Baseball Gameday: Bears vs. Lehman College and SUNYIT

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (4-5) looks to move back over .500, with doubleheaders against Lehman College on Saturday and SUNYIT on Sunday. The games against the Lightning will start Saturday at 12:00 p.m., while the twinbill with the Wildcats begins at 10:00 a.m Sunday.

Game Information

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (4-5) vs. Lehman College (1-7)
Saturday, March 22nd • 12:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.
SJC Outdoor Complex • Patchogue, N.Y. • Directions

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (4-5) vs. SUNYIT (4-5)
Saturday, March 23rd • 10:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m.
Baseball Heaven • Yaphank, N.Y. • Directions

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Storylines

• St. Joseph's looks to move over .500 for the first time since starting the season 1-0.
• The Bears look to continue their winning ways, winning three of their last four games.
• Thomas McKenna and Nicholas LoPrinzi look to continue their superb play to begin the season, coming in batting .370 and .355, respectively.

Series History

The Bears have split their games against both Lehman and SUNYIT, respectively, meeting the Lightning a total of 10 times and the Wildcats four times previously.

In their last meeting, St. Joseph's dropped a 6-5 decision against the Lightning on May 3, 2013. Against SUNYIT, the team split a doubleheader against the Wildcats in their last meeting April 28, 2013.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Powered by a complete game two-hit shutout from freshman Mitch Brigando (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep), the Bears earned a doubleheader split with the College of Staten Island, falling 4-1 before taking a 2-0 victory last Tuesday.

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 .333 (8-for-24) to start the season and has a team-high eight RBI.

Senior Mike Cundari has started off his senior season on a roll, hitting .345 (10-for-29) and has five runs batted in for the Bears. Also contributing is junior centerfielder Thomas McKenna who has the highest slugging percentage (.488) and second-highest batting average (.355).

Freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi has impressed in his rookie campaign, leading the Bears early on in the season with a .370 batting average (10-for-27) coming into Saturday's games.

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, while Mitch Brigando is coming off a two-hit shutout in the Bears' last victory against Staten Island.

Lightning Strikes

Last Time Out: Lehman College dropped a doubleheader at home to the College of Mount St. Vincent, 12-4 and 13-7, last Sunday.

Senior Michael Liang leads the Lightning with a .333 batting average (8-for-24), smacking two home runs and driving in five runs early on in the 2014 campaign. Also in the lineup, Waldo Acosta has also tallied four runs batted in on five hits while Carlos Alcantara has hit at a .333 clip (5-for-15).

The pitching for Lehman is paced by Wilfredo Rodriguez, who is tied for the lead in strikeouts (7) and a .258 batting average against. Michael Liang also has contributed out of the bullpen, striking out seven batters.

The Wildcats Way                                                                               

SUNYIT wrapped up their nine-game spring trip Friday, splitting a double-header with Wentworth College (6-3, 1-10) on March 14th.

The Wildcats are led offensively by senior outfielder Kevin Rowlands, who tops the team in both batting average (.429) and runs batted in (13). Senior Jim Sass paces SUNYIT with a team-leading 13 runs scored, while Ryan Dungey who has knocked in seven runs in the 2014 season.

Contributing for the Wildcats on the mound is junior Joseph Redmond, who is fourth in the North East Athletic Conference (NEAC) in both earned run average (1.98) and strikeouts (17). Jeff Albright is second on the team, fanning 13 batters and notched a win on March 13th.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Lightning	Wildcats
4-5	Record	1-7	4-5
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC	NEAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Nicholas LoPrinzi (.370)	Top Avg.	Michael Liang (.333)	Kevin Rowlands (.429)
Joseph Mendez (8)	Top RBI	Michael Liang (5)	Kevin Rowlands (13)
Rosario Dilorenzo (12)	Top K	Wilfredo Gonzalez (7)	Joseph Redmond (17)
.257	Bat. Avg.	.222	.285
.311	Slugging	.306	.344
.352	OBP	.307	.381
48	Runs	27	50
66	Hits	48	77
42	RBI	21	42
9	SB	6	9
7.00	ERA	9.17	6.51
.281	Opp. Avg.	.322	.320
42/30	K/BB	40/52	53/37
.982	Field %	.940	.939