Baseball Set for Pair of Non-League Games vs. Binghamton, Saint Joseph's

4/2/2018 4:28:00 PM | Baseball

By: TBD

Setting the Scene, Part 1
Who: Bucknell (7-19, 4-7 PL) at Binghamton (5-15, 2-4 America East)
When: Tuesday, Apr. 3, 4 p.m.
Where: Bearcats Baseball Complex, Vestal, N.Y.
Watch Live: BUBearcats.com
Live Stats: BUBearcats.com

Setting the Scene, Part 2
Who: Saint Joseph's (11-12, 2-4 A-10) at Bucknell (7-19, 4-7 PL)
When: Wednesday, Apr. 4, 3:30 p.m.
Where: Depew Field, Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

About the Bison
• Bucknell takes a break from Patriot League play with two non-conference tilts this week. The Bison visit Binghamton on Tuesday, and then return home to face Saint Joseph's on Wednesday in the makeup of the game that was postponed on March 21.
• The Bison are coming off a successful weekend at West Point, where they took 2 of 3 from first-place Army. The Black Knights entered the series on a five-game winning streak that included a 4-0 start in the Patriot League, but Bucknell swept Saturday's doubleheader behind some excellent mound work. Connor Van Hoose allowed just one run and one hit while striking out a career-high 14 over six innings in a 4-1 win in the opener, then Jeff Gottesman allowed just an unearned run on five hits while fanning six in a 5-1 win in the nightcap. Nate Grisius and Hunter Robichaux were flawless in relief in each game, and both earned his first save of the season. Army came back and won 7-4 on Sunday.
• Evan Madigan leads the team in hitting with a .342 average, which ranks fourth in the Patriot League. Luke Johnson is sixth at .337. Johnson has now reached base safely in 18 straight games, and his two hits on Sunday gave him a team-best 11 multi-hit games on the season. Johnson is hitting .419 with runners in scoring position.
• Tyler Wincig is also over the .300 mark at .314, and he leads the Patriot League in on-base percentage at .473. Luke Hartman is fifth in OBP at .434. Wincig (20) and Hartman (19) rank fourth and fifth in the PL in walks.
• Chuckie Scales got out to a slow start while fighting an injury, but his bat got hot at West Point over the weekend. Scales went 6-for-9 with two walks in the series, and in game two he registered his first career four-hit game.
• Bucknell ranks seventh in the nation in most sacrifice flies with 17. Minnesota has the most with 23. Bison opponents have hit 21 sac flies on the season. Madigan leads the Bison with four, which is one shy of the Patriot League lead.
• Van Hoose is averaging 12.94 strikeouts per nine innings this season, which ranks second in the Patriot League and 25th nationally. With 187 career strikeouts, Van Hoose now ranks third all-time at Bucknell behind Don Richards (354) and Jack Recco (195).
• JohnPaul Bell continues to lead the Patriot League in home runs with four. Miles Moore, who hit a big tiebreaking three-run homer at Army on Saturday, now has three homers. Eight of Moore's 12 hits on the season are for extra bases (three homers, four doubles, one triple), and he leads the team with a .474 slugging percentage.
• Freshman Nicholas Sadd is expected to make his second career start in the Binghamton game. The Bison are undecided on Wednesday's starter.

Scouting Binghamton/Series Record
• The Bearcats snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over UMBC in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Binghamton was the unanimous pick as preseason favorite in the America East after finishing 30-13 overall and 15-4 in league play last season. Despite a slow start this year, 26th-year head coach Tim Sinicki's squad does boast quality non-league wins over Liberty and Richmond.
• Antony Meduri leads the team in hitting with a .362 average. Jason Agresti is next at .319 with a team-high nine doubles. But no other Bearcat is hitting better than .250, and the team batting average sits at .229.
• Binghamton has a 5.86 team ERA, led by reliever Robert Brown, who has yet to allow a run in 7.1 innings. Probable starter Joe Orlando is 0-1 with an 11.12 ERA in six appearances, all out of the bullpen.
• The Bison and Bearcats have split 14 all-time meetings. Binghamton routed Bucknell last season, 12-0, as eight pitchers combined on three-hit shutout at Depew Field. Bucknell's last series win was a 6-2 verdict in 2015, Mike Korchak went 3-for-5 and was the only current Bison in the starting lineup that day.

Scouting Saint Joseph's/Series Record
• Saint Joseph's took 2 of 3 from crosstown rival La Salle this past weekend, winning 5-1 and 12-3 before losing the series finale by a 10-2 count. The Hawks are scheduled to host Lafayette on Tuesday before traveling to Lewisburg.
• Saint Joseph's has two regulars hitting over .300: James McConnon at .358 and Charlie Concannon at .345. The Hawks hit .350 as a team and have swatted 14 home runs, but they have allowed 21. Kadar Namey has a team-high four homers.
• Tim Brennan (4-2, 3.73) has been Saint Joseph's top starting pitcher. Ryan Devine has a tidy 1.46 ERA in eight appearances out of the pen.
• Saint Joseph's 10th-year head coach Fritz Hamburg is a former assistant coach at Army.
• The Hawks have a 5-4 lead in a series that dates back to 1963. The two teams were scheduled to play last year but the game was washed out. In the last meeting in 2016 in Philadelphia, Saint Joseph's won 6-5, as Peter Sitaris hit a go-ahead two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Looking Ahead
• Following the two non-conference games, Bucknell hosts Lafayette in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday's single game will air live on the Patriot League Network at PatriotLeague.tv.