturday evening, May 23.
“Six weeks ago we were 4-8 in the league,” Bischel said. “That ends up 17-13. That’s a gigantic turnaround. Six straight weekends winning in this league is not easy to do. so big credit to our guys.”
UC can now rest No. 1 starter Nathan Taylor, who just became the school’s all-time single-season strikeout leader with 111 and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist Quinton Coats, now the school’s single-season home run record holder, sitting at 28.
Taylor and catcher Jack Natili are both Top 400 prospects to be selected in July’s MLB draft, according to Perfect Game.
“We’re going to miss the heck out of those guys,” Bischel said. “They’re leaving a lasting mark around here.”
The rest of UC’s lineup is relatively young. Top hitter Enzo Infelise is a freshman hitting .374. Headline-grabbing Coats is a sophomore who’s slugged 28 homers and driven in 78 runs while hitting .348. Derrick Pitts at .344 is a sophomore who has graced ESPN SportsCenter with some of his outfield catches. At .324 Ryan Tyranski is a redshirt freshman and .307-hitting leadoff man Jackson Smith is only a sophomore.
“They know this is special,” Bischel said of trying to keep players who could command better offers. “Whether it’s the crowd, whether it’s the winning, whether it’s the teammates, the development, there’s something to be said about being where you’re happy. I think these guys are and we’re going to work our tail off to keep taking care of them. I think that will keep our roster in a great spot.”
Big 12 baseball tournament matchups, gametimes, TV options
If UC is to win the Big 12 event, they’ll have to play late games on Thursday and Friday night, followed by a 7:30 (Eastern) championship game. Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time, which is currently three hours behind Cincinnati clocks. Three wins would give them the automatic NCAA bid and also a school record 40 wins. UC’s record for season wins is 39 by the 2008 team that featured future major leaguers Josh Harrison and Tony Campana and was coached by Brian Cleary.
Tuesday, May 19
Game one, No. 12 seed Texas Tech vs. No. 9 seed BYU, 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) ESPN+
Game two, No. 11 seed Kansas State vs. No. 10 seed Utah, 11 p.m. ESPN+
Wednesday May 20
Game three, Texas Tech/BYU winners vs. No. 8 seed Baylor, 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) ESPN+
Game four, Kansas State/Utah winner vs. No. 7 seed TCU, 11 p.m. ESPN+
Thursday, May 21
Game five, No. 5 seed Oklahoma State vs. No. 4 seed UCF, 12 p.m. (Eastern) ESPNU
Game six, No. 1 seed Kansas vs. game three winner (Texas Tech, BYU or Baylor), 3:30 p.m. ESPNU
Game seven, No. 2 seed West Virginia vs. game four winner (Kansas State, Utah or TCU), 6:30 p.m. ESPNU
Game eight, No. 3 seed Arizona State vs. No. 6 seed Cincinnati Bearcats, 11 p.m. ESPNU
Friday, May 22
Game nine, game five winner (Oklahoma State or UCF) vs. game six winner (Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech or BYU), 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) ESPN+
Game 10, game seven winner (West Virginia, TCU, Kansas State or Utah) vs. game eight winner (UC or Arizona State), 11 p.m. ESPN+
Saturday, May 23 (Championship)
Game nine winner (Oklahoma State, UCF, Kansas, Texas Tech, BYU or Baylor) vs. game 10 winner (West Virginia, TCU, Kansas State, Utah, Arizona State or UC), 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) ESPN2.
NCAA Division I baseball tournament selection show
Monday, May 25 at 12 p.m. (Eastern) the Bearcats will find out where they’ll be heading in this year’s NCAA tournament. The selection show is on ESPN2.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats earn bye into quarterfinals of Big 12 baseball tourney
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
