Baseball Gameday: Bears vs. Staten Island

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (11-7) looks to win the season series against Staten Island (10-7), hosting the Dolphins at MCU Park for a 4 p.m. first pitch.

Game Information

College of Staten Island (10-7, 3-1 CUNYAC) vs. St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (11-7)
Wednesday, April 9th • 4 p.m.
MCU Park • Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Storylines

• St. Joseph's looks to move a season-high five games over .500 with a win over Staten Island.
• The Bears try to continue their stretch of good play, having won five of their last six games coming into today.
• St. Joseph's looks to take the season series versus the Dolphins for the first time in school history.
• The Bears try to improve to 6-2 in home games on the season after going 7-2 a year ago.
• Staten Island looks to win their fourth game in a row and improve to 3-2 in true road games.
• With a win, St. Joseph's would improve to 5-10 all-time against the Dolphins.
• The Bears look to win their ninth straight game at MCU Park.

Series History

Staten Island holds a 10-4 lead in the all-time series that dates back to April 17, 2008. The two teams split a doubleheader earlier this season on March 18th.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Powered by a 10-inning complete game gem from Chris Cutrone and a walk-off single by Thomas McKenna, St. Joseph's split a doubleheader with USCAA foes SUNY-Canton, falling in the opener 4-3 before taking the nightcap 2-1 in ten innings on Saturday afternoon at the SJC Outdoor Complex

St. Joseph's has hit its stride as it hunts down a second consecutive USCAA Small College World Series appearance, winning five of their last six games. The Bears come in ranked No. 8 in the latest coaches' poll and have used a 3.13 staff ERA of the stretch to move a season-high four games over .500.

Last week's D3baseball.com Team of the Week selection and USCAA and AD3I Player of the Week Joe Mendez supplies the power in the St. Joseph's lineup, coming in with a team-high five home runs and 27 RBIs on the season. The senior is hitting .366 (15-for-41) with a team-high 15 runs scored and 24 RBIs since the Bears returned from Florida, a stretch that saw St. Joseph's go 10-3.

A pair of freshmen in Anthony DeFillippo and Francis Rapp have stepped up their play over the last six games with DeFillippo batting .429 (6-for-14) with three runs scored and an RBI, while Rapp has hit .412 (7-for-17) with four runs and four RBI.

Also providing contributions to the Bears lineup is freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi who leads the team with a .382 batting average and is second the team with 10 RBIs. Junior Thomas McKenna is having another strong season at the plate, batting .333 with a team-high 17 runs scored and has nine RBIs on the year.

This week's USCAA Pitcher and AD3I Player of the Week Chris Cutrone has put together three wins on the mound over St. Joseph's last six games, accumulating an impressive 2.05 ERA in 22.0 innings with 12 strikeouts. Sophomore Rosario DiLorenzo brings in a 4-1 record on the mound and a 3.94 ERA in five starts.

Flipper Facts

Last Time Out: Staten Island swept Vaughn College on Sunday, taking game one 24-0 before earning a 20-0 triumph in the nightcap.

After starting the season 3-5, the Dolphins have won seven of their last nine to move three games over .500. The reigning CUNYAC champions bring in a three-game winning streak and have been led most of the season by a pitching staff that comes in with an impressive 3.62 ERA on the year.

Leading the Dolphins offense is one-time CUNYAC Player of the Week Joe Palmeri who carries a .426 batting average, 16 runs scored and ten doubles. The sophomore also paces Staten Island with a .611 slugging percentage and a .508 on base percentage. Greg Manassa leads the team with a .448 average and has driven in a team-high 12 RBIs on the season.

Josh Bernstein, a one-time CUNYAC Rookie of the Week, has had a good start to the season for the Dolphins, laying claim to a 3.96 ERA in a team-high 25.0 innings. Also contributing on the mound is last week's CUNYAC Pitcher of the Week Chris Falcone who is a perfect 3-0 on the hill and sports a 4.43 ERA in 22 1/3 innings with 31 punchouts.

Division III Week

Did you know that, on average, about one–fifth of students enrolled at NCAA Division III member schools participate in varsity athletics? This week, St. Joseph's College joins approximately 450 Division III schools and nearly 180,000 student athletes in the third annual celebration of NCAA Division III – this season marking the largest division's 40th anniversary year.

We are proud of our student- athletes, who excel both in the classroom and in athletic competition while demonstrating leadership, community service and campus involvement.

TEAM COMPARISON

Bears	Nickname	Dolphins
11-7	Record	10-7 (3-1)
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Nicholas LoPrinzi (.382)	Top Avg.	Greg Manassa (.448)
Joe Mendez (27)	Top RBI	Greg Manassa & John Baggs (12)
Rosario DiLorenzo (21)	Top K	Chris Falcone (31)
.292	Bat. Avg.	.285
.376	Slugging	.366
.383	OBP	.387
112	Runs	113
150	Hits	144
92	RBI	97
20	SB	30
4.78	ERA	3.62
.265	Opp. Avg.	.252
79/77	K/BB	100/32
.980	Field %	.971