Baseball Gameday: Bears at John Jay

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – After finding yesterday's doubleheader at the College of Staten Island was postponed, St. Joseph's (1-4) looks to snap a four-game losing streak, after a three-week hiatus due to cancellations from the winter weather, against John Jay College (0-3) in a doubleheader starting today at noon at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, N.Y.

Game Information

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (1-4) at College of Staten Island (2-3)
Saturday, March 15th • Postponed to March 19 at 3 p.m.
Staten Island, N.Y.

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (1-4) at John Jay College (0-3)
Sunday, March 16th • 12 p.m.
Baseball Heaven • Yaphank, N.Y.

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Storylines

• St. Joseph's looks to snap a four-game losing streak in their first games of the season in the state of New York after playing the first five games of the year in Florida.
• With a sweep of the Dolphins and Bloodhounds, the Bears will improve to 5-9 against Staten Island and 10-3 versus John Jay all-time.
• St. Joseph's tries to continue its success in true road games, coming off a season in which they went 13-11.
• One-time AD3I Player of the Week Mike Cundari looks to continue his blistering start to the season, having recorded a hit in four of the Bears first five games.
• Staten Island tries to continue its dominance at home after going 15-3 on their home turf a year ago.
• John Jay looks for their first wins of the season and tries to snap a six-game losing streak dating back to last year.

Series History

vs. Staten Island: Staten Island holds a 9-3 lead in the all-time series dating back to April 17, 2008, but the Bears picked up a win against the Dolphins in the second game of a doubleheader in their last meeting back on March 30, 2013.

vs. John Jay: St. Joseph's owns an 8-3 edge in the all-time series against John Jay dating back to April 8, 2008. The Bears have won the last six meetings in the series, including a pair of wins last year.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: St. Joseph's wrapped their Florida trip to the RussMatt Classic suffering a doubleheader sweep to Alma College, 3-0 and 12-4, on February 23rd at Lake Myrtle Park. Freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi led the Bears at the dish batting 4-for-5 over the twinbill with a walk.

St. Joseph's tries to get back in the swing of things following a 15-day layoff due to postponements from the weather. The Bears return to New York looking to heat up their bats as they hit .248 during the Florida trip and try to get better production from a pitching staff that compiled a 9.00 ERA in the five games. St. Joseph's has played well in the field, amassing a .975 fielding percentage, committing only four errors during the trip.

One-time AD3I Player of the Week senior Mike Cundari has started off his senior season on a tear, hitting a team-high .471 (8-for-17) and has drove in a team-high five RBI. The first baseman has recorded a base knock in four of the Bears first five games and leads the team with a .647 slugging percentage and carries a .500 on base percentage.

Also contributing is junior centerfielder Thomas McKenna who has notched a hit in each game for St. Joseph's and is batting .389 (7-for-18) on the year with three RBI and a team-high six runs scored. Freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi has impressed in his rookie campaign, carrying a .400 batting average (6-for-15) into today's game.

Leading the Bears pitching staff is last year's AD3I Co-Pitcher of the Year Rosario DiLorenzo who started off the 2014 campaign on a high note allowing only one earned run in five innings to pick up St. Joseph's lone win of the season against Maritime. Senior Donny Pagano comes off a strong showing against Alma, allowing three earned runs in a complete game.

Flipper Facts

Last Time Out: The Dolphins concluded their trip to Myrtle Beach with a 5-1 loss to Johnson & Wales on March 3rd. Staten Island was led by Joe Palmeri and Mike Allocco who each recorded two hits.

Staten Island, a perennial power in the CUNYAC, started the season in Myrtle Beach going 2-3 on the trip and are coming off a season that saw them go 30-12 and win the season-ending CUNYAC Tournament championship. The Dolphins are undergoing a youth movement as there are 22 underclassmen and only one senior on the squad.

Pacing Staten Island at the plate is reigning CUNYAC Player of the Week Joe Palmeri who leads the team with a .526 (10-for-19) batting average and is tied with three others for the team lead with four RBI.

Mike Fitzpatrick leads the Dolphins on the bump with a 2.84 ERA in 6 1/3 innings of work in his lone start of the year versus Grove City. Also contributing on the mound is Anthony Storz who carries a 2.25 ERA into today's doubleheader and is coming off a six-inning outing against Manhattanville where he allowed only two earned runs to pick up the win.

Inside the Doghouse

Last Time Out: The Bloodhounds dropped an 11-3 decision to Rutgers-Newark on Tuesday afternoon. John Jay was led by senior Nico Rivera who went 3-for-4 with two RBI, two stolen bases and one run scored.

The Bloodhounds begin the 2014 season under the tutelage of a new coach in Joe Mandile after going 8-30 a year ago. John Jay has started the season off with three consecutive losses to Stevens, Merchant Marine and Rutgers-Newark and are looking to snap a six-game losing streak dating back to last year.

Nico Rivera provides the Bloodhounds with a dual-threat as he provides contributions both at the dish and on the mound. The senior has begun the season hitting .455 (5-for-11) and has compiled a 2.25 ERA in 4.0 innings of work this season, making the start against Merchant Marine.

The leading hitter for John Jay from a year ago, Esteban Soler, returns and is batting .100 (1-for-10) in the early going. Corry Harper provides another force both at the plate and on the hill as he comes in hitting .200 (2-for-10), while also holding a spot at the topend of the rotation.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Dolphins	Bloodhounds
1-4	Record	2-3	0-3 (0-1)
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC	CUNYAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Mike Cundari (.471)	Top Avg.	Joe Palmeri (.526)	Nico Rivera (.455)
Mike Cundari (5)	Top RBI	Four tied at... (4)	N. Amarante & N. Rivera (2)
Rosario DiLorenzo (6)	Top K	Robert Jannace (4)	Nico Rivera (3)
.248	Bat. Avg.	.247	.181
.309	Slugging	.315	.234
.345	OBP	.348	.267
26	Runs	30	5
37	Hits	40	17
21	RBI	26	5
5	SB	3	5
9.00	ERA	5.88	9.00
.320	Opp. Avg.	.311	.376
27/27	K/BB	14/16	9/12
.975	Field %	.978	.942