ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure baseball team (13-12, 2-4 Atlantic 10) welcomes second-place Rhode Island (18-14, 6-3 A-10) for a three-game series this weekend at Fred Handler Park. Game one is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, with games two and three to follow on Saturday and Sunday at Noon each day.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bonnies enter the weekend after splitting a doubleheader at Little Three foe Niagara on Tuesday. The Brown and White lost the first game, 5-2, but bounced back to claim the second contest, 8-2.
SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND: The Rams travel to Bona's riding a three-game winning streak, coming off a 10-3 win against Bryant on Wednesday afternoon … the Rams are third in the conference with 60 doubles through their 32 games this season … sophomore outfielder Jeff Roy leads the team with a .320 batting average and 32 runs scored … Roy and redshirt senior Jeff Cammans share the team lead for hits with 39, and Cammans's 16 doubles are a team-best … the Rams are outscoring opponents in the 3rd inning, 25-6, but are being outscored, 28-11, in the 5th inning this season … in conference play, Rhode Island's .301 batting average leads the league.
BATTLES ON THE BUMP:
GAME ONE PROBABLES: Eddie Gray (LHP) vs. Chris Pickering (LHP)
Redshirt junior Eddie Gray (3-1) leads the team with a 3.14 ERA. He has given up 18 runs on 51 hits, walking 19 and striking out 35. Pickering (3-5) has a 5.81 ERA. He has given up 35 runs on 58 hits, while walking 17 and striking out 31.
GAME TWO PROBABLES: Jordan Crane (RHP) vs. Nick Narodowy (LHP)
Senior Jordan Crane (2-0) holds an ERA of 4.54. He's allowed 24 runs on 48 hits, walking eight and striking out 27. Narodowy (0-4) enters with a 5.81 ERA. In 33 innings he's allowed 22 runs on 25 hits, walking 24 and striking out 23.
GAME THREE PROBABLES: Cael Johnson (RHP) vs. Sean Furney (RHP)
Redshirt senior Cael Johnson (1-4) will be looking to snap a personal four-game losing streak. Johnson boasts a 4.41 ERA through his six starts this season, while tossing 34.2 innings and striking out 30. Furney (2-0) has an ERA of 2.10 in 30 innings of work. He's allowed just 11 runs on 23 hits, walking nine and striking out 28.
SERIES NEWS & NOTES
CONFERENCE PLAY: St. Bonaventure leads the A-10 in team batting with a .305 average for the season … the Bonnies are third in the conference with a .970 fielding percentage … senior Nick Brennen is tied for first in doubles in A-10 games with 10 … SBU is second in the league with a .384 on-base percentage.
URBAN FEEL: Junior third baseman Billy Urban's .415 batting average leads the conference this season. He also leads the team with 52 total bases, 39 hits, 24 RBI and eight doubles. Urban is riding a five-game hitting streak – the longest active streak on the team.
STREAKERS: Three Bonnies – Brennen (16), Urban (14) and junior second baseman Jason Radwan (11) – each have had a hitting streak of at least 10 games this season, representing the most players from one A-10 team with double-digit hitting streaks this year.
.400 CLUB: Brennen (.440), junior first baseman Austin Ingraham (.417) and Urban (.400) are each hitting at least .400 at the plate in conference games.
SACRIFICE: Rhode Island is tied for second in the conference in sacrifice bunts with 37.
CAUGHT: The Rams have been caught stealing a conference-high 21 times, and they have attempted 81 steals this season, second-most in the A-10.
WALK THIS WAY: Opposing pitchers have walked Brennen and Radwan 15 times this season – more than any other St. Bonaventure players.
BEST IN THE MIDDLE: In the 3rd, 4th and 5th innings combined, the Bonnies are outscoring opponents, 69-37.
MISCELLANEOUS: The Brown and White is 4-0 when they hold opponents to two runs or fewer a game … St. Bonaventure is 4-0 when it scores 10 or more runs in a game … the Bonnies are 10-0 when leading after 8 innings, but are 0-10 when they trail after 8 frames.
MULTI-HIT: Brennen and senior right fielder Ryan Skellie each have eight, two-hit games … Urban has collected three hits in a game four times this season … Brennen, Radwan, Skellie and Urban each have a four-hit game this campaign.
ON DECK: Following this weekend's series, St. Bonaventure will travel to the nation's capital to face George Washington in a three-game A-10 series next weekend.
