ST. BONAVENTURE (13-21, 4-8 A-10) vs. CANISIUS (11-21, 5-7 MAAC)
Tuesday, April 23 - 3:00 p.m.
Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field
TV: ESPN+

LEADING OFF

• The Bonnies host Canisius in midweek action to wrap up a home-and-home series with their Little Three rival. Bonaventure won at Canisius back on April 9, 15-9, for the program's first win over the Golden Griffins since 2016. Bona's win snapped what was an eight-game winning streak in the series for the Griffs. Bona is seeking its first home-and-home sweep of the Griffs since 2005 when SBU won five games over Canisius, two at home, two at Canisius and a Big 4 Classic game at the Buffalo Bisons stadium. Canisius owns a 56-54-3 lead all-time in the series.
• In the first game of the year between these two teams, the Bonnies scored 10 runs in the seventh inning to roar back from a 9-4 deficit to take the win. Adam Rankie went 4-for-5 with four RBIs and Jack Putney drove in three runs. Kyle Caccamise also had two hits. Andrew Ayers picked up his first career win with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just two hits and a walk while recording a career-high six strikeouts. Antonio Cordeiro drew a program single-game record five walks.
• St. Bonaventure begins five-game homestand at Handler Park. After Tuesday's game, the Bonnies will host a three-game Atlantic 10 series vs. Richmond this weekend before welcoming Niagara next Tuesday. 
• Bonnies freshman catcher/DH Antonio Cordeiro has been named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week. He had a slash line of 500/.533/.750 for the week ending April 21. Cordeiro is the first Bonnies A-10 Rookie of the Week since the 2018 season.
• The Bonnies enter this weekend hitting .280 as a team on the season, a mark that ranks fifth in the A-10 this season. Five Bonnies regulars are hitting better than that mark - Rankie (.344), David Marshall Jr. (.321), Paul Vossen (.308), Morgan Little (.302) and Jack Putney (.291).

AT THE PLATE
Bona is hitting .279 as a team so far this season which ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10. That total would stand as the best season batting average for the program since 2011 when the Bonnies finished the year hitting .289 overall.

The Bonnies are led in batting average by Adam Rankie who checks in at .344, which would be the highest season average for an SBU player since Thad Johnson finished the 2015 season hitting .354.

St. Bonaventure has a .288 team average in Atlantic 10 games, paced by Morgan Little who is hitting .371 (13-for-35) against conference pitching thus far with a slash line of .371/.463/.714. David Marshall Jr. (.370), Paul Vossen (.342) and Rankie (.333) are all hitting over .300 in 12 A-10 games so far.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
Adam Rankie continued his hitting streak with a seventh inning single at Saint Joseph's Sunday to give him a hit in 18 straight games, breaking the mark of 17 he had last season which was the longest in a decade by a Bonnies player. He now has the longest hitting streak by a Bonnies player since 2010 when Jesse Bosnik collected a hit in 19 straight games – Bosnik was selected in the 13^th round of the MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers that season. The longest hitting streak by a Bonnies player during the program's Division I era (dating back to 1983) is 20 games by Randy Moley which started in the final four games of 2007 and extended into the 2008 season.

Morgan Little also enters this week having reached base in 19 consecutive games.
 
CORDEIRO'S CLUTCH WEEK
Freshman Antonio Cordeiro had a strong week at the plate for the Bonnies, slashing .500/.533/.750 for the week ending April 21. He had a career-high four hits and four RBIs in the second game at Saint Joseph's, going 4-for-5 at the plate and was named A-10 Rookie of the Week. 

SITUATIONAL STARS
David Marshall Jr. is hitting a team-best .400 with runners in scoring position this season (16-40). Antonio Cordeiro checks in at .371 (13-35) while Adam Rankie is at .364 (16-44).

RUNNERS BEWARE
Graduate captain Jackson DeJohn has proven to be one of the top defensive catchers in the Atlantic 10. For his career, he has thrown out 54 attempted base stealers including seven this season. Bona's career record is 74 set by Michael Grieco from 2009-12.

OFF THE INJURY LIST
The Bonnies got a boost in depth last week with the return of sophomore Jayce Tharnish who returned to the lineup April 17 at Pitt after missing over a month with a knee injury suffered March 12 at Binghamton. Tharnish, who was was limited to 13 games last year due to a separate injury, figured to be a key figure of the Bona outfield. Prior to his injury last season, he was penciled for a spot in the Cape Cod League.

ABOUT CANISIUS

• The Griffs are looking to snap a three-game losing skid after dropping a three-game series in MAAC play vs. Quinnipiac over the weekend. Canisius stands 5-7 in MAAC action. 
• Canisius is one of the most dangerous teams on the basepaths in the country. The Griffs have 89 stolen bases which ranks 13th among all Division I teams. 
• Jackson Strong has been a star for the Griffs, not only going 31-for-33 in stolen base attempts, but also hitting a sparkling .395 while starting all 32 games this year.
• Canisius hits .242 as a team with a 6.68 staff ERA.
• In the first meeting of the year, Strong went 2-for-3 with two RBIs while Kenny Dodson had three hits and two RBIs. Michael Kelly hit a grand slam. 

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