ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – After playing 28 of its first 31 games of the year away from home, the St. Bonaventure baseball team opens an eight-game homestand Tuesday at Fred Handler Park with a doubleheader against Bucknell beginning at 2 p.m.
The Bonnies (11-20) are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of first-place Saint Louis over the weekend. SBU will look to get back on track with midweek games against the Bison and the University at Buffalo before welcoming defending Atlantic 10 Champion Dayton for a three-game series this weekend.
Bonaventure will first host Patriot League member Bucknell for two 7-inning games and then entertain Big 4 rival UB for a single 9-inning game on Wednesday – a contest which has been rescheduled twice already due to inclement weather.
Jason Radwan continues his impressive season as the senior's .422 batting average leads the A-10 by an eye-popping 38 points, with his next-closest competitor hitting .384. Radwan also leads the league in on-base percentage at .479 and is tied for the lead in hits with 54, despite playing nine fewer games than the two players he is tied with.
The Angola, N.Y. native is averaging 1.74 hits per game, and if he maintains that average through Bona's final 19 games of the regular season, he will set the single-season program record for hits with 87 – three more than Randy Moley posted in 2008. Additionally, Radwan would also break Brian Pellegrini's career record for hits (262), and he is currently second all-time on the list with 233.
Scouting Bucknell
The Bucknell Bison's (14-27, 8-8 Patriot League) most recent game was a 5-0 win over Army Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak … Bucknell ranks last in the Patriot League in batting average (.238) … they have also struck out the most out of any team in their conference (300) … they are led offensively by senior infielders Carte Bumgardner and Travis Clark … Bumgardner is hitting a team-high .300, and Clark trails closely at .298 … Bumgardner also leads the team in RBI (26), while Clark acts as the sparkplug for the Bison with 14 doubles (team-high), 68 total bases (team-high), 25 runs scored and is 11-12 on stolen base attempts (92-percent success rate) … Bucknell's 4.31 team ERA is third in the conference, and its .275 opposing batting average is second-best in the conference … Dan Goldstein is tied for second in the conference in strike outs (52), and he leads the conference in batters struck out looking (23).
Scouting Buffalo
Buffalo (18-14, 8-4 Mid-American Conference) is riding a three-game winning streak and currently is second in the MAC East Division, one game behind the leader (Kent State, 9-4) … as a team, UB is hitting .266, which ranks fourth in the conference (12 teams) … they are led by senior outfielder Jason Kanzler, who is hitting .351 … Kanzler is among the conference's best in hits (46), RBI (35), triples (4) and home runs (7) … UB ranks first in the MAC in team pitching (3.89 ERA) … the Bulls are also holding opposing batters to just a .261 average and have allowed the second fewest hits (274) … their ace is Mike Burke, who is throwing to a 3.31 ERA in 70.2 innings and holding an impressive 6-2 record – 33 percent of the team's total wins.
Following the three midweek games against Bucknell and Buffalo, the Bonnies have an off day on Thursday before commencing its second home A-10 series of the season Friday afternoon at 3 versus Dayton.
