 UMass in Town for Easter Weekend
April 9, 2009
On Deck: Saint Louis will look to continue a five-game Atlantic 10 Conference winning streak when Massachusetts visits this weekend for a three-game set. The series kicks off Friday at 7 p.m., with game two scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. The series finale is slated for noon Sunday. About the Billikens: Saint Louis split its two midweek games with SIU Edwardsville and enters the weekend 18-14 overall, 5-3 in the Atlantic 10. Last weekend, the Billikens swept the Richmond Spiders in a three-game series after taking two games in a rain-shortened series against La Salle. Senior shortstop Ryan Bennett, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games with hits in each of the SIUE matchups, leads the Atlantic 10 Conference with 51 hits despite missing five games earlier this year due to injury. He also leads the Billikens with a .443 average and a .488 on-base percentage. Freshman third baseman Zach Miller, the back-to-back A-10 Rookie of the Week, leads the league with 43 RBIs and tops the club with seven home runs. He is second on the team in hitting (.366) and leads the team in slugging percentage (.610). Junior first baseman Danny Brock is third on the squad with a .347 average, while senior Tom Pinnell has been one of SLU's hottest hitters recently, hitting safely in his last eight games to raise his average to .333. Junior catcher Ben Braaten is hitting .316, while fellow newcomer, freshman designated hitter Jerry Mancuso, hits .295. Junior right fielder Andrew Guerra hits .274 and is second on the team with six home runs. The Billikens will send right-handers Scott Turmail and Bryant Cotton to the hill in games one and two, respectively. Both lead the team with four wins. Senior right-hander Dave Sever, the reigning A-10 Pitcher of the Week and the SLU leader with 50 strikeouts, is Sunday's likely starter. As a team, the Billikens hit .300 and score 7.4 runs per contest. The pitching staff has a 5.41 ERA and allows opponents a .312 batting average.
Scouting the Minutemen: UMass enters the weekend with an 8-17 overall record and a 2-7 mark in A-10 play. The Minutemen split their two midweek games, topping Boston College 5-2 before dropping an 11-9 decision to UConn. Brian Baudinet leads the team with a .359 batting average, while Mike Donato hits .346. Adam Tempesta is a .340 hitter and has driven in a team-leading 20 runs while also tying for team-high honors with three home runs. As a team, the Minutemen hit .291 and average 6.3 runs per contest. The pitching staff has a 5.30 ERA and allows opponents a .284 batting average. Head coach Mike Stone is 546-460-2 in 21 years in Amherst, 596-550-4 in 27 years overall. UMass/Saint Louis Series History: The Minutemen hold a 5-1 series advantage versus the Billikens in a series that begin in 2006 when SLU joined the A-10. That year, the Minutemen swept the Billikens in a three-game series at The Billiken Sports Center. In 2007, SLU won the middle game of a three-game set in Amherst. The two squads did not meet on the diamond last season. Recapping the SIUE Series: Saint Louis split a pair of midweek tilts against regional foe SIU Edwardsville. On Tuesday at SIUE's SimmonsCooper Complex, SIUE's Spencer Patton struck out 10 Billikens in a 14-1 victory. The lone run for SLU came on a Ben Braaten solo shot in the second inning. On Wednesday at The BSC, the Billiken bats came alive, and the Billikens registered their first win of the season against the Cougars with a 9-5 decision. Ryan Bennett, Zach Miller and Tom Pinnell all registered three RBIs apiece. Schedule Notes: Several alterations have been made recently to the SLU schedule. This weekend, UMass and the Billikens will play a three-game series beginning Friday, April 10, and concluding on Easter Sunday, April 12. That is a change from the originally scheduled Thursday-Saturday series. In addition, the start time for the Saturday, April 25, game against Charlotte has been pushed up two hours to 11 a.m. Start Me Up: The Billikens' starting rotation enjoyed paramount success last weekend against Richmond. Scott Turmail, Bryant Cotton and Dave Sever combined to throw 25 innings and yield a 0.36 ERA. The trio struck out 23 Spider hitters and yielded a .247 batting average. Turmail got things off on the right track by tossing eight innings and allowing one earned run on 10 hits. In the second game, Cotton established a career high with nine strikeouts in eight innings of one-run ball. In the series finale, Sever completed his first complete-game shutout, striking out a career-best 11 and allowing just six hits. Pinnell Just Misses the Cycle Versus SIUE: Tom Pinnell was a foot away from becoming what is believed to be the first Billiken in school history to hit for the cycle. He registered a triple, home run and a double in his first three at-bats, giving him two later chances for the elusive single. In his fourth at-bat, he drew a bases-loaded walk. Then, in the eighth inning with a runner on first, Pinnell poked a ball that appeared to heading for right field, but it glanced off a SLU base runner's foot, resulting in a fielder's choice. Rank and File: SLU's win against Ole Miss on March 24 was the Billikens' first against a ranked opponent since beating No. 33 Southern Miss in 2005. Earlier this season, SLU upended then-unranked UC Santa Barbara 8-7. The Gauchos have since posted 15 wins and have been in and out of the national rankings. Since 2002, the Billikens are 4-29 against ranked opponents. SLU Skipper: Saint Louis head coach Darin Hendrickson is in his second season as the Billikens' skipper. Last year, he led SLU to 24 victories, the most by a first-year head coach in program history. In addition, the Billikens had two players - Casey Moore and Dave Sever - selected in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft, marking the first time since 1997 that two Billikens were drafted in the same year. Hendrickson, who picked up his 500th career victory last season in a home win against Fordham, has a 14-year career record of 532-216 with stints at Central Missouri, St. Louis Community College-Forest Park and Fontbonne. Also in their second seasons are assistant coaches Kevin Moulder and Will Bradley and volunteer assistant Danny Jackson. In the A-10: The Billikens are fourth in hitting (.302 team average) and fifth in pitching (5.11 team ERA) according to the latest Atlantic 10 statistical report. Individually, Ryan Bennett leads the league with 51 hits, is tied for the league lead with 12 doubles and is second with a .443 batting average. Zach Miller leads the league in RBIs (43) and total bases (75). Ben Braaten leads all A-10 players with 31 walks, while Jerry Mancuso and Cody Cotter are tied for second after being hit 11 times. Dave Sever is second among A-10 pitchers in strikeouts (50) and third in innings pitched (47.1). Sever and Bryant Cotton are tied with five others with four wins. New Look Billikens: Saint Louis has had eight field players and nine pitchers make their debuts in a Billiken uniform this season. Four of the Bills' top six hitters are newcomers. Newcomers Andrew Buckham, Garrett Cooper, Bryant Cotton, Jim Foster and Jerry Mancuso have seen starts on the mound this season. Making it Count: A pair of Billikens posted home runs for their first career hits. Freshman Zach Miller homered in his first collegiate at-bat in the season opener at CSU Bakersfield, while Lucas Calderon hit a two-run shot against Indiana State Feb. 24 for his first hit. Making it Count II: Sophomore left fielder Cody Cotter picked a good time for his first career home run. It occurred in the top of the eighth at Ole Miss with the Billikens clinging to a one-run lead. The homer, a three-run shot to left-center, helped vault SLU to the 15-11 victory against the 11th-ranked team in the nation. Weekly Accolades: The Billikens have garnered a league-high five A-10 weekly honors so far this season. This past week, Dave Sever was tabbed A-10 Pitcher of the Week after shutting out the Richmond Spiders in a key league victory. In addition, Zach Miller collected his second straight A-10 Rookie of the Week nod after driving in 13 runs in five games. Earlier this year, Miller claimed A-10 Rookie of the Week honors on March 16, and junior right-hander Chaz Salembier picked up A-10 Pitcher of the Week plaudits the opening week of the season after registering a win and a save against CSU Bakersfield and UC Santa Barbara, respectively. Power Surge: Zach Miller leads the team with seven homers, which already surpasses last year's individual high by a Billiken. Including SLU's two homers last night against SIUE, the Billikens have slugged 27 round-trippers on the season, just one away from last year's team total of 28. Ten Billikens have registered at least one home run this season. Climbing the Charts: Senior right-hander Dave Sever is moving up the career strikeout chart in the Billiken record book. He leads the team in Ks this season with 50, and earlier this year he became the sixth pitcher in SLU history to record 200 strikeouts in a career. With his career-high 11 strikeouts last Saturday against Richmond, Sever jumped to fourth on SLU's all-time chart with 249 career Ks. The program's all-time leader in strikeouts is Ryan Bird (2004-07), a current member of the St. Louis Cardinals organization who fanned 286 batters in his SLU career. Sever also picked up his 19th career win against Richmond, which is second all time at SLU. He is two wins shy of tying John Marcum's (1964-66) school record of 21. In addition, Sever is tied for fourth all time in starts (46) and innings pitched (323.1). Win Number One: A trio of Billikens have registered their first career wins on the mound this season. Jerry Mancuso picked up the win at No. 11 Ole Miss after twirling 3-1/3 innings of relief against the Rebels. Jim Foster pitched six innings to notch the win in the final Chicago State game in his first career start. Bryant Cotton is tied for the team lead with four victories this season. Down the Road: Next week, the Billikens begin a five-game road swing when they travel to UT Martin for a 3 p.m. affair on Tuesday, April 14. The Bills then head to Dayton for a three-game series beginning Friday, April 17. |
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