Baseball Wraps Up April with Games against Purchase and Cairn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team (15-16) wrap up the month of April with two games against Skyline foe Purchase on Wednesday and Cairn Thursday at Padavan-Preller Field in Bellerose. Both Wednesday and Thursday's games start at 4:00 p.m.

Game Information

Opponent: Purchase (9-16)



Date: Wednesday, April 29th



Time: 4:00 p.m.


Field: Bellerose, N.Y. | Padavan-Preller Field

Opponent: Purchase (8-25)



Date: Thursday, April 30th



Time: 4:00 p.m.


Field: Bellerose, N.Y. | Padavan-Preller Field

Team Links

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

| NCAA Ranking Summary
Purchase: Roster | Schedule | Statistics
Cairn: Roster | Schedule | Statistics

Quick Hits

• St. Joseph's is searching to snap a five-game losing streak against Purchase, and is 1-7 overall against the Panthers.
• Thomas McKenna set a new Bears record extending his hitting streak to 15 games, breaking a record that has stood since 2008. The all-time Bears hits leader needs just six hits to become the first Bear to reach the 200-hit mark.
• Chris Cutrone became just the fifth Bear in school history with 150 career hits after two hits in Thursday's win over Merchant Marine. The senior earned the AD3I Player of the Week for the second time this season.Before they move into the Skyline Conference next season, the Bears are 3-2 against Skyline opponents.
• The Panthers are looking to snap a five-game losing streak, last losing a doubleheader to Old Westbury.
• Chris Triano is the top offensive player for the Panthers, leading the Skyline Conference with an even .500 batting average (38-for-76) with five home runs (tied for first) and 25 runs batted in, which is good for fourth in the conference.
• Cairn is currently on a three-game losing streak, losing a three-game set against Lancaster College.
• Caleb Lang is the top hitter in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), hitting a conference-best .452 with eight homers (second in conference) and a CSAC-high 52 RBI.

Series History

vs. Purchase: The Bears are 1-7 overall against the Panthers, currently on a five-game losing streak dating back to 2009.

vs. Cairn: St. Joseph's have won the two previous matchups against the Highlanders, last winning on April 14, 2014.

The Bear Facts

Senior Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) leads the Bears with a batting average of .388 along with team-highs 23 runs, 20 RBI and 11 stolen bases. In the team's doubleheader split against St. Joseph's (L.I.), he set a new Bears record extending his hitting streak to 15 games, breaking a record that has stood since 2008.

Senior Chris Cutrone (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) is second with 21 runs to go with an outstanding batting average of .354. In Thursday's win over Merchant Marine, he became just the fifth Bear in school history with 150 career hits. 

Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) has a .306 batting average on the season, and has added 12 runs scored and is in a three-way tie for third with 13 runs batted in. Behind the plate, Domenick Camerada (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) is second the team with 19 RBI and a team-best 19 walks.

On the mound, Mitch Brigando (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) leads the team with a 6-1 record along with a 3.18 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 39.2 innings. He is coming off his third complete-game of the year, allowing just one run and six hits over nine innings to beat Merchant Marine.

Cutrone has a team-best 34 strikeouts on the season, and is the team's all-time leader in strikeouts. He is coming off notching his first win on the season, tossing a complete game and allowing just one run in a win over St. Joseph's (L.I.).

Bears Last Time Out vs. St. Joseph's (L.I.)

In their last outing, the Bears split a doubleheader in their first meeting against sibling school St. Joseph's (L.I), winning 7-1 in game one before dropping a 11-7 decision in game two on Sunday afternoon at the SJC Outdoor Complex.

Senior Chris Cutrone silenced the Eagles bats in the opener as he struck out six, walked two and carried a shutout into the seventh in earning his first win of the season, improving to 1-5. He also helped his own cause at the dish batting 3-for-4 with a RBI.

Thomas McKenna finished the day batting 3-for-8 including launching his team-leading third home run of the season and having hit successfully in both games, set a new Bears record extending his hitting streak to 15 games, breaking a record that has stood since 2008.

Cutrone Tabbed AD3I Player of the Week

For his performance at the plate and on the mound, senior Chris Cutrone was named the Association of Division III Independents (AD3I) baseball Player of the Week.

The senior tallied a .545 batting average over the week, going 6-for-11, driving in four RBI and scoring two runs as St. Joseph's earned a 2-1 record. Cutrone connected on a double and triple while plating three runs batted in during the Bears' 9-1 win over Merchant Marine on April 23rd. With those two hits, he became the fifth Bear in school history to tally 150 career hits.

This is the fifth time Cutrone has earned the AD3I Player of the Week and the second time he has won this season, last winning the award on April 14th.

On the Prowl

Junior Chris Triano is the top offensive player for the Panthers, leading the Skyline Conference with an even .500 batting average (38-for-76) with five home runs (tied for first) and 25 runs batted in, which is good for fourth in the conference. 

Patrick Rucci is second on the team with 19 RBI and a team-best nine stolen bases. Senior first baseman Elan Trischitta has hit .386 to go with 13 runs scored and 11 runs batted in.

On the mound, Miguel Reyes tops Purchase with three wins, including two complete games, and a team-best 48.0 innings pitched and 36 strikeouts.

Purchase Last Time Out vs. Old Westbury

In their last outing, the Panthers closed out Skyline Conference play by losing both ends of a doubleheader to SUNY Old Westbury, 7-2 and 6-0, at the Jackie Robinson Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon. 

Jay Ruiz and Robert Michael each drove in a run in game one, while Ronald Pressley scored both runs in the game. In game two, Teofilo Ramirez accounted for the lone hit for Purchase in a losing effort.

Highlander Watch

Caleb Lang is the top hitter in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC), hitting a conference-best .452 (52-for-115) with eight homers (second in conference) and a CSAC-high 52 RBI. Joey Nieves-Markee is seventh in the conference and second on the team with a .396 batting average (42-for-106) and 31 runs scored. 

John Burlaga is second on the team with 18 RBI, while Caleb Moore has crossed the plate 30 times which is third on the team.

Cairn Last Time Out vs. Centenary

The Highlanders in their last outing dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Centenary, 3-1 and 9-2, at TD Bank Stadium Saturday afternoon as they closed out their conference play.

Joey Nieves-Markee collected more than half of the team's total hits on the day with two in each game and also had two runs scored. Zachary Vegh also drove in a run in game two on a run-scoring single in the loss.

Next Up for the Bears – vs. Baruch & Yeshiva

Following the doubleheader, the Bears open up their final month of play with matchups against Baruch on Saturday and a doubleheader with Skyline foe Yeshiva Sunday, both at Padavan-Preller Field. First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., while game one on Sunday starts at 2:00 p.m. Live stats will be available at SJCBears.com