After spending the last two weekends in Florida, Brian Cleary's Bearcats (3-3) return home to Marge Schott Stadium this weekend to play their home opening series against Youngstown State (1-2).  The action is scheduled to start on Friday, March 5 with a 4 o'clock first pitch followed by a 4 o'clock Saturday game and a 1 o'clock Sunday tilt.

Coming off consecutive wins over Purdue and No. 13 ranked Ohio State, the Bearcats appear to be hot although the weather probably won't be this weekend.  High temperatures in the Queen City are expected to be in the mid to low 40's for the series.

Despite the football weather, Brian Cleary's Bearcats will be coming off their best game of the year and possibly Cleary's 14 year tenure as the Cincinnati skipper after the 12-4 upset win over the nationally ranked Buckeyes last Sunday.

The always even-keeled Cleary downplayed the landmark win.  "Our guys were excited, and it's a big win, but it's still early.  We have to keep plugging away."

After only a half dozen games this season, it's too early to have any meaningful dialogue about NCAA Tournament chances, but most UC baseball fans still remember the situation two years ago when the Bearcats posted a program best 39 wins but were left out of most at-large discussions for inclusion to the NCAA tournament due to a lack of quality wins.  The victory over OSU already gives UC a marquee victory for 2010.

"The win at FAU (Florida Atlantic) was a good one, and certainly this one is a good one the committee would look at," said Cleary.  "Those are important, but they won't mean a whole lot unless we can find a way to put ourselves in good position several months from now."

After having a prolific offensive club the last few seasons, Coach Cleary knows his 2010 version will need to have a different personality if they are to continue to be successful.

"I don't think we're going to be a team that routinely puts up 10 runs.  I think we'll be a team that will have to scratch, claw and fight for our runs because we don't have a great hitter in out line-up.  We've made a conscious effort to spend a little more scholarship money on our pitching staff.  We hope that will payoff for us."

To that point, the Bearcats are hitting only .232 as a team after six games with only nine extra base hits- six doubles and three home runs.

If pitching is to lead this club, it looks like Dan Jensen has emerged as the ace of the staff with a 2.45 ERA in eleven innings of work.  He also has only two walks to go with 9 strike outs.

"So far, he has been really good," said Cleary.  "I think he's going to continue to get better.  His velocity isn't where it was last fall, but as he gets his pitch count up, you feel like he's a guy that can pitch deep into the game and keep you in the game.  He's been really impressive after two outings."

Coach Cleary has also been pleased with Tyler Smith's efforts as his No. 2 starter.

After a great summer, a player poised to pick-up some of the pitching slack is redshirt junior Brian Sand.  The "Sand Man" pitched five no-hit innings in relief against Ohio State to get the win and presently sports a 2.70 ERA.

"He was really, really good and had the best outing I've seen him have because he kept the ball down," stated Cleary.  "His ball was down all day, and he was really aggressive."

Although it is still very early, Sand looks to be a middle reliever at the moment while Andrew Burkett may be the leader to serve as UC's closer.

Unfortunately, the UC pitching staff has already lost one of its more impressive young arms.  Freshman Chris McElroy, who drew the start in game No. 3 against FAU, is lost for the season after pitching only 1.1 innings and will undergo surgery.  There is also the chance fellow freshman Jake Proctor (OF/INF) broke his hand when hit by a pitch in the OSU game and could be gone for the season as well.

Despite the injuries and offensive concerns, Cleary feels cautiously optimistic about the future of his 2010 squad.

"I can tell you this.  We've had more talented teams start out with less success.  That's a good sign of things to come."

For the Youngstown State series, Dan Jensen will start Game 1 for the Bearcats, and Tyler Smith with toe the rubber in Game 2.  Beyond that, no decisions have been made.

In addition to Cincinnati's 2-1 performance in the Big East/Big Ten Challenge, Cleary was also happy with the league's performance, and those efforts could pay dividends down the road.

"The Big East showed well in this thing.  We were down 7-3 after the first day, and we came back and won the thing 17-13."

Those OOC wins could help all the Big East teams at the end of the year when at-large invitations are extended for the NCAA tournament.

Individual game tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children while season tickets can be had for only $20 for an adult and $10 for children.  UCATS members, seniors (age 55 and over) and UC faculty and staff can purchase a season ticket for only $10.

The Bearcats have already sold in excess of 400 season tickets (double the number from this time last year), but the goal is to sell a thousand season tickets in 2010.  Fans can purchase their season tickets by calling 1-877-CATS-TIX.

Fans can also support the UC baseball program by joining the Diamond Club at a minimum of $50.  Call UCATS at 556-4884 to inquire about joining the Diamond Club.