ST. BONAVENTURE (7-3) at #17/18 VANDERBILT (9-3)
Wednesday, March 5 – 4:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. ET
Nashville, Tenn.
TV: SEC Network+

FIRST PITCH
St. Bonaventure continues its Spring Break trip to the Volunteer State with a mid-week contest at national powerhouse Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. The Bonnies won their first three games of the Tennessee swing over the weekend with victories over Old Dominion, Middle Tennessee and UT Martin. Wednesday's game will air on SEC Network+ and be available streaming through the ESPN app.

PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP David James (0-0, 5.87) vs. RHP Austin Nye (0-0, 3.38)

HOT START
At 7-3 overall, the Bonnies have their best start through 10 games since the 2016 campaign when the program opened at 8-2. St. Bonaventure began the season by taking three of four at Gardner-Webb before falling in the rubber game of a three-game neutral site series vs. Morehead State and then sweeping round robin play vs. three different opponents at MTSU. The Bonnies have held a lead in all but one game so far, the lone outlier being a 1-0 walkoff win for Morehead State Feb. 22.

OFFENSE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
St. Bonaventure's offense has been hot to begin the year, averaging over nine runs per game despite the 1-0 shutout loss vs. Morehead State included in the 10 games so far. The Bonnies have scored double figures five times including a lucky 13 in each of the last two wins. Entering this week, the Bonnies stand 26^th in Division I in runs per game (9.2).

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
Bonnies redshirt senior outfielder Paul Vossen wrote his name into both the SBU and national record books as he went 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts in the March 2 win over UT Martin. His performance not only set the Bona's single-game program record, but was one off the national NCAA Division I record of eight stolen bases. The Nevada native recorded the most stolen bases in a game by any Division I player since 2001 when Bobby Kingsbury of Fordham tied the national record set by King Lewis of Bethune-Cookman in 1994.

Bona's previous record of five stolen bases in a game stood since 1992 when Glenn Hamel set that mark in a game against Davis & Elkins.

BONNIES VS. TOP 25
With four games in a row vs. Top 25 opponents, the Bonnies seek their first win over a nationally-ranked foe since winning at No. 23 Charlotte on May 11, 2007, 4-1.

THARNISH AT THE TOP
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Jayce Tharnish has been the spark plug of the Bonnies offense, hitting out of the leadoff spot in every game thus far. He entered this week slashing .419/.500/628 with two homers and 13 RBIs. He's a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts to rank third among all Division I players in stolen bases thus far. His 18 runs scored also stand 17^th overall nationally and his 1.8 runs per game rank sixth in the country. He also has collected 1.8 hits per game, ranking 35^th nationally.

The Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for the first week of the season, Tharnish has already collected seven multi-hit games and five games of multiple RBIs.

ON THE BASE PATHS
St. Bonaventure has been aggressive on the bases so far, going 39-for-45 in stolen base attempts. The Bonnies stole 15 bases in their win over UT Martin – a total that was just one off the 16 stolen bases the program had for the entire season in 2023. Entering this week, the Bonnies are third in Division I for stolen bags. In last weekend's action, the Bonnies had 25 stolen bases in three games.

NO FREEBIES
Bonnies senior right-hander Luke Roggenburk has been key in the bullpen in the early going, recording two wins and two saves. His control has been impeccable as he has struck out 13 batters in 14.0 innings of work without a walk. As of Tuesday, only one Division I pitcher had more strikeouts without a single walk so far: Nathan Mertens of Southeast Missouri (16 punchouts).

ON A STREAK
Redshirt sophomore outfielder Conner Vercollone has been one of the bright spots in Bona's outstanding start. Vercollone redshirted last season and then shined in summer ball, earning Futures League All-Star honors. Entering Wednesday, he has reached base in all 10 games this season.

Vercollone helped key a 3-0 weekend for Bonnies baseball as they swept a round robin tournament in Tennessee. For the weekend, he slashed .462/.429/.692 with six hits and seven RBIs. He had hits in all three games and multiple RBIs in each contest.

Against Old Dominion on Friday night, he slammed a game-changing three-run home run to help send the Bonnies to a 7-4 victory. The next day against Middle Tennessee, he went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs in a 13-3 win. In the weekend finale vs. UT Martin Sunday night, he again delivered two hits, two RBIs and scored twice.

For the season, the Massachusetts native is hitting .361 with a .455 on-base percentage along with two homers and is tied for the team lead with 13 RBIs.

ABOUT VANDERBILT

• Vanderbilt won 38 games last season and has reached the NCAA Tournament in every non-COVID season since 2006. Vandy was picked seventh in the always challenging SEC preseason poll. The Commodores have reached the College World Series five times since 2011.
• Junior utility player RJ Austin was named Preseason All-America Third Team, while sophomore pitcher Miller Green and junior pitcher JD Thompson were named to the D1Baseball Preseason All-America Third Team.
• The Commodores have three players batting over .370 (minimum 20 ABs): RJ Austin (.413),  Jacob Humphrey (.412) and Riley Nelson (.372).
• Vanderbilt has posted a 3.84 team ERA. 
• Vanderbilt is 23-for-25 in stolen base attempts this spring.
• The Commodores are 6-0 on home field so far, but are looking to bounce back from losses vs. USC (3-1) and UConn (6-2) in Southern California last weekend. Vandy's only other loss is vs. nationally-ranked Nebraska.

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