Baseball Gameday: Bears at Purchase and St. Joseph's (L.I.)
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (15-8) plays a pair of nine-inning road games against Purchase College and sister campus St. Joseph's (L.I.), looking to extend winning streak to season-high six games. The Bears will face the Panthers on Tuesday, April 15th at 4 p.m. before taking on the Golden Eagles on Wednesday, April 16th at 4 p.m.
Game Information
St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (15-8) at Purchase College (11-8, 8-3 Skyline)
Tuesday, April 15th • 4 p.m.
Purchase, N.Y.
St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (15-8) at St. Joseph's (L.I.) (10-14, 5-4 Skyline)
Wednesday, April 16th • 4 p.m.
SJC Outdoor Complex • Patchogue, N.Y.
Live Stats
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Storylines
- St. Joseph's looks to increase their winning streak to a season-high six games and move a season-high nine games over .500 with a pair of wins.
- The Bears try to continue their strong play in true road games, coming in with an impressive 8-1 mark.
- With a win against Purchase, St. Joseph's would snap a five-game losing streak to the Panthers.
- The meeting between the Bears and Golden Eagles is the first meeting all-time. However, the Bears have faced the St. Joseph's (L.I.) JV team in March of 2008.
Series History
vs. Purchase: The Bears are 1-7 all-time against the Panthers, dropping the last five meetings, including narrow 9-8 loss on April 10th of last year.
vs. St. Joseph's (L.I.): This is the first ever meeting between both schools' varsity squads, but the Bears have faced the Golden Eagles' JV squad back in 2008, losing both games.
The Bear Facts
Last Time Out: In a slugfest that saw a combined 28 runs scored and 30 hits, St. Joseph's was able to move a season-high seven games over .500 with a high-scoring 16-12 victory over Cairn University on Monday.
St. Joseph's has found its groove, winning 14 of their last 18 games since returning from Florida as they look to secure their second consecutive berth in the USCAA Small College World Series, coming in ranked No. 7 in the latest coaches' poll. The Bears have used an offense that hits .297 on the season and averages 7.0 runs per game to put themselves in a good spot in the USCAA race.
One-time D3baseball.com Team of the Week selection and USCAA and AD3I Player of the Week Joe Mendez continues to supply the power in the St. Joseph's lineup with a team-high seven long balls and 35 RBI. The senior is also batting .338 (25-for-74) on the year with 21 runs scored and has an impressive .730 slugging percentage.
Senior Mike Cundari is batting a team-high .372 on the year and is coming off a 5-for-7 day at the plate at Cairn. The first baseman has 13 RBI and 21 runs scored on the year, while stealing seven bases. Freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi has impressed in his rookie campaign hitting .351 with 13 RBI and 11 runs scored.
Junior Thomas McKenna gives St. Joseph's a top of the order presence with his .329 average and team-high 23 runs. The outfielder is also second on the team with 14 RBI and paces the team with two triples.
Chris Cutrone became the seventh Bear to reach 100 career hits with a 3-for-3 game two versus John Jay on Sunday. The junior is hitting .361 on the season and leads the team with a .506 on base percentage. Cutrone also has made a living on the mound this season going 5-1 with an impressive 3.09 ERA in a team-high 43 2/3 innings.
Panther Prowlings
Last Time Out: Purchase swept a doubleheader with Skyline foe Mount Saint Vincent on Sunday, defeating the Dolphins 7-0 in the opener and 4-3 in the nightcap.
Purchase comes into today's action playing their best ball of the season, winning five in a row and bring in an 8-3 record in Skyline play under first-year coach Adam Taraska. The Panthers are coming off a season that saw them go 23-19 and finish runner up in the ECAC Metro Tournament.
Aryn Giddens leads Purchase at the plate on the year with a .400 batting average and has scored 18 runs and driven in nine. The leading run producer for the Panthers is John Jonas who comes in with a team-high 16 RBI and two home runs in 46 at bats.
Last year's Skyline Player of the Year Ronald Echavarria looks to get on track, sporting a .265 average with eight runs, two homers and nine RBI.
Purchase is led on the hill by Chris Nast who brings in a 4-1 record with a strong 2.86 ERA in 28 1/3 innings. Also anchoring the staff is Adam Brant who is 2-3 with a 2.87 ERA in a team-high 37 2/3 innings.
Inside the Eagles Nest
Last Time Out: St. Joseph's (L.I.) split a doubleheader with Mount Saint Vincent on Saturday, falling in the opener 7-1 before salvaging the split with an 8-0 win in game two.
The Golden Eagles have had an up and down season under new coach Richard Garrett and are trying to make its way back to .500 after struggling through a nine-game losing streak earlier in the season. The No. 4 preseason pick in the Skyline Conference has opened up league play 5-4 and will jump right back into it tomorrow with a matchup vs. Mount Saint Mary.
St. Joseph's (L.I.) is led by dual-threat and one-time Skyline Player of the Week Dan Diblasi who comes in leading the team with a .329 average and 15 RBI, while finding success on the mound with a 2-4 record in 34 2/3 innings with a 2.86 ERA.
Team Comparison
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| Bears | Nickname | Panthers | Golden Eagles |
| 15-8 | Record | 11-8 (8-3) | 10-14 (5-4) |
| HVIAC | Conference | Skyline | Skyline |
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Team Info | Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
| Mike Cundari (.372) | Top Avg. | Aryn Giddens (.400) | Dan Diblasi (.329) |
| Joe Mendez (35) | Top RBI | John Jonas (16) | Dan Diblasi (15) |
| Chris Cutrone (27) | Top K | Adam Brant (21) | Dan Diblasi (26) |
| .297 | Bat. Avg. | .303 | .260 |
| .393 | Slugging | .408 | .322 |
| .394 | OBP | .415 | .347 |
| 161 | Runs | 153 | 125 |
| 202 | Hits | 175 | 190 |
| 135 | RBI | 115 | 104 |
| 48 | SB | 81 | 73 |
| 4.37 | ERA | 4.16 | 4.72 |
| .275 | Opp. Avg. | .245 | .270 |
| 110/97 | K/BB | 81/59 | 141/90 |
| .973 | Field % | .949 | .939 |