Baseball Gameday: Bears at Staten Island

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (3-4) looks to move back over .500, traveling to the College of Staten Island (2-3) for a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 18th at 3:30 p.m.

Game Information

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (3-4) vs. College of Staten Island (2-3)

Tuesday, March 18th • 3:30 p.m.
Staten Island, N.Y.

Audio (Courtesy of Staten Island Athletics)
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Storylines

• St. Joseph's looks to move over .500 for the first time since starting the season 1-0 with a sweep of the Dolphins.
• With a pair of wins, the Bears look to improve to 5-9 against the Dolphins all-time.
• St. Joseph's tries to continue its success in true road games, coming off a season in which they went 13-11 and have started this year 2-0 in true road games.
• One-time AD3I Player of the Week Mike Cundari and freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi look to continue their superb play to begin the season, coming in batting .417 and .429, respectively.
• Staten Island tries to continue its dominance at home after going 15-3 on their home turf a year ago.

Series History

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.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: St. Joseph's came back from a three-week layoff to sweep John Jay on Sunday. The Bears defeated the Bloodhounds 8-4 in game one and 11-5 in the second game.

St. Joseph's looks to move over .500 for the first time since winning their first game. After hitting only .248 in Florida, the Bears bats heated up after a three-week hiatus as they recorded 22 hits during the two games at John Jay. St. Joseph's has also thrived in the field, committing only four errors through the first seven games.

Last year's D3baseball.com First Team All-New York Region selection Joe Mendez has gotten off to another strong start in his senior campaign. The outfielder is batting .350 (7-for-20) to start the season and has a team-high seven RBI.

One-time AD3I Player of the Week senior Mike Cundari has started off his senior season on a tear, hitting .417 (10-for-24) and has drove in five RBI. The first baseman has recorded a base knock in six of the Bears first seven games and leads the team with a .542 slugging percentage and carries a .462 on base percentage.

Also contributing is junior centerfielder Thomas McKenna who has notched a hit in six of seven games for St. Joseph's and is batting .320 (8-for-25) on the year with six RBI and a team-high seven runs scored. Freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi has impressed in his rookie campaign, carrying a team-high .429 batting average (9-for-21) into today's game.

Leading the Bears pitching staff is last year's AD3I Co-Pitcher of the Year Rosario DiLorenzo who carries a 2-0 record and 3.75 ERA after throwing a complete game on Sunday. 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.

TEAM COMPARISON

Bears	Nickname	Dolphins
3-4	Record	2-3
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Nicholas LoPrinzi (.429)	Top Avg.	Joe Palmeri (.526)
Joe Mendez (7)	Top RBI	Four tied at... (4)
Rosario DiLorenzo (12)	Top K	Robert Jannace (4)
.276	Bat. Avg.	.247
.343	Slugging	.315
.378	OBP	.348
45	Runs	30
58	Hits	40
40	RBI	26
9	SB	3
8.10	ERA	5.88
.296	Opp. Avg.	.311
38/37	K/BB	14/16
.982	Field %	.978