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Baseball Gameday: Bears at USCAA Small College World Series

Baseball Gameday: Bears at USCAA Small College World Series

Updated Tuesday, May 14 at 1:00 am EDT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill – After suffering their first loss in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Small College World Series yesterday, the No. 6 Bears (29-10) face No. 8 Victory University in a losers bracket elimination game starting at 10 a.m. EDT at Lenz Field.

Live stats and video will still be available for the game and updates via Twitter on @SJCBears.

Stay tuned to @SJCBears and @USCAA on Twitter for any up to the minute schedule updates.

Game Information

All Game Times Eastern

Monday, May 12 - First Round - Robin Roberts Stadium
12 a.m.: No. 7 Selma University (18-6) vs. No. 10 Robert Morris Springfield (9-36)
7:30 p.m.: No. 3 Penn State Greater Allegheny (30-10) vs. St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (28-9)

Tuesday, May 13 - Winners Bracket Quarterfinals - Lenz Field
6 p.m.: St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (29-9) vs. No. 2 Lindenwood University Belleville (35-14)

Wednesday, May 14 - Losers Bracket Quarterfinals - Lenz Field
11 a.m.: St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (29-10) vs. No. 8 Victory University (30-23)

** If SJC Wins **

Wednesday, May 14 - Losers Bracket Semifinals - Lenz Field
4 p.m.: St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) (29-10) vs. No. 1 Cincinnatti-Clermont/No. 3 Penn State Greater Allegheny Winner

Tournament Central | Bracket
Live Stats
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Storylines

  • St. Joseph's College makes their second appearance in the Small College World Series, having qualified for the postseason tournament a year ago as well.
  • In last year's appearance at Pullman Park in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Bears entered as the No. 8 seed and dropped a 4-1 decision in the first round to No. 9 seed Briarcliffe before falling in the loser's bracket to eventual runner up Penn State Greater Allegheny 6-1.
  • St. Joseph's looks to pick up their first postseason win in school history as they seek revenge for last season's loss to Penn State Greater Allegheny.
  • The Bears offense tries to break through against a Nittany Lions pitching staff that has compiled a 3.11 ERA on the year and has 269 strikeouts in 251 2/3 innings.
  • With a pair of wins at the USCAA Small College World Series, St. Joseph's would secure the first 30-win season in school history.
  • Penn State Greater Allegheny makes their third appearance in the last four years, while Robert Morris Springfield makes their first appearance since they hosted back in 2012.
  • Lindenwood-Belleville participates in the World Series for the second consecutive year as does Selma.

Series History

vs. Penn State Greater Allegheny: The two teams have one previous meeting under their belts coming in last year's USCAA Small College World Series. The Nittany Lions eliminated the Bears from the tournament with a 6-1 win on May 7, 2013. Vinny Rossi and Brian Luebcke recorded the lone hits for St. Joseph's in the game.

vs. Lindenwood-Belleville: No previous meetings.

vs. Selma: No previous meetings.

vs. Robert Morris Springfield: No previous meetings.

vs. Victory: No previous meetings.

The Bear Facts

Last Time Out: Joe Mendez and Chris Cutrone each went yard as St. Joseph's concluded their regular season with a doubleheader sweep of the City College of New York, earning a 7-4 win in the opener and a 10-4 victory in the finale on Sunday afternoon at the SJC Outdoor Complex.

The Bears currently ride a five-game winning streak into their second consecutive postseason appearance and have won 17 of their last 18 overall. Over the 18-game stretch St. Joseph's has used an offense that has hit .372 and averaged 11.4 runs per game, while the pitching staff has compiled an efficient 2.77 ERA with 104 strikeouts in 130 innings. The Bears have already set school records in wins (28), runs (323, No. 1 in USCAA), hits (373, No. 3 in USCAA), stolen bases (96, No. 3 in USCAA) and are on pace to finish with the best team batting average (.334, No. 4 in USCAA), ERA (3.78) and fielding percentage (.967, No. 6 in USCAA) in school history as they search for the first postseason win in school history.

St. Joseph's offense has many threats in their lineup, but the biggest this season has been senior Joe Mendez who leads the team with a school record 10 home runs (T-No. 1 in USCAA) and 49 RBI (No. 1 in USCAA) on the year. The multiple award winner this season is batting .370 on the year and leads the team with 12 doubles and a .756 slugging percentage in 119 at bats. Mendez also has 38 runs (No. 9 in USCAA) scored this season and is batting .423 (22-for-52) with runners in scoring position, driving in 12 runs in such situations.

Teaming up with Mendez in the middle of the lineup is fellow senior Mike Cundari who leads the team with a .378 average and has driven in 33 RBI on the year. The first baseman also has been solid defensively committing no errors on the season in 309 chances. Providing a force at the top of the order is junior Thomas McKenna who is hitting .369 with a team-high 44 runs (No. 2 in USCAA) scored and paces the team with 20 stolen bases (No. 4 in USCAA).

This week's D3baseball.com Team of the Week and USCAA Player of the Week selection freshman Nicholas LoPrinzi has been solid in his first year on campus, accumulating a .373 average with 29 RBI and 22 runs scored on the year. Junior Domenick Camerada gives the Bears a solid presence behind the dish and he has also produced at the plate reaching base safely in 17 consecutive games.

St. Joseph's pitching staff is led by junior Chris Cutrone who has thrived both on the mound and at the plate this season. The righthander has compiled a 7-2 record (No. 2 in USCAA) in nine starts with a 3.06 ERA and five complete games in a team-high 64 2/3 innings. The second baseman/pitcher has also hit an efficient .350 on the year with 24 RBI and a team-high-tying five triples in 103 at bats. Also contributing on the mound is freshman Mitch Brigando who has made five starts on the hill and has gone 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA in 25 1/3 innings.

The Lion's Roar

Last Time Out: Penn State Greater Allegheny had their 16-game winnings streak snapped as they dropped a 6-0 decision to Mercyhurst on Friday.

The Nittany Lions come in playing their best ball of the season as they enter having won 16 of their last 17 games and look to build off their runner up finish at the USCAA Small College World Series a year ago. Penn State Greater Allegheny is talented in all facets of the game, coming in with an impressive .336 batting average (No. 2 in USCAA), 3.25 ERA (No. 2 in USCAA) and .973 fielding percentage (No. 4 in USCAA) on the year. The pitching staff has been very effective for the Nittany Lions holding opponents to only a .240 batting average, while fanning 270 batters (No. 3 in USCAA) in 257 2/3 innings.

Penn State Greater Allegheny is led offensively by one-time PSUAC Player of the Week Jose Pablo Bonilla who leads the team with a .417 average and also paces the team with five long balls (No. 7 in USCAA), 39 RBI (No. 5 in USCAA) and 40 runs scored (No. 7 in USCAA) on the year. The sophomore has compiled a strong .500 on base percentage and .683 slugging percentage (No. 7 in USCAA) on the year. Also providing production is one-time PSUAC Player of the Week Adam Wehr who is hitting .411 with four homers and 26 RBI, while leading the team with 13 doubles (No. 9 in USCAA). Another PSUAC Player of the Week Gianmarco Concepcion contributes with a .358 average and 32 RBI on the season.

The Nittany Lions pitching staff is anchored by a trio of aces and PSUAC Player of the Weeks in Braedon Pennington, Zach Krivda and Eddie Emes. Pennington, also a USCAA Pitcher of the Week, has been lights out this season sporting a miniscule 1.57 ERA (No. 3 in USCAA) in 51 2/3 innings with 62 strikeouts, while going 6-2 on the campaign with a team-high six complete games. Krivda has put together a sparkling 6-2 record in ten starts and has a 3.06 ERA in 53.0 innings. The sophomore has an impressive 65 punchouts on the year and has allowed only 39 hits on the season. Emes completes the dominant trio with a 2.59 ERA in six starts, bringing in a 6-0 record into the tournament in 41 2/3 innings.

Inside the Doghouse

Last Time Out: Selma split a doubleheader with Talladega on April 26th, taking the first game 10-0 before dropping the nightcap 4-1 to conclude their regular season.

The Bulldogs are in the Small College World Series for the second consecutive year after losing games to Penn State Greater Allegheny and The Apprentice School in last year's tournament as a No. 4 seed. Selma is a good hitting team on the season, carrying a .336 team batting average (No. 3 in USCAA) with nine home runs in 24 games. The Bulldogs are a team that likes to cause havoc on the basepaths as they have 85 stolen bases (No. 4 USCAA) on the year.

Juan Pablo Martinez is the catalyst of the Bulldogs lineup, batting a team-high .478 on the year (No. 2 in USCAA) with a team-high 11 doubles along with two home runs and nine RBI. Adding the power in the lineup is Mitchell Webb III who is hitting .447 (No. 6 in USCAA) with a team-high five long balls (No. 7 in USCAA), 18 RBI and 23 runs scored on the year.

Leading the Selma pitching rotation is Michael Lee, Daniel Keller and Ruben Rivera.

Inside the Eagles Nest

Last Time Out: Robert Morris Springfield dropped an 11-0 decision to Bradley University on Tuesday in their regular season finale.

The Eagles return to the postseason for the first time since they last hosted in 2012 and are looking to crack double digits in wins on the year. Robert Morris has struggled both at the plate and on the mound this season as they carry a .223 team average into the World Series and their pitching staff sports a 7.23 ERA.

Ryan Kittell leads the Eagles attack with a team-high .298 average and has three home runs, 12 RBI and 12 runs scored on the year. Teaming up with Kittell is Jonathan Diaz and Jesse Guzman who have 16 and 18 RBI, respectively. Kendall Interial contributes with a team-high 23 runs scored and ten stolen bases in a team-high 127 at bats.

Last year's USCAA Honorable Mention All-American pitcher Josh Ramirez is back for Robert Morris and put together a 3-7 mark with a 5.60 ERA in 80 1/3 innings. Joining him in the rotation is Lewis Applegate who leads the USCAA with 119 strikeouts in 90 innings and is 3-6 with a 4.20 ERA.

Lynx Facts

Last Time Out: Lindenwood Belleville capped off their regular season with a 10-4 loss to Houston-Victoria on May 3rd.

The Lynx make a trip to the USCAA Small College World Series for the second consecutive year and enter with an impressive 34-14 record. The No. 2 seed relies on a pitching staff that has a 3.79 ERA and a defense that has a .970 fielding percentage (No. 5 in USCAA). The Lynx also use team speed to their advantage as they had 112 stolen bases (No. 1 in USCAA) on the season, while getting caught 16 times.

Christian Cavaness leads Lindenwood Belleville in the power department as he leads the team with five long balls (No. 7 in USCAA), while driving in 27 RBI, scoring 33 runs and leading the team with 18 stolen bases (No. 8 in USCAA) on the year. Vince Anello is hitting .333 on the year and paces the team with 38 RBI (No. 6 in USCAA) and 13 doubles (No. 9 in USCAA), while Kyle Forsythe bats .339 and has scored a team-high 44 runs (No. 2 in USCAA) on the season. Mirek Sharp is the team's leading hitter with a .358 average and has 16 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

Pacing the pitching staff is last year's USCAA Honorable Mention All-American Joseph Phelps who brings in an 8-4 record with a 2.65 ERA in 85 innings and has tossed seven complete games. Dylan Arvai gives the Lynx another strong option on the mound as the junior has a 5-1 record in 28 appearances and carries a 2.88 ERA in 56 1/3 innings. Michael Sabatino gives Lindenwood a strong left-handed option on the hill with his 7-2 record and 4.14 ERA in 67 1/3 innings.

Team Comparison

Statistics entering tournament

 
 
           
Bears Nickname Nittany Lions Lynx Bulldogs Eagles
28-9 Record 30-10 (20-0) 34-14 18-6 9-36
USCAA Conference PSUAC USCAA USCAA USCAA
           
Roster | Schedule | Statistics  Team Info Roster | Schedule | Statistics Roster | Schedule | Statistics Roster | Schedule | Statistics Roster | Schedule | Statistics
           
Mike Cundari (.378) Top Avg. Jose Pablo Bonilla (.417) Mirek Sharp (.358) Juan Pablo Martinez (.478) Ryan Kittell (.298)
Joe Mendez (49) Top RBI Jose Pablo Bonilla (39) Vince Anello (38) Mitchell Webb III (18) Jesse Guzman (18)
Chris Cutrone (46) Top K Zach Krivda (65) Joseph Phelps (83) Daniel Keller & Michael Lee (6) Lewis Applegate (119)
           
.334 Bat. Avg. .336 .309 .336 .223
.457 Slugging .449 .405 .474 .278
.427 OBP .432 .404 .426 .288
323 Runs 284 306 153 122
373 Hits 372 448 229 260
276 RBI 262 274 69 96
96 SB 46 112 85 38
3.78 ERA 3.25 3.79   7.23
.267 Opp. Avg. .240 .263   .318
187/125 K/BB 270/112 230/124   254/196
.967 Field % .973 .970   .907