The University of Cincinnati Bearcats baseball team doesn’t have the Big 12 Player of the Year, as it did last year with Kerrington Cross, but it did place seven players on the All-Big 12 teams.
Leading the pack is designated hitter/catcher Enzo Infelise. Infelise became the second Bearcat to be tabbed with a Big 12 yearly accolade and the first Big 12 Freshman of the Year in program history. The freshman from New Lenox, Illinois, recorded the fourth-most hits in the conference with 79 in his first year in Cincinnati.
Infelise leads UC, as well as all Big 12 rookies, with a .374 batting average. That mark is seventh in the league overall. He also has 10 doubles, nine home runs and 44 RBIs on the season. In games where he relieved starting catcher Jack Natili behind the plate, he threw out six would-be base-stealers. Infelise also had a team-high 30-game streak of reaching safely and hit .358 in league play.
Two other UC Bearcats join Infelise on Big 12 First Team
Quinton Coats, who was just named Big 12 Player of the Week, and UC top starter Nathan Taylor join Infelise as Big 12 First Team selections.
Coats now ranks third nationally in home runs (28) and total bases (180) following a monster series against Texas Tech. He drove in 11 runs as well, pulling within one of the single-season program record. Coats was a Big 12 All-Freshman honoree last season following a second-half surge.
Taylor secured the UC single-season strikeout record in his final home start of the season, earning an ovation from the crowd. He is now 12 away from tying the career mark in only three years. As a second-teamer last year, he posted 91 strikeouts to 36 walks, and this year he’s upped it to 111 and 22. That strikeout tally also ranks third in the Big 12 and 10th nationally.
Catcher Natili, reliever Adam Buczkowski make Big 12 Second Team
Natili, a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, is second on the team in homers (16), RBIs (59), slugging percentage (.648) and total bases (142). He has helped the pitching staff to the third-lowest ERA in the Big 12, in addition to breaking its program strikeout record for the second straight season. Natili is also one of three in the nation to have multiple three-homer games.
Buczkowski leads the Bearcats with 26 appearances, boasting a 4-1 record with six saves. Five of those have been for more than an inning. The high-leverage bullpen ace has also limited opponents to a miniscule .171 batting average.
Connor Blue, Ryan Tyranski join Infelise on Big 12 Freshman Team
Infelise was a unanimous selection and is joined by two teammates.
Blue has made 10 starts for the Bearcats in his rookie season, which ranks third on the team. He threw a career-high six innings while allowing one earned run in a win over Houston.
Tyranski, after redshirting last year, has carved a spot in both the leadoff and No. 2 spots of the order in the second half of the year. He is hitting .324 with six homers, as well as ranking second in walks (37) and stealing 13 bases on as many attempts. His three doubles against Baylor tied the school record.
Big 12 tournament game next for UC Bearcats
The sixth-seeded Bearcats begin Big 12 tournament play on Thursday, May 21, against No. 3 Arizona State (11 p.m. ET on ESPNU).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Enzo Infelise is Big 12 Freshman of the Year for UC Bearcats baseball
Reporting by Scott Springer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
