Billikens Welcome Temple in Regular-Season Finale
May 14, 2008
On Deck: Saint Louis concludes its regular season this weekend with a three-game Atlantic 10 baseball series against the Temple Owls. Action gets started Thursday with a 7 p.m. game at The Billiken Sports Center, with the second game slated for 1 p.m. at The BSC. Saturday's finale is set for noon at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill. Following the Action: All home games may be followed through GameTracker on SLU's official athletics Web site, www.slubillikens.com. All home games are played at The Billiken Sports Center, located on the eastern edge of campus adjacent to Chaifetz Arena. Admission is free to all Billiken home baseball games. Senior Night: Prior to Thursday night's first pitch, Saint Louis will recognize four student-athletes in honor of their final home series at The Billiken Sports Center. Those players are Casey Moore, Greg Rodgers, B.J. Rodrigue and Mark Zielinski. About the Billikens: Saint Louis pulls into its final weekend of the season with a 23-27 overall record and an 8-15 record in the Atlantic 10. SLU is coming off a rain-shortened two-game Duquesne series that saw each team claim one victory. On Tuesday in its final non-conference game of the season, Saint Louis came out on the losing end of a 2-1, 11-inning affair against Southern Illinois at GCS Ballpark. Ryan Bennett leads the team in hitting with a .350 average, which includes a team-leading .373 batting average in A-10 games. J.D. Dunn is hitting .328 with a team-high 45 runs scored. Mike Beal (.317), Andrew Guerra (.311) and Tom Pinnell (.307) also boast averages above the .300 mark. Greg Rodgers leads the team with 42 RBIs. On the mound, Scott Turmail leads the staff with a 3.23 ERA, while Dave Sever has a team-high 70 strikeouts as well as four victories in A-10 games. As a team, the Bills are hitting .278 and score 5.8 runs per game. The pitching staff has a 5.43 ERA and has allowed opponents a .294 batting average.
Scouting Temple: The Owls find themselves in fifth place in the league and enter the final weekend with a 24-26 overall record and a 14-10 A-10 mark. Temple needs one win this weekend to ensure a spot in the six-team Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, which would be its first playoff appearance since 2002. The Owls took two of three last weekend at home against Dayton to get back on track after dropping five of its previous six league games. Byron McKoy leads the team in hitting with a .344 average, while Sean Barksdale hits .302 with a team-leading 42 RBIs. Stan Orzechowski hits .291 and leads the team with six home runs. Matt Mongiardini, who the Billikens likely will see Thursday, is a two-time A-10 Pitcher of the Week and leads the team with six wins and a 3.41 ERA. Tom Dolan (4-5, 4.92 ERA) and Mike Mongiardini (2-2, 4.93) are the projected starters for Friday and Saturday's games, respectively. As a team, the Owls are hitting .281 and score 6.2 runs per game. The pitching staff has a 6.18 ERA and allows opponents a .295 batting average. Rank and File: Several Billikens rank among the national and Atlantic 10 Conference leaders in various statistical categories. Scott Turmail leads the league and ranks fourth in the country in fewest walks allowed per nine innings (0.95). Andrew Guerra is tied for the league lead and ranks 19th nationally with a SLU single-season record 21 doubles. Greg Rodgers leads the A-10 and is eighth in the nation in walks per game (0.96), while his 45 total walks rank 13th in the country. J.D. Dunn is fifth in the league with 25 stolen bases, and he is tied for third in the league with 40 walks. Catcher Casey Moore has caught 23 runners trying to steal, which is the second-best total in the league. Running of the Bills: As a team, Saint Louis has already stolen 74 bases on the year, which is the most since the 2000 team swiped 92 bags. The school record for stolen bases in a season is 108, a feat accomplished by the 1991 team. J.D. Dunn leads the team with 26 steals in 31 tries. Freebies: Senior first baseman Greg Rodgers has drawn a league-leading 45 walks this season, which is the second-most all-time in a single season at SLU. He is six walks away from Brad Brown's single-season record 51 walks during the 1991 season. He has 116 for his career, which is fourth all-time. No Freebies: Junior right-hander Scott Turmail has walked just 11 batters in 97.2 innings while striking out 58. In the latest NCAA statistical report, he ranks fourth nationally and first in the Atlantic 10 in fewest walks allowed per nine innings. New Leader: Head coach Darin Hendrickson is in his first season as the Billikens' skipper. Hired in the summer of 2007, Hendrickson has found success at each of his three previous head-coaching stops during his 12-year tenure. Most recently, he led Central Missouri to three regular-season and tournament championships over the last four years and twice had his team in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Previously, he led St. Louis Community College Forest Park to four NJCAA Super Regional championship games and Fontbonne University (St. Louis) to a conference title in that program's third year of existence in 1998. Hendrickson has a 13-year career record of 513-201. He is assisted by Kevin Moulder, Will Bradley and volunteer assistant Danny Jackson. The Atlantic 10 Conference: Saint Louis is in its third season in the A-10. In their debut in 2006, the Billikens made a memorable run through the conference tournament and emerged as league champions, marking their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 40 years. The Billikens were picked to finish 10th out of 14 squads in the league race this season. The top six teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the A-10 Tournament, which for the first time will be played at a neutral site at Campbell Stadium in Camden, N.J., beginning May 21. Season Accolades: Sophomore second baseman Andrew Guerra was named A-10 Player of the Week two weeks ago after hitting .571 and driving in 11 runs. He belted three home runs and also became SLU's single-season leader in doubles. Junior right-hander Scott Turmail has twice picked up A-10 Pitcher of the Week honors. In his first appearance in a Billiken uniform on Feb. 23, he allowed just four hits and struck out three in a complete-game shutout at Belmont. For his effort, he was named A-10 Pitcher of the Week and was dubbed the Northeast Region Player of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Turmail was named A-10 co-Pitcher of the Week for the period ending March 16 after picking up a save against Fontbonne and tossing eight shutout innings against Dartmouth. 500 Wins: The Billikens' 10-8 victory against Fordham on March 29 marked the 500th win in the 12-year head-coaching career of Darin Hendrickson. He achieved 209 wins during his four-year tenure at Central Missouri, 126 in four years at Fontbonne, 155 in four years at Forest Park CC and 23 so far in his first season with the Billikens. Beal Street: Sophomore designated hitter Mike Beal (St. Louis, Mo./Glendale CC) is third on the club with a .317 average ... has 13 doubles and 25 RBIs ... scorched a pinch-hit double down the left-field line against Southern Illinois to start the game-tying rally in the ninth. R&B: Senior infielder Ryan Bennett (Kansas City, Mo./Miami [Ohio]) leads the team in hitting with a .350 average ... has a .373 average in A-10 games to lead the club ... singled against Southern Illinois and made a dazzling leaping snag on a line drive to shortstop ... went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, an RBI and a double in the first game against Duquesne. All is Well: Sophomore outfielder David Blackwell (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) has 27 hits on the year ... walked twice and singled against Southern Illinois ... singled in back-to-back games against Duquesne and scored a run in the first game of the series. Well Dunn: Sophomore center fielder J.D. Dunn (Franklin, Tenn./Centennial) has started all 50 games in center, making him one of just two Billikens who have started every game ... ranks second on the team with a .328 average, and first in runs (45) and stolen bases (26) ... has four homers and 26 RBIs ... has reached base safely in all but one game this season ... had two hits against Southern Illinois ... belted a solo home run in the second Duquesne game ... notched a pair of hits and scored three times in the first game against the Dukes. Don't Mess with Texas: Sophomore infielder Andrew Guerra (Dallas, Texas/Rice University) ranks fourth on the club with a .311 average ... has 21 doubles on the year, which is a SLU single-season record ... walked twice in the Southern Illinois game ... doubled, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs in the first game against Duquesne. The Mayor: Junior right-hander Chris Merrick (Forest Hill, Md./Catonsville CC) has made eight starts on the mound ... did not allow a run in two innings of relief in the first game against Duquesne. Moore Power: Senior catcher Casey Moore (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Wentzville Holt) is hitting .250 with one homer and 17 RBIs ... has caught 23 base runners trying to steal, which is second in the conference ... went 2-for4 with two runs scored, three RBIs and two walks in the first game against Duquesne. A Little Moore Power: Junior shortstop/pitcher Ziggy Moore (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Wentzville Holt) has a 3-2 record and a 3.51 ERA in a team-leading 17 appearances, all in relief ... has 17 hits and 15 runs scored ... tossed a scoreless inning of relief against Southern Illinois ... did not allow a run in 1-2/3 innings in the second Duquesne game ... registered two RBIs in the first game against the Dukes. Lights Out: Sophomore right-hander Zach Outman (St. Louis, Mo./Forest Park CC) has made 15 appearances (12 starts) on the mound ... is also seeing playing time in the outfield ... got the start against Southern Illinois and went six innings, allowing one run on four hits ... struck out six Salukis and walked just one. Pinpoint: Junior third baseman Tom Pinnell (Edwardsville, Ill./Edwardsville) has started all 50 games, making him one of just two Billikens who have started every game ... hitting .307 with 33 RBIs to rank second on the squad ... leads the team with 59 hits ... had two hits against Southern Illinois ... singled in the second game against Duquesne ... in the first game against the Dukes, he singled, walked, drove in a run and scored a career-high three runs. Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood: Senior first baseman Greg Rodgers (St. Charles, Mo./St. Charles CC) leads the team with 42 RBIs and 45 walks ... ranks second all-time at SLU with 116 career walks ... had two hits in each of the games at Duquesne ... walked once and scored a run in the second game against the Dukes ... was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in addition to drawing two walks in the first game of the series. Leave It To Sever: Junior right-hander Dave Sever (Burr Ridge, Ill./Benet Academy) is fifth in the league with 70 Ks ... leads the team with a 4-2 record in A-10 games ... hurled a scoreless inning of relief against Southern Illinois. The Mailbag: Junior right-hander Scott Turmail (Florissant, Mo./Forest Park CC) leads the pitching staff with six wins and a 3.23 ERA ... leads the conference in innings pitched (97.2) ... opponents are hitting just .250 against him ... has pitched into the seventh inning in every start this season, including going eight-plus innings in eight of those 12 starts ... tagged with the loss after 2-2/3 innings of relief against Southern Illinois when he allowed one run on two hits. Help Me, Help You: Sophomore outfielder Ramee Yacoub (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) leads all Billiken freshmen with a .287 average ... is second on the squad with a .329 batting average in A-10 games ... has a .424 on-base percentage and has seven steals ... had two hits, including the game-tying RBI single in the top of the ninth, against Southern Illinois ... lifted a two-run home run in the second game against Duquesne ... had a career day at the plate in the first game against the Dukes, posting three hits and driving in four runs. |
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