Baseball Kicks Off Busy Division III Week With Nine Games and Looking to Move Above .500 Mark

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — After wrapping up a five-game stretch in three days with three straight wins, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team will look to move above the .500 mark for the first time this season with a four-game stretch in three days, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham and USCAA No. 20 Briarcliffe for single games on Monday and Tuesday before facing John Jay on Wednesday in a double dip.

April 6th also marks the beginning of Division III Week, the fourth annual celebration of the impact of athletics and of student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community. 

Game Information

Opponent: Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham (2-13)
Date: Monday, April 6th
Time: 5 p.m.
Field: Baseball Heaven | Yaphank, N.Y.
Coverage: Live Stats 

Opponent: Briarcliffe College (3-7)
Date: Tuesday, April 7th
Time: 4 p.m.
Field: SJC Outdoor Complex | Patchogue, N.Y.
Coverage: Live Stats

Opponent: John Jay (0-14)
Date: Wednesday, April 8th
Time: 11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Field: Randalls Island | New York, N.Y.

Team Links

St. Joseph's (Bklyn): Roster | Schedule | Statistics | NCAA Ranking Summary
FDU-Florham: Roster | Schedule | Statistics 
Briarcliffe (NY): Roster | Schedule | Statistics 
John Jay: Roster | Schedule | Statistics 

Quick Hits

• After picking up their first victory over future Skyline Conference foe Old Westbury on Thursday and sweeping John Jay on Saturday, St. Joseph's rides a three-game streak and looks to move above .500 for the first time this season.
• Senior Thomas McKenna became the all-time Bears hits leader on Saturday and now has 176 hits through 129 games played. McKenna also became the all-time Bears runs leader earlier this season and entered this season as the stolen base leader.
• The Bears received strong pitching efforts during the win streak as Rosario DiLorenzo (1-3), Mitch Brigando (4-0) and Brian Luebcke (2-1) all went the distance to lead St. Joseph's to victory.
• Seniors Chris Cutrone and Domenick Camerada are both working on team-long six-game hitting streaks. Since finding his hitting streak snapped at 12, two games short of the Bears record, McKenna has restarted his streak at a team-second-best four games.
• The Bears look to continue their domination of the all-time series vs. John Jay and look to build upon a doubleheader sweep on Saturday and a 12-game streak over the Bulldogs in the series. 
• In the first USCAA Coaches Poll of the season, the Bears entered tied for No. 11 while Briarcliffe College entered at No. 20. Both were 2014 USCAA Small College World Series participants and met in the 2013 SCWS.
• The student-athletes competing at St. Joseph's College are among over 185,000 student who play varsity sports in the NCAA's largest division, and all are joining in the nationwide celebration of Division III week. 

About Division III Week

Did you know that on average, about one-fifth of students enrolled at NCAA Division III member schools participate in varsity athletics? This week, St. Joseph's College joins approximately 450 Division III schools and 43 conferences in the nationwide celebration of NCAA Division III Week. We are proud of our student-athletes, who excel both in the classroom and in athletic competition while demonstrating leadership, community service and campus involvement.

Division III student-athletes play for the love of the game, while excelling in the classroom and demonstrating leadership, community service and campus involvement.

All-Time Series

vs. FDU-Florham: The Bears hold a 1-0 edge taking the first meeting between the two squads last season.

vs. Briarcliffe: St. Joseph's is winless in five previous meetings against the USCAA rivals in a series that started in 2008 and the last meeting coming two seasons ago. 

vs. John Jay: The Bears own a sizable 14-3 advantage against John Jay, sweeping the Bloodhounds last Saturday to win their 12th straight in the series, their last loss coming in 2010.

Last Meetings

vs. FDU-Florham

In the first meeting against the Devils of the Middle Atlantic Conference, the Bears used a four-run second inning to take a 5-2 lead and held on for an 8-6 victory last April at MCU Park. The victory set a new record at the time for wins in a season with 21 as they won their 10th game of the season.

Brian Luebcke went 7 1/3 innings in relief, striking out five and allowing three runs to earn the victory, improving to 3-1.

Michael Camerada went 2-for-4 with a RBI, run, walk and two stolen bases and Chris Cutrone extended his reached base safely streak to a record-tying 27 games, going 1-for-4 with four walks, a triple and run scored.

vs. Briarcliffe

The Bears dropped a 4-1 decision to Briarcliffe in the opening round of the 2013 USCAA Small College World Series, St. Joseph's first postseason appearance in program history.

The Bulldogs held the Bears to just three hits in the pitchers' duel that saw freshman Rosario DiLorenzo take the hill and both teams knotted at 1-1 through five until the Bulldogs broke through for three runs in the sixth.

vs. John Jay

On Saturday at Padavan-Preller Field, the Bears cruised past John Jay with a 10-1 win in the opener but needed a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth to come-from-behind to win 3-2 for the sweep.

Mitch Brigando improved to 4-0 in the opener going the distance, striking out four in a three-hitter. Brian Luebcke started off game two retiring the first 12 batters and struck out six in the complete game four-hitter, improving to 2-1.

Vinny Rossi went 4-for-5 on the afternoon scoring a run, with a RBI and a stolen base. Chris Cutrone knocked three hits, with a double, scoring three times. Bobby Perretti and Francis Rapp both drove in three runs, Rapp delivering the game-winner in game two.

The Bear Facts

Five Bears enter this week's contests batting .300 or higher. Thomas McKenna has done it all for the Bears on the offensive end. The senior leads the team with a .361 batting average (22-for-61) and has driven in a team-high-tying 11 RBI with eight runs scored, while also stealing a team-high eight bases. 

Senior Chris Cutrone currently works on a six-game hitting streak hitting .400 over the stretch with three doubles. He currently leads the team with 13 runs scored, .415 slugging and two homers.

Shortstop Francis Rapp shares the team lead with McKenna with 11 RBI, coming off a three RBI effort in the wins over John Jay. Camerada follows closely with 10 RBI and also works on a six-game hitting streak to lift his average to .300 on the season hitting in the cleanup slot.

Third baseman Nicholas LoPrinzi is batting .306 with nine RBI and eight runs scored.

On the mound, Mitch Brigando has compiled a 4-0 record, tossing four complete games. He boasts a team-leading 2.96 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 24.1 innings of work. Brian Luebcke improved to 2-1 on the hill with a four-hitter vs. John Jay on Saturday, opening with four perfect frames and striking out six.

On a rainy Friday, Rosario DiLorenzo (1-3) tossed eight strong innings to make his way into the win column, allowing just two runs and five hits while striking out five against defending Skyline Conference regular season champion Old Westbury helping the Bears pick up their first win ever over the future conference foes.

Bears Enter First USCAA Coaches Poll at No. 11

In the first United States Collegiate Athletic Association Coaches Poll released on Friday, the Bears were ranked tied at No. 11 with New Hampshire Technical Institute. The Bears were 26 points behind Iowa Wesleyan at No. 10. 

McKenna Crowned Bears Hits King

Lacing a two-run double in the opener vs. John Jay on Saturday, senior Thomas McKenna assumed the solo lead as the Bears all-time hits leader. He now has 176 base knocks in 129 games played. McKenna also holds the career lead in runs (129) and stolen bases (57).

Dissecting the Devils

After finishing 22-16 last season and with a berth in the ECAC Metro Region Tournament, the Devils are off to a slow start entering the game with just two wins and one in the last 10, however FDU boasts a tough schedule with two losses coming to ranked opponents Kean and Misericordia.

Junior James Dertouzos leads FDU at the plate with a .328 average knocking a team-leading 20 hits, 12 RBI and 10 runs scored. Nick Meoli has also collected 15 hits with seven RBI and four doubles.

AJ Pichalski leads the pitching staff compiling a 4.18 ERA over 28.0 innings of work with 28 punchouts.

FDU Last Time Out vs. Manhattanville

The Devils opened their three-game set against Freedom Conference foe Manhattanville with a 2-1 walkoff win on Friday, but suffered a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, 8-4 and 6-3, to fall to 2-13. 

The Bite of the Bulldog

Briarcliffe enters this week ranked No. 20 in the first USCAA Coaches' Poll and were USCAA Small College World Participants last year entering as the No. 5 seed. The Bulldogs graduated a First Team and Second Team All-Americans but are led by senior outfielder Chris Carrano and junior pitcher/outfielder Ben Wright who both received USCAA All-American honorable mention last season.

Carrano currently leads the team with a .467 batting average, 14 hits, eight RBI, five runs scored and six stolen bases. Wright is currently 0-2 in three starts on the mound, striking out 12 with a 5.68 ERA in 12.2 innings of work.

Briarcliffe Last Time Out vs. Fisher

In their last time out on Saturday, the Bulldogs were limited to just five hits over a dominating doubleheader sweep by Fisher College, falling 18-0 and 16-0 at Baseball Heaven.

Inside the Doghouse

John Jay looks to avenge the doubleheader loss to the Bears on Saturday and seeks their first victory on the season. Zach Hyde leads the Bloodhounds with a .310 average with 13 hits with four doubles, scoring a team-high seven times and swiping five stolen bases to share the team lead.

Nico Rivera is the top run producer with six RBI, batting .279 and slugging a team-best .488 with three doubles and three triples.

John Jay Last Time Out vs. St. Joseph's

After suffering a 10-1 defeat to the Bears in game one of a doubleheader, the Bloodhounds nearly picked up their first win of the season carrying a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning of game two before suffering their third one-run loss of the season.

Next Up for the Bears – at NYU & Staten Island

After taking Thursday off, the Bears will face New York University for a three-game set at MCU Park on Friday and Saturday and wrap up the five-game stretch in three days with a twinbill against inter-borough rivals Staten Island on Sunday.