March 15, 2010

On Deck: Saint Louis hosts a pair of Missouri Valley Conference schools this week in non-conference baseball action at The Billiken Sports Center. Indiana State comes to town Tuesday, March 16, while Evansville visits The BSC Wednesday, March 17. Both games are slated for 3 p.m. starts.

About the Billikens: Saint Louis enters the week 8-8 overall and is coming off a three-game series at Murray State that saw the Billikens drop two of three. Sophomore utility player Jerry Mancuso leads the team in batting average (.373) and is tied for first with 25 hits. Junior third baseman Jon Myers also has 25 hits and is second in batting average (.362), home runs (five) and RBIs (19). Senior first baseman Danny Brock also hits .362 leads the squad with seven home runs and 24 RBIs. Senior catcher Ben Braaten hits .328 with 11 RBIs, while sophomore second baseman Zach Miller posts a .323 batting average with a homer and six RBIs. Freshman shortstop Mike Levine has driven in 11 runs in the last eight games and is third on the team with 16 RBIs. Andres Wiltz (1-0, 1.23 ERA) is expected to start Tuesday against ISU, while Alex Alemann (1-2, 7.71 ERA) will get the ball Wednesday against Evansville. As a team, the Billikens hit .315 and score 8.1 runs per contest. The pitching staff has a 7.21 ERA and allows opponents a .355 batting average.

Last Time Out: The Billikens went 1-2 in a three-game set at Murray State last weekend. After losing the opener 12-7, the Billikens responded in a big way in Saturday's game two. The Bills posted an 18-7 victory, the most runs SLU has scored in a game since 2006. In the rubber match of the series Sunday, SLU fell 12-2. Danny Brock went 5-for-10 in the series with two homers, six RBIs and four walks. Cody Cotter registered four hits, scored three times and drew four walks. Bryant Cotton got the win on the mound in game two after pitching six innings and allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out five.

Bombs Away: The Billikens have slugged 20 home runs thus far, the most homers hit through 16 games dating back to 2000. Danny Brock leads the Billikens with seven homers, which is just three shy of matching last year's team-high total. Jon Myers has four on the year, while Andrew Guerra (three) and Jerry Manucso (two) have also posted multiple homers. A Billiken has hit two home runs in a game three times already this season. Myers went deep twice against Central Arkansas and Duquesne, while Brock hit a pair of homers against Southeast Missouri State.

Hit-and-Run Parade: In the Billikens' 13-6 victory at Central Arkansas earlier this season, Jerry Mancuso tied the school record with five hits. He ended up 5-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored. Nine Billikens posted five hits in a game prior to Mancuso, with the most recent being Adam Shea in 1999. In addition, Jon Myers tied the school record with five runs scored. Myers is one of three Bills to score five times and the first since Eric Koettker in 1996.

Scouting Indiana State: The Sycamores enter the week 7-5 overall. Indiana State is coming off an 8-5 loss at Dayton in a rain-shortened Dayton Classic, where ISU had its final three games of the tournament rained out. Catcher Tyler Graham leads the team with a .413 average, while right fielder Robby Ort hits .395 with a team-leading 13 RBIs. First baseman Phil Liniger has a .349 batting average with a team-best two home runs. He is also tied with shortstop Ryan Strausborger for second with 11 RBIs. Southpaw Joe Rodrigues is slated to start for ISU. He is 1-1 on the season with a 6.23 ERA. As a team, Indiana State hits .321 and scores 8.0 runs per game. The pitching staff has a 5.37 ERA and allows opponents a .321 batting average. Head coach Rick Heller is in his first season at the helm. In 22 years overall, Heller is 568-477-4. Indiana State leads the all-time series 32-9, but SLU has won seven of the last nine meetings.

Scouting Evansville: The Purple Aces, who travel to Austin Peay Tuesday before playing the Bills, have won three of their last four and enter the week 6-10 overall. UE's only loss during that four-game span was an extra-inning, 4-3 loss versus Purdue. Third baseman Cody Fink leads the team with a .323 average, which includes a team-high-tying four homers. Shortstop Eric Stamets is hitting .308 with a team-best seven doubles, while Center fielder Greg Wallace hits. 281 with a team-leading 17 RBIs and four home runs. As a team, Evansville hits .255 and scores 6.1 runs per game. The pitching staff has a 5.65 ERA and allows opponents a .285 batting average. Head coach Wes Carroll is 31-40 in his second season in Evansville. The Purple Aces leads the all-time series 45-11, but the Billikens picked up a win last year against UE.

A-10 Pitcher of the Week: Senior right-hander Bryant Cotton earned Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors Feb. 21 after picking up the win in the season opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Cotton tossed seven shutout innings, scattering six hits and striking out seven while walking one.

SLU Skipper: Saint Louis head coach Darin Hendrickson is in his third season as the Billikens' skipper. After leading SLU to 24 victories in his first year in 2008, the most by a first-year head coach in program history, Hendrickson guided SLU to 30 wins last year. His three-year SLU record is 64-64. Hendrickson has a 15-year career record of 554-238 with stints at Central Missouri, St. Louis Community College-Forest Park and Fontbonne.

Rank and File: The Billikens' victory against No. 16 (Collegiate Baseball) Ohio State March 6 marked the second consecutive year SLU has knocked off a ranked foe. Last year, the Billikens ousted No. 11 Ole Miss. Previously, the Billikens hadn't beaten a ranked opponent since topping No. 33 Southern Miss in 2005. Upcoming games against ranked opponents include Kansas (No. 19 by Collegiate Baseball) and Arkansas (Nos. 13 and 16 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, respectively).

Down the Road: This weekend, Saint Louis welcomes the nationally ranked Kansas Jayhawks to The Billiken Sports Center for 1 p.m. games Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21. Last weekend, KU took two of three against previously unbeaten and then-No. 1 LSU in Baton Rouge.

Saint Louis Billikens Baseball