Baseball Gameday: Senior Day vs. Lehman

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – St. Joseph's (23-8) tries to build its school-record win streak to 14 games as they host Lehman College for a Senior Day doubleheader on Sunday, April 27th at 12 p.m. The Bears will celebrate the careers of seniors Joe Mendez, Mike Cundari, Donny Pagano, Chris Vargas, Chris Pacifico and Simon Diaz in festivities prior to the game at MCU Park.

Game Information

Lehman College (5-18, 2-6 CUNYAC) vs. St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (23-8)

Sunday, April 27th • 12 p.m.
MCU Park • Brooklyn, N.Y.

Live Stats | Directions
Twitter | Instagram (@SJCBears, #SJCBB)

Storylines

• St. Joseph's looks to run their school-record win streak to 14 games and win their school-record 24th and 25th games of the season.
• With a sweep, the Bears would improve to 12-3 in home games with one more home contest left on the docket.
• St. Joseph's would move to 16-2 in the month of April with a sweep of the Lightning.
• The Bears will honor seniors Joe Mendez, Mike Cundari, Donny Pagano, Chris Vargas, Chris Pacifico and Simon Diaz before the game. The six seniors have been a part of 71 wins coming into today's games, the most of any senior class in school history, and are responsible for the first postseason appearance in school history last year.
• St. Joseph's tries to sweep the season series with Lehman after the Bears swept the Lightning on March 22nd.

Series History

St. Joseph's leads the all-time series 7-5 in meetings since March 16, 2008. The Bears swept the Lightning earlier this season on March 22nd, earning 10-1 and 10-2 victories.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: St. Joseph's swept Yeshiva University on Friday, earning an 8-1 win in game one and a 26-0 triumph in the second game. 

St. Joseph's is playing the best baseball in the program's history, coming in on a school-record 12-game winning streak and have surpassed the school record for wins in a season of 20 set last year. The Bears look to continue their historic run and soldify a spot in the season-ending USCAA Small College World Series. During the 12-game winning streak St. Joseph's is hitting .368 and averaging 13.1 runs per game, while the pitching staff has been strong compiling an impressive 2.15 ERA.

Senior Joe Mendez is the top producer in the Bears lineup with a team-high eight home runs and 43 RBI, while batting .360 with a .448 on base percentage and .740 slugging percentage. The outfielder has a team-high ten games with multiple RBI and has ten contests with multiple hits. Mendez has continued to hit opposing pitchers hard during St. Joseph's 12-game win streak, batting .381 with 17 runs scored, 15 RBI and three homers.

Fellow senior Mike Cundari has played well in his final season as a Bear, hitting .375 with 29 runs scored and 25 RBI. The first baseman has also been solid defensively, committing no errors on the season in 259 total chances. Cundari has been St. Joseph's best hitter during the winning streak, hitting a team-high .476 with a team-high 17 RBI over the 12-game stretch.

This week's D3Baseball.com Team of the Week and USCAA Player of the Week selection Thomas McKenna also contributes to the highpowered Bears lineup, batting .361 with a team-high 36 runs scored and five triples. The junior also has driven in 23 runs and leads the team with 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts.

The ace of the St. Joseph's staff is junior Chris Cutrone who has tossed three consecutive complete games including one against William Paterson on Monday. The right-hander is 6-1 on the hill with a 2.73 ERA in 52 2/3 innings. Coming on strong is sophomore Brian Luebcke who picked up his third win of the season at FDU-Florham on Thursday and sports a 2.25 ERA in 24.0 innings.

Lightning Strikes

Last Time Out: Lehman dropped a 6-4 non-conference decision to Old Westbury on Wednesday.

After a 16-win season a year ago, the Lightning have struggled this season winning only five games coming into today and will finish with a losing record for the sixth straight season. Lehman ranks in the middle of the pack in the CUNYAC in several offensive categories, including batting average (.257) and runs (110). Pitching has been more of a problem for the Lightning as their staff ranks second to last in the CUNYAC with a 7.55 ERA.

The reigning CUNYAC Player of the Week Socrates Peralta leads Lehman with a .328 batting average and has 13 RBI and 12 runs scored on the year. The senior is also a threat with the long ball connecting on two homers on the year and also leads the team with five doubles. Michael Liang paces the Lightning with 14 RBI, while Jaime Maldonado leads Lehman in the home run department with three.

Leading the Lightning on the hill is Stephen Smith who has compiled a 5.06 ERA in five starts and is 0-2 on the year. Smith is a heavy strikeout pitcher as he has 35 in only 26 2/3 innings. Wilfredo Gonzalez also contributes on the mound with a 1-4 mark in five starts and sports a 6.69 ERA in a team-high 36 1/3 innings.

Team Comparison

Bears	Nickname	Lightning
23-8	Record	5-18 (2-6)
HVIAC	Conference	CUNYAC
Roster | Schedule | Statistics	Team Info	Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Mike Cundari (.375)	Top Avg.	Socrates Peralta (.328)
Joe Mendez (43)	Top RBI	Michael Liang (14)
Chris Cutrone (37)	Top K	Stephen Smith (35)
.325	Bat. Avg.	.257
.441	Slugging	.348
.422	OBP	.346
274	Runs	110
306	Hits	172
234	RBI	88
85	SB	51
3.73	ERA	7.55
.264	Opp. Avg.	.312
161/110	K/BB	143/128
.968	Field %	.938