Just over a month ago, West Virginia swept Cincinnati amid a 14-game Big 12 winning streak. Now, the Mountaineers are readying for the familiar Bearcats, hoping to advance in the Big 12 Tournament.
No. 8 Cincinnati took down No. 9 Texas Tech on Wednesday. The Bearcats opened up a 4-1 lead in the first three innings before holding off Texas Tech to get a 6-5 victory and advance to the quarterfinals against the Mountaineers.
West Virginia's familiarity with the Bearcats is something head coach Steve Sabins sees as a positive. In addition to that, them having played Wednesday is another positive as they had to burn through a set of pitchers.
"It will be interesting who they start in these tournament games. Traditionally, you play Friday-Sunday series, and they’re going to start playing on a Wednesday. I’ll be interested to see who they start in those games and then what bullpen pieces they use that will line them up for who’s available to play in a game against us. Depending on who they pitch against us, will certainly have lineup implications on my end," Sabins said.
Cincinnati sent Nathan Taylor to pitch, as he threw 7.0 innings, tossing 110 pitches in the process. They also used Kellen O'Connor for 37 pitches in two innings of relief.
Taylor was one of UC's best arms, with a 3.67 ERA on the season, as he pitched in the Friday night game against WVU back in April. In that game, he pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs.
Other guys of note the Bearcats used that weekend included O'Connor, who pitched 5.1 innings as the starter in game two, as well as Joel Pineiro, who allowed one run across 2.2 innings against WVU in game two of their series.
Taylor and O'Connor led the Bearcats in starts this season with 14 and 11, respectively. In addition, O'Connor has pitched on back-to-back days just once this season, throwing an inning each time.
"I think having done a scouting report, understanding who they are, their strengths, their weaknesses, and the familiarity of playing a team can play to our advantage. Obviously, that’s not finite, and it’s not necessarily accurate, but I think there is comfort in playing teams that you have played and you won those series. We have an idea of what we’re getting into," Sabins said.
The Mountaineers should get the luck of the draw in their favor in terms of who Cincinnati can pitch on Thursday, with Taylor and O'Connor throwing a significant number of pitches on Wednesday, and there being limited starting experience elsewhere on the Bearcats staff.
"I think we left there with a little bit of a bad taste in our mouths, feeling like we played okay, we just didn't play three very good ballgames, and West Virginia took advantage which they've done to teams all year. I think our guys are just excited about the opportunity to go out there and compete," Cincinnati head coach Jordan Bischel said.
First pitch of the Big 12 Quarterfinal game between No. 1 WVU and No. 8 Cincinnati is set for 1:30 p.m. from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
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