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Bonnies To Host VCU in Friday Doubleheader To Begin A-10 Series

Bonnies To Host VCU in Friday Doubleheader To Begin A-10 Series
Game 1

Batting

VCU
2B: Daane Berezo; Paul Witt 2
3B: none
HR: Liam Hibbits; Zac Ching
St. Bonaventure
2B: Ryan MacCarrick; Jeff Palczewski
3B: Sam Fuller
HR: none
full stats
Apr 12, 2018

ST. BONAVENTURE vs. VCU
Fred Handler Park
Friday - doubleheader at 12:30 p.m.
Saturday - 12:00 p.m.

COVERAGE
Friday's second game will be available on the radio locally at 107.1 FM as well as live streamed on the Atlantic 10 Network.

Friday Game 1 Live Stats | Friday Game 2 Live Stats | Saturday Live Stats

STORYLINE
St. Bonaventure will make another attempt at hosting a home series after weather issues have caused delays in the past several weeks. The Bonnies will face VCU in Atlantic 10 play this weekend in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 12:30 p.m. due to rain in the weekend forecast. Saturday's game time is still set for 12 p.m., but follow @BonniesBaseball on Twitter for up-to-date schedule updates.

LAST TIME OUT
St. Bonaventure was swept in a doubleheader at Niagara as the Purple Eagles claimed the first two of three scheduled meetings this season between the Little Three rivals. Last weekend, the Bonnies only got in six official innings at home before snow and cold temperatures wiped out the rest of the series with Saint Joseph's as Saturday and Sunday's games were cancelled. By Atlantic 10 rule those games will not be made up.
 
SUDBROOK CHASING NO. 700
Bonnies head coach Larry Sudbrook could add yet another very impressive accolade to his extensive career resume this weekend as he enters the VCU series sitting on 698 career victories. The reigning and three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, Sudbrook is far and away St. Bonaventure's all-time winningest coach in any sport. He has led the Bonnies to 14 winning seasons and last year surpassed 300 Atlantic 10 victories. Sudbrook would become just the second active Atlantic 10 coach to reach the 700-win mark, joining George Mason's Bill Brown. 
 
MAGNANTI AMONG A-10 LEADERS
Junior Mike Magnanti has been a catalyst this season atop the lineup for the Bonnies. He's hitting a team-best .333, good for ninth in the Atlantic 10. Magnanti also leads SBU in on-base percentage at .455, a mark that ranks second in the A-10 this spring. The first-year Bonnie leads the team with seven multi-hit games as well.
 
MACCARRICK AT LUCKY 13
Senior Ryan MacCarrick enters this weekend with the longest hitting streak of the season by any Bonnies player after collecting a hit in 13 straight games. It is his longest streak as a Bonnie - his longest last year was seven games. Last season, no Bonnies player had a hit streak longer than eight games. 
 
MOTHER NATURE ... NOT A BASEBALL FAN?
As we enter the second weekend in April, the Bonnies have still only played six official innings on home turf. Four games were postponed in non-conference - doubleheaders vs. Niagara and Bucknell in March - and last week's series vs. Saint Joseph's was wiped out, save for six innings last Friday, due to lingering winter conditions. The last time the Bonnies did not play a home game by at least the end of March was 2008 when the home opener was April 2. Should the Bonnies finally be able to get in a full game Friday, it would be the latest for the team to get in their first full game at home in the past 20 years.
 
PALCZEWSKI IN THE CLUTCH
Sophomore Jeff Palczewski was key to both of Bona's wins at UMass March 30-April 1. In the second gme, he drove in the game-winning run with his 12th inning single to break a 5-5 tie. The next day, he came through again with the go-ahead RBI single in SBU's 7-5 victory on Sunday. He finished with five hits in the series along with five RBIs after entering the series with two RBIs on the season. For the year, Palczewski is hitting .467 with runners in scoring position.
 
WRITE THEM IN INK
Four Bonnies have started all 23 games this season - Magnanti (all at second base), junior Brandon Henshaw (all at shortstop), MacCarrick (22 in right field, one in left field) and senior David Vaccaro (all in center field). Vaccaro has played the most games of any SBU player the past two years - 71, including 68 starts. 
 
ABOUT VCU
VCU enters the weekend series with an overall record of 21-12 and 6-3 in Atlantic 10 play. The Rams are 5-5 in their last 10 games including an A-10 series win over Dayton. This season also included a 14-game win streak that includes a win over then No. 17 East Carolina. 

Sophomore Paul Witt has started all 33 games this year and is batting .328, which leads the team. Witt also has team-highs in home runs (2) and RBIs (24). Fellow sophomore Connor Gillispie is first in the A-10 and the NCAA with 10 starts on the mound. Mac McCartey leads the NCAA in saves, totaling 13 this season.

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