May the 4th be with you. To those who took on the Flying Pig this weekend, congratulations on the PRs and, above all, a safe finish. We’re coming off a slower week in local sports, but don’t let the lull fool you, we have a large amount of coverage dropping this week and throughout the entire month of May!
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Pro Sports:
Bengals
The Bengals had an uneventful week. However, their rookie minicamp is May 8th-9th.
Reds
The Reds went 2-4 this week and are looking to get back on track. Let’s start with a recap of each game this past week.
4/28 | Reds beat Rockies 7-2 | Great American Ballpark
Cincinnati started the game hot, with an Elly De La Cruz infield single RBI and a two-run Spencer Steer home run. Cruz hit another RBI single and a two-run home run later on in the game. This offensive explosion carried the Reds through game one.
4/29 | Rockies beat Reds 13-2 | Great American Ballpark
This game was absolutely terrible. The only positive was a two-run homer by Will Benson.
4/30 | Reds beat Rockies 6-4 | Great American Ballpark
The Rockies started out the game well, with a two-run homer by Tyler Freeman. The Reds then scored six straight runs and never looked back.
5/1 | Pirates beat Reds 9-1 | Great American Ballpark
This was an embarrassing start to the series for the Reds. Brady Singer was destroyed early on. The Reds’ only run was off a groundout by Elly De La Cruz.
5/2 | Pirates beat Reds 17-7 | Great American Ballpark
To sum up this game, the Reds tied an MLB record of giving up seven straight walks. The Pirates put up so many runs that Jose Trevino, a catcher, had to pitch. The Reds did put up some solid offense, but it doesn’t help when you let up 17 runs.
5/3 | Pirates beat Reds 1-0 | Great American Ballpark
Chase Burns was great for the Reds, but their offense was pathetic, putting up four hits. This was a letdown of a series for the Reds.
After a rough week, the Reds look to bounce back against the Cubs and Astros.
May 4th-7th | Reds @ Cubs | Wrigley Field
Cincy looks to bounce back with a four-game series against their division rivals, the Chicago Cubs. This is yet another pivotal series for the lead of the NL Central, hopefully it goes better than the Pirates series did. Chicago is a very strong team all around, as they are top five in the league in batting average, home runs, RBIs, and hits. They also have a relatively strong pitching staff. The Reds pitching staff must be on point to compete with the Cubs high-flying offense. If not, they will get shelled just like they did in Pittsburgh.
Goal: Two wins
May 8th-10th | Reds vs Astros | Great American Ballpark
The Astros have been struggling this season, starting off 14-21. The Astros are also a strong-hitting team, ranked top five in batting average, RBIs and hits. Another bright spot for them has been Yordan Alvarez, who is fifth in the MLB in hits and third in home runs. However, the Astros are a poor pitching team.
Goal: Three wins
FC Cincinnati: FCC picked up a massive win against Chicago this weekend. Hugo Cuypers continued his hot streak, netting a goal in the 16th minute. Evander soon responded with a goal of his own, in the 24th minute. Cuypers nets another goal four minutes later to regain the lead. Just three minutes later, Evander responds again. It was 2-2 at half. Coming out of the half, Kyle Smith was assessed a red card, putting FCC down a man. The game was slow, until the 97th minute, when Evander put in a game winning PK to secure his hat trick and a massive three points for Cincy.
FCC travels to Charlotte this week, looking to continue on their hot streak. Meanwhile, Charlotte has lost four straight. Cincy must ride this momentum and take out a Charlotte team who is just below them in the MLS standings. Charlotte is a very balanced team, putting up 18 goals this season and letting in 19. This game should be a duel and FCC will need someone other than Evander to produce, as he can’t put up a hat trick every match. FCC must slow down Pep Biel, as he leads Charlotte in goals and assists. The battle for the title of the true Queen City is a must watch.
College Sports:
It was a relatively quiet week on the local college hoops front, though college baseball and softball are peaking right now.
College Hoops:
Cincinnati added 6’9″ Boston College transfer Jayden Hastings to their portal haul this offseason. The physical big brings added frontcourt depth and averaged 7/6/1 last year. More on Hastings here.
Xavier’s portal work is effectively wrapped up, and the staff should be extremely pleased with how this roster has come together. We’ll have much more on them as the year progresses.
NKU made another portal addition this week, this time pulling from the high-major ranks. BJ Davis-Ray will have three years of eligibility remaining after struggling to find his fit at SMU last season. More on him, here.
Miami had a relatively quiet week overall. While the RedHawks may still add a piece or two, their key rotation feels set — more to come on them throughout the year.
The first metric rankings of the new season dropped this week courtesy of BartTorvik.com. Here’s an extended look at the local landscape:
| Team | Rank |
|---|---|
| Louisville | 9 |
| Ohio State | 20 |
| Indiana | 25 |
| Cincinnati | 31 |
| Xavier | 44 |
| Kentucky | 45 |
| Dayton | 66 |
| Miami | 94 |
| Wright State | 153 |
| NKU | 183 |
Worth noting — rosters aren’t fully finalized yet, and leaning on metrics this early is a bit like throwing a dart and hoping for the best. That said, it offers a reasonable baseline for where teams may land in preseason rankings and projections. As always, none of it truly matters until the games tip off.
College Baseball:
Baseball America is one of the top voices in the college baseball media space. Here’s their most recent projection for the field of 64.
UC: The #23-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats are firmly on their way to a tournament berth. At 32-17 and riding a five-game winning streak, they currently project as a 2-seed per Baseball America, with an RPI sitting at 22nd nationally. Cincinnati sits sixth in the Big 12 and hits the road this week — first at Oral Roberts on Tuesday, then to Manhattan, Kansas for a three-game set at Kansas State.
Xavier: The Musketeers are 21-25 overall but a solid 10-4 in Big East play, ranking 81st in the RPI. Sitting fourth in the conference standings, Xavier will look to stir things up at Prasco Park later in May. They got things rolling this weekend with a big upset win over #3 Georgia Tech in extra innings. Up next: A road trip to Butler for three games this weekend. Of note, Michigan and Xavier were supposed to play, however, that game was cancelled.
Miami: It’s been a strong season for the RedHawks, who come in at 32-15 overall and 19-8 in conference, sitting 53rd in the RPI. Miami currently projects as the MAC’s automatic qualifier and a 3-seed. With eyes on a conference title and a trip dancing, they head to Ohio State on Tuesday before returning home to host UMass this weekend.
NKU: The Norse sit at 20-23 overall and 11-10 in Horizon League play, with an RPI of 275. A conference tournament run will be their path to the postseason. This week, they host Miami (Hamilton) before welcoming Wright State for a three-game home series this weekend.
College Softball:
NKU: The Norse softball team finished the regular season on a 7 game winning streak! They beat IU Indy to close the year out and claim the #2 overall seed in the Horizon League tournament. They will play either RMU or Detroit Mercy on Thursday 5/7 in Youngstown, OH! They would need to win the Horizon League tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Miami: The RedHawks are heading into the MAC tournament as the 3 seed (19-8 overall). They have won 4 years in a row. They will start play Wednesday at 2:30 vs. Western Michigan!
College Golf:
Xavier’s mens golf squad took the Big East title this week, winning the tournament by 4 strokes. They’ll head to the NCAA tournament regionals this month!
Miami Is currently in 2nd place in the mens MAC tournament and will look to challenge for the title.
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