Baseball Gameday: Bears at FDU-Florham and Yeshiva

Baseball Gameday: Bears at FDU-Florham and Yeshiva

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (20-8) looks to extend their winning streak to a school record 12 games with a win over FDU-Florham and a sweep at Yeshiva University. The Bears face the Devils on Thursday, April 24th at 4 p.m. before facing the Maccabees in a doubleheader on Friday, April 25th beginning at 10 a.m.

Game Information

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (20-8) at FDU-Florham (17-11, 12-6 MAC)
Thursday, April 24th • 4 p.m.
Madison, N.J.
Live Stats

St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (20-8) at Yeshiva University (0-21, 0-14 Skyline)
Friday, April 25th • 10 a.m.
Overpeck Park • Palisades, N.J.

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Storylines

  • St. Joseph's looks to increase their winning streak to a school record 12 games with a win over FDU-Florham and a sweep of Yeshiva.
  • The Bears need one win to set a new school record for wins in a season surpassing the 20 wins set a year ago.
  • St. Joseph's meets the Devils for the first time in program history and looks to improve to 10-1 all-time against the Maccabees.
  • With three wins the Bears would be an impressive 12-1 in true road games on the year.
  • St. Joseph's looks to move its way up the USCAA coaches' poll with three wins coming in at No. 7 in the latest poll released Friday.
  • The Bears try to improve to 5-0 in games played on Thursday with a win over FDU-Florham.

Series History

vs. FDU-Florham: First Meeting

vs. Yeshiva: The Bears hold an 8-1 lead in the all-time series that dates back to April 30, 2008. St. Joseph's has won the last six meetings in the series including a sweep of Yeshiva on May 6, 2012 by scores of 10-0 and 6-1.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Chris Cutrone notched his third straight complete game victory as St. Joseph's won their ninth straight game, edging William Paterson University, 3-2, on Monday afternoon at MCU Park.

St. Joseph's is playing its best baseball of the season as we hit the home stretch, winning a school record nine games in a row coming into the matchups with the Devils and Maccabees. The Bears look to continue their hot play as they try to secure a spot in the USCAA Small College World Series, coming in ranked tied for seventh in the latest coaches' poll.

During the winning streak St. Joseph's has clicked both offensively and on the mound. The Bears have hit .366 (105-for-287) with 115 runs over the nine games and the pitching staff has compiled a sparkling 2.08 ERA in 65.0 innings holding opponents to a .258 batting average.

This week's D3baseball.com Team of the Week and USCAA Player of the Week selection Thomas McKenna has given St. Joseph's a spark in the lineup as the lead-off hitter, batting .467 (14-for-30) with a team-high 13 runs scored, 13 RBI and 15 stolen bases during the nine-game winning streak. Senior Mike Cundari has also had a strong nine-game stretch, hitting .484 (15-for-31) with 13 RBI and eight runs scored.

Senior Joe Mendez continues to lead the Bears in the home run and RBI department with eight homers and 38 RBI on the year. The outfielder is batting .348 on the season and has a team-high .730 slugging percentage. Coming on strong for St. Joseph's is junior catcher Domenick Camerada who is hitting a blistering .524 (11-for-21) with nine runs scored and five RBI over his last eight games.

The pitching staff continues to be led by junior Chris Cutrone who has been dominant on the mound all season, sporting a 2.73 ERA in 52 2/3 innings and is coming off his third straight complete game gem against William Paterson on Monday. The second baseman/pitcher is 6-1 and has four complete games, while batting .324 with 21 runs and 12 RBI.

Devil Facts

Last Time Out: FDU-Florham dropped an 11-8 decision to Drew University on Wednesday. 

FDU-Florham comes into this week's matchup with already as many wins as they did all of last year and are on pace to finish with 20 wins for the fifth time out of the last six years. The Devils rely on an offense that averages 7.0 runs per game as their pitching staff can be shaky at times, carrying a 5.90 staff ERA into today's ball game and allow opponents to bat .294 against them.

Frank LaGuarina leads FDU-Florham offensively with a team-high 31 RBI on the season and has 37 hits and seven doubles in 103 at bats. Also contributing is one-time Freedom Player of the Week Frankie Tassielli who is second on the team with 24 RBI and has seven doubles, while batting .336 on the year. Brandan Adams paces the team with a .394 batting average and has stolen a team-high 11 bases.

Leading the Devils pitching staff is Andrew Hille who has a 4-1 record and 2.08 ERA in 30 1/3 innings, tossing two complete games. Also helping out on the hill is Chris Roberts who brings in a 3.78 ERA in a team-high 52 1/3 innings and has a team-high five wins this season in eight starts.

The Mac Attack

Last Time Out: Yeshiva dropped a doubleheader to Albertus Magnus on April 11th, falling 7-4 in the opener and 14-1 in the second game.

Yeshiva has struggled this season losing all 21 games they have played and own a 43-game losing streak overall dating back to last season. Hitting has been a huge weakness for the Maccabees as they only hit .120 with a team and have scored just 24 runs in 21 games. Pitching has also been an issue with the staff building up a 13.37 ERA in 141 1/3 innings and allowing opponents to hit .384 against them.

The leading hitter for Yeshiva is Jake Frankel who is batting .242 on the year with a team-high seven runs scored and 15 hits, while also recording the team's lone home run of 2014.

The pitching staff is led by Jonathan Gardner who carries a 6.95 ERA in six appearances and has pitched a team-high 33 2/3 innings with two complete games.

Team Comparison

 
       
Bears Nickname Devils Maccabees
20-8 Record 17-11 (12-6) 0-21 (0-14)
HVIAC Conference MAC Skyline
       
Roster | Schedule | Statistics  Team Info Roster | Schedule | Statistics Roster | Schedule | Statistics
       
Thomas McKenna (.376) Top Avg. Brandan Adams (.394) Jake Frankel (.242)
Joe Mendez (38) Top RBI Frank LaGuarina (31) Elan Paul (4)
Chris Cutrone (37) Top K Chris Roberts  (48) Jonathan Gardner (13)
       
.319 Bat. Avg. .304 .120
.418 Slugging .414 .142
.412 OBP .387 .206
232 Runs 197 24
267 Hits 284 59
196 RBI 170 16
72 SB 32 37
3.88 ERA 5.90 13.37
.267 Opp. Avg. .294 .384
142/104 K/BB 218/110 44/133
.971 Field % .947 .888