Game 1 | Friday | 3 PM | Probable Starter: Eddie Gray | Live Stats | Audio
Game 2 | Saturday | Noon | Probable Starter: Jordan Crane | Live Stats | Audio
Game 3 | Sunday | Noon | Probable Starter: Asa Johnson | Live Stats
In-Game Updates: @StBonasBaseball
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Coming off a three-game series sweep last weekend on the road at George Washington, the St. Bonaventure baseball team (17-16, 5-7 Atlantic 10 Conference) returns home this weekend for a three-game set against A-10 foe St. Joseph's (17-23, 7-4 A-10) at Fred Handler Park.
IN A NUTSHELL: The series sweep last weekend at GW propelled the Bonnies from 12th place in the A-10 to 9th place following the weekend. Bonaventure enters play this weekend just two games out of the sixth, and final, postseason spot with still 12 conference games remaining.
LAST TIME OUT: After winning the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday at Bucknell, 6-5, Bona couldn't complete the sweep as it dropped the second contest, 5-0, to snap a season-best four-game winning streak.
After going 1-for-4 in the first game, junior Billy Urban had his streak of reaching base safely in 27 straight games come to an end in the second game as he went 0-for-3 at the plate. In the 4th inning of the second game, Urban lined into an unassisted triple play to the shortstop.
In the opening game, redshirt senior Cael Johnson entered in relief and earned the victory after tossing 3.1 shutout innings. The win was the first for Johnson (2-5) since his first start of the season – SBU's second game of the year on Feb. 25.
SCOUTING ST. JOE'S: The Hawks are coming off a 7-5 loss to Rider on Tuesday, and all 12 runs in the game were scored in the first 2 ½ innings. Despite having an overall record of 17-23, Saint Joe's holds a 7-4 mark in A-10 play and sits in 4th place. After getting off to just a 4-18 start to the season, the Hawks have won 13 of their last 18 to move just six games below .500.
Kevin Kratochwill leads SJU offensively with a .327 batting average, but he has played in just 29 of the team's 40 contests. Stefan Kancylarz paces the Hawks with 42 hits and team-high-tying 21 RBI. On the mound, Saint Joe's has a team ERA of just 3.69, ranking the Hawks second in the A-10 behind only Saint Louis (3.31 ERA).
BATTLES ON THE BUMP:
GAME ONE PROBABLES: Eddie Gray (LHP) vs. Kyle Mullen (RHP)
Redshirt junior Eddie Gray (3-2) leads the team (minimum 30 innings pitched) with a 3.88 ERA. He has given up 29 runs on 67 hits, walking 22 and striking out 48. Mullen (5-4) has a 3.97 ERA. He has given up 30 runs on 67 hits while walking 13 and striking out 51.
GAME TWO PROBABLES: Jordan Crane (RHP) vs. Alex Pracher (RHP)
Senior Jordan Crane (3-1) is third on the squad with a 4.44 ERA. He's allowed 33 runs on 63 hits, walking 14 and striking out 33. Pracher (3-6) has an ERA of 4.30 in 67 innings of work. He's allowed 35 runs on 75 hits, walking 14 and striking out 49.
GAME THREE PROBABLES: Asa Johnson (RHP) vs. Jordan Carter (RHP)
Johnson (3-2) is scheduled to make his first career A-10 start. Johnson leads the team in appearances with 16 this season, starting five games and carrying an ERA of 6.27. He has thrown 51.2 innings – second-most on the team – while striking out 18 and walking 13. Carter (0-4) has an ERA of 3.42 in 47.1 innings of work. He's allowed 27 runs on 61 hits, walking 16 and striking out 14.
CONFERENCE PLAY: This weekend's series boasts the league's two best defensive teams. The Brown and White leads the A-10 in team fielding with a .972 percentage, while Saint Joe's checks in at second with a .970 percentage. The Bonnies have made just 33 errors on the season – 14 fewer than the Hawks' 47.
CLUTCH A.I.: Junior Austin Ingraham leads the Bonnies with nine multiple-RBI games – three more than anyone else on the roster. Ingraham is hitting .667 with the bases loaded, and with a runner on third base and less than two outs, the Ohio native has secured an RBI in nine of those 11 opportunities (81.8 percent).
URBAN FEEL: Junior third baseman Billy Urban's .365 batting average is third in the conference this season, and first on the Brown and White. He also leads the team with 61 total bases, 46 hits, 32 RBI and 10 doubles.
SNAPPED: Urban had reached base safely in 27 consecutive games this season before it was broken in game two against Bucknell on Tuesday. That is the second, 27-game reached base safely streak this season by a Bona player. Junior Jason Radwan had his 41-game streak (27 games in 2012, 14 to end 2011) snapped earlier in the season. That was the longest streak by anyone in the A-10 in the last two years. Senior Nick Brennen's 16-game hitting streak was also snapped on Tuesday.
.300 CLUB: Urban, Brennen and senior right fielder Ryan Skellie are all hitting at least .300 this season. Meanwhile, Urban, Brennen, senior Michael Grieco and Ingraham are all batting at least .300 in A-10 action, with Grieco leading the pack with a .342 clip in conference play.
UTILITY MAN: Second baseman Radwan leads the pitching staff in ERA (3.67) and saves (three), and is second on the team in appearances (15). He also sports a batting average of .299 and leads the team in at bats with 134, runs with 31 and walks with 20.
MULTI-HIT: Brennen and 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 season.
MISCELLANEOUS: The Bonnies are 11-0 when leading after eight innings … Urban, Brennen and Radwan are the only three Bonnies to have started all 33 games this season … Skellie leads the team in triples with three, and all three triples came during the doubleheader against Bucknell on Tuesday … the Bonnies are outscoring opponents 187-186 this season.
ON DECK: Following this weekend's series, St. Bonaventure will travel to Canisius on Tuesday for a battle with its Little Three rival.
