ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure baseball team (18-22, 6-12 Atlantic 10 Conference) hosts Temple (18-29, 6-12 A-10) in its final home series of the season beginning on Thursday and concluding on Saturday. All three games are scheduled for Noon starts.
The Bonnies and Owls enter with identical 6-12 A-10 marks, but Temple is coming off a series win last weekend against Dayton while St. Bonaventure has dropped a season-high five games in a row – the longest current streak in the conference.
Following Saturday's game, the team's six seniors will be honored for their time spent wearing the Brown and White with the traditional final lap around the bases. More information will be posted on Friday regarding each graduating senior.
LAST TIME OUT: Bonaventure was swept at Saint Louis last weekend, losing all three games by a single run. In the finale on Sunday, sophomore Asa Johnson pitched a complete-game four-hitter, but took the loss as the Billikens claimed a 1-0 victory.
SCOUTING TEMPLE: The Owls' 5.14 team ERA is the second-worst in the A-10, ahead of only Dayton's 5.21, and in conference games only, Temple's 5.05 ERA is the worst among all league members. Allen Stiles is the lone Temple player hitting .300, as he is hitting exactly .300 on the season. However, Stiles has played just 24 of Temple's 47 games. Of the regulars, Foster Dunnigan paces the offensive attack with a .294 batting average.
BATTLES ON THE BUMP
Game One: Jordan Crane (RHP) vs. Dan Moller (LHP)
Crane (4-2) leads the Bonnies in wins and complete games as the senior has recorded four of them. The right-hander boasts an ERA of 3.86 – second-best on the Bona roster – and has struck out 39 while walking 22. Moller (1-5) will be making his 10th start of the season (13th appearance), but has struggled as he's tossed just 44.2 innings, allowing 58 hits and has an ERA of 7.66.
Game Two: Eddie Gray (LHP) vs. Matt Hockenberry (RHP)
Gray (3-2) leads the Bonnies with a 3.62 ERA and will be looking to snap a streak of three consecutive no-decisions. The southpaw will be making his team-leading 12th start of the season and leads SBU with 79.2 innings pitched – seventh-most in the league. Opponents are hitting just .262 off the redshirt junior. Hockenberry (4-3) will be making his team-leading 13th start of the season. Hockenberry leads Temple in wins, but has allowed a team-high 78 hits over his 64.2 innings.
Game Three: Asa Johnson (RHP) vs. Patrick Peterson (LHP)
Johnson (3-3) is coming off a great effort in the Bona loss on Sunday. The right-hander lowered his ERA from 5.93 to 5.35 following the contest against the Billikens. Johnson will be making his third career A-10 start. Peterson (3-3) has an ERA of 3.07, which is best among the Temple starters. He has struck out a team-best 58, while walking 23 on the season.
TRENDING BACKWARD: The current five-game losing streak that the Bonnies are on represents the longest stretch since they lost six in a row last year from March 22 to April 3.
THE ONLY ONE: Junior third baseman Billy Urban is the only Bonaventure player to have started all 40 games at the same position this season.
LACK OF HITS: After getting off to a torrid start at the plate in which they were leading the A-10 in hitting two-thirds of the way through the season, the Bonnies have just one game of double-digit hits over the last eight contests. During the first 10 games of the season, SBU had eight double-digit hit games.
NEXT UP: St. Bonaventure returns to the field for a doubleheader at Big 4 rival University at Buffalo on Tuesday before heading to Charlotte for its final A-10 series of the year next weekend.
