Baseball Embarks on Three-Game Weekend, Facing John Jay and CCNY

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Coming off a doubleheader split against Maritime College, the St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) baseball team will have a busy weekend, taking on both John Jay and CCNY. The Bears (2-5) will face the Bloodhounds Saturday at 6:00 p.m., while they will match up with CCNY in a doubleheader Sunday with first pitch of game one starting at 2:00 p.m.

Schedule change: The John Jay game was originally scheduled as a doubleheader at Narrows Field, but due to unplayable field conditions will now be a single game at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank at 8:30 pm.

Game Information

Saturday, March 21st
8:30 p.m. – vs. John Jay (0-2)
@ Baseball Heaven (Yaphank, N.Y.)
Coverage: Live Stats | Video 

Sunday, March 22nd
12:00 p.m. – vs. CCNY (0-2) (Doubleheader)
@ Baseball Heaven (Yaphank, N.Y.)
Coverage: Live Stats (Game 1) | Live Stats (Game 2) | Video  

Team Links

St. Joseph's (Bklyn): Roster | Schedule | Statistics 
John Jay: Roster | Schedule | Statistics
CCNY: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Quick Hits

• St. Joseph's is looking to reach .500 on the season at the end of the weekend after dropping four of five games during February at the RussMatt Invitational in Central Florida.
• The Bears are searching to continue their winning streaks against both schools. They have won the last 10 meetings between the Bloodhounds, while taking the last eight decisions from CCNY.
• Thomas McKenna leads the team with a .409 batting average, while Nicholas LoPrinzi is right behind him with a .348 average over the first seven games.
• Both John Jay and CCNY are seeking for their first victory for the 2015 campaign after numerous postponements due to the weather.
• Nico Rivera leads the Bloodhounds at the plate as well as on the pitcher's mound. Last season, the senior topped the team with 22 RBI and also led John Jay with three wins and five complete games.
• CCNY returns CUNYAC Player of the Year Gabriel Pena, who last season posted a conference-high .389 batting average and .656 slugging percentage.

All-Time Series

Against John Jay, the Bears own a decisive 12-3 advantage dating back to 2008. They have won the last ten meetings, including two doubleheader sweeps last season.

St. Joseph's is 8-3 facing off with CCNY all-time, winning seven straight games against the Beavers.

The Bear Facts

St. Joseph's is led this season by sophomore third baseman Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep). So far, last year's AD3I Rookie of the Year is batting .348 (eight-of-23) while driving in a team-high six runs and crossing the plate a team-high five times in seven games.

Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) has got off to a hot start swinging the bat this season, leading the Bears with a team-high .409 batting average on nine of 22 at-bats. He has also drawn two RBI and two runs scored, and has swiped a team-high four bases.

Catcher Domenick Camerada (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) is second on the team with five runs batted in to go along with a .313 average behind the plate. Shortstop Francis Rapp (Baldwin, N.Y./Oceanside). His brother Michael Camerada (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) is currently hitting .300 (6-of-20) on the early season, including a team-high three extra-base hits.

On the mound, Mitch Brigando (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) has a 2-0 record, accounting for both Bears victories this season. The sophomore has allowed five earned runs over 10 1/3 innings while striking out a team-high 11 batters.

Did you know? Head Coach Jerry Sidman played his collegiate baseball for John Jay where he was a two-time CUNYAC All-Star and a key component of the only John Jay team to go to the NCAA Tournament in 1996.

Bears Last Time Out vs. Maritime

St. Joseph's finally resumed their schedule up north after opening down in Florida halting a three-game skid with a 9-3 win over Maritime in game one before dropping the nightcap, 11-4, to their future Skyline Conference rivals.

The opener saw Mitch Brigando work four innings allowing just a solo earned run while striking out six to earn his second win of the season.

Nicholas LoPrinzi drove in four runs over the doubleheader. Catcher Domenick Camerada finished with two hits, two runs, and two RBI while reaching base five times over the two games.

Francis Rapp, Michael Camerada and Anthony DeFillippo each plated two runs batted in for St. Joseph's.

Bear Witness to History

Currently the only Bear the hit successfully in all seven games this season, senior outfielder Thomas McKenna needs just 12 hits to become the career Bears hits leader and surpass Joe Mendez '14 who currently holds the mark with 174 base knocks. McKenna also needs just two runs to overtake Mike Cundari '14 on the all-time runs scored list. 

In the Doghouse

The Bloodhounds are led by senior first baseman/pitcher Nico Rivera who last season finished fifth in the CUNYAC in RBI with 22 along with 13 runs scored and 28 hits. On the mound, the CUNYAC First Team All-Star threw native threw five complete games while logging 49 innings and notched a team-high three wins and struck out 36.

Junior centerfielder Esteban Soler tallied a team-high 23 runs last season, to go with a team-high 13 walks. The CUNYAC Second Team All-Star led the conference in stolen bases with 27 in 29 chances.  Also on the mound is junior Matthew Quirindongo, who recorded two wins while tossing a team-high 51.2 innings, allowing 53 hits and striking out 29.

Last Meeting vs. John Jay

The Bears used the long ball to complete a doubleheader sweep of John Jay College, 13-2 and 9-1, on April 13, 2014 at James Madison High School.

Chris Cutrone went three-for-four at the plate to become the seventh Bear to connect on 100 career hits, achieving the mark in 89 games. Senior Joe Mendez also blasted two homers and scored four times to score his 100th career run, becoming the fourth Bear to score 100 runs and his two jacks ties the single season record for home runs with seven.

The Beaver Dam

CCNY is paced by last year's CUNYAC Player of the Year Gabriel Pena, who led the conference in hitting with a .389 batting average and a .656 slugging percentage. He posted a team-high three home runs with 15 RBI and a team-high .462 on-base percentage. He also posted team highs in singles, doubles, runs and total bases.

Sophomore Adrian Pena was the top newcomer in the conference last season, being named the Rookie of the Year after a .305 average and also was tied for the CUNYAC lead with 14 RBI and four triples. On the hill, Jose Aquino earned First Team All-Star honors after going 6-3 last season with a 2.94 ERA.

The Beavers enter off a 3-2 victory over Maritime three days after the Bears split with the Privateers last Sunday.

The Bears will see a familiar face in the opposite dugout as former head coach Scott Losche, who compiled an 87-88 record with SJC, has joined the CCNY staff where he had previously served as skipper from 2005 to 2007.

Last Meeting vs. CCNY

St. Joseph's concluded the 2014 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 May 4th, 2014 at the SJC Outdoor Complex.

Joe Mendez ended the day 4-for-7 with two RBI and a run scored, while Cutrone capped off the day going 3-for-7 with four runs scored and two RBI. Nicholas LoPrinzi concluded the afternoon 3-for-7 with three runs and an RBI.

Thomas McKenna went 4-for-7 with two runs and two RBI from the leadoff spot and senior Chris Pacifico batted 2-for-3 in game two in his final regular season appearance.

Next Up for the Bears – at Yeshiva

St. Joseph's will go on the road and travel to Taft High School in the Bronx to take on Yeshiva University Wednesday night. First pitch is at 8:00 p.m.