University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Baseball Hits The Road For Atlantic 10 Series At La Salle
05/04/2006 | Baseball
May 4, 2006
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Richmond, winners of eight of its last 12, and its last three Atlantic 10 series will be looking to extend a few win streaks this weekend in Philadelphia, Pa. The Spiders travel north to face La Salle in a three-game series, May 5-7. Friday's game is set for 3:30 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's contests will both be played at 1 p.m. at Hank DeVincent Field.
The Spider bats have led to the continued success throughout the month of April. Richmond, which has never lost to the Explorers (12-0) in an all-time series dating back to 2002, hit more than five times as many homeruns in April as it did in February and March combined. The Spider offense has raised its team batting average to a season-best .296, which ranks just outside of the Top-100 nationally.
Richmond will send senior Ja Jones to the hill Friday. The Brunswick, Ga., native's last appearance against the Explorers was a seven-inning complete game win in 2005. The righthander gave up four runs on seven hits, while fanning five. Saturday's starter will be sophomore Alex Hale. The Omaha, Neb., native suffered his first-ever loss as a starter last weekend, but is 6-2 in his career with a 2.68 ERA. Sunday's Spider starter is still to be determined.
Quick Notes...
-- Richmond has never lost to La Salle in an all-time series of 12 games dating back to the 2002 season. Richmond has outscored the Explorers by a margin of 71 runs (97-26) in its 12 meetings prior to this weekend.
-- Senior Ben Zeskind ranks as the 46th -hardest batter to strikeout. The Miami, Fla., native is been retired by way of the "K" every 14.5 at-bats this season.
-- Richmond's average of seven runs scored per ballgame ranks among the Top-75 teams in the country (67th).
-- The Spiders' season-best team average of .296 ranks just outside of the Top-100 in the country at 101st. Richmond ranks third-or-better in nine of 14 offensive team categories in Atlantic 10 games. Seven of those nine are category-leading numbers.
-- Richmond has won 8 of its last 12, and has done so following a season-long six-game losing streak from April 5-12. The Spiders have yet to win more than two-consecutive games this season.
-- With 12 regular season games remaining on the schedule, senior Ben Zeskind has the opportunity to take over the all-time career top spots on Richmond's hits, doubles and triples list. The Miami, Fla., native is 19 hits away from taking over the all-time record of 308. He needs three more doubles to become the Spiders' all-time leader, and just two more triples to be the leader in that category.
-- Richmond has won its last three Atlantic 10 series dating back to April 14-16 at Fordham. The Spiders have yet to sweep a conference series, but have lost 1-2 and been swept, by Saint Louis and Dayton, respectively. Richmond has won four of six Atlantic 10 series thus far in 2006.
-- Sophomore Brian Alas has appeared in 22 games this season, fourth-most in single-season school history. Former Spider John Cronin holds the all-time single-season mark with 30 in 2004.
-- Richmond is currently alone in eighth place in the Atlantic 10 standings. The Spiders are a game out of a tie with three teams in the fifth spot. To show how close the race for the Top-6 spots is, Richmond is just four games out of first and three games back of fourth place.
-- Senior Ja Jones leads the Spider staff when pitching with two outs. He is limiting opponents to a .125 average (7-for-56) in the situation. Currently opponents are hitting .305 against Richmond pitching with two outs, and have driven in 150 two-out RBI.
-- Richmond's offense hit more than five times as many homeruns in the month of April (28) as it did in the months of February and March combined (5).
-- Ten of the Spiders' 18 wins have been in come-from-behind fashion, while four of their nine A-10 wins have been come-from-behind efforts.
-- The Spider offense has posted an average of 5.3 runs in sophomore Ja Jones.
-- Richmond relief pitchers are allowing just 39 percent of inherited runners to cross the plate (44/112).
-- The Spiders went to the bullpen just four times in last weekend's series against Saint Joseph's, and five times in the three-game series against Duquesne.
-- Richmond has hit 18 homeruns in the last 15 games dating back to April 11 against VCU.
-- The Spider pitching staff ranks 65th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings with 7.4.
Zeskind Recognized By The A-10 And College Baseball Foundation
Senior Ben Zeskind was honored by the Atlantic 10 and the College Baseball Foundation after going 14-for-23 (.609) in five games from April 17-23. He was named A-10 Player of the Week and listed as one of the CBF's Honor Roll Players of the Week, after hitting .667 (10-for-15) in the weekend series against Duquesne. He recorded multiple hits in all five games over the course of the week. He scored a team-high 12 runs in the five games, crossing the plate multiple times in all five contests. The Miami, Fla., native drove in eight on the week, and had a slugging percentage of 1.174 in the five games. The senior recorded at least one extra-basehit in all five contests including three homers, one triple and two doubles. The centerfielder's three homers continued a string of what is now four homers in his last eight games. The Spiders' leadoff hitter had a team-high on-base percentage of .654 over the week, garnering three walks and a total of 14 hits. He was also 2-for-4 in stolen bases on the week.
Ian Marshall Named Co-Pitcher And Rookie Of The Week By Atlantic 10 Conference
Freshman Ian Marshall was recently honored for his accomplishments on the diamond during the week of April 17-23, by being awarded Atlantic 10 Co-Pitcher and Rookie of the Week. The freshman from Gaithersburg, Md., who was drafted in the 14th round following his high school career by the New York Mets, recorded the Spiders' first complete game since May 7, 2005, firing a three-hit shutout.
The righthander helped the Spiders sweep a Sunday doubleheader against Atlantic 10 foe Duquesne by scattering just three hits, while shutting out the Dukes. Marshall allowed two hits in the first inning, then retired 19 of the last 22 he faced. After the first frame, he did not allow a Duquesne runner past first base until walking and hitting a batter with two outs in the seventh. The shutout was the first for the Spiders since four pitchers combined to shutout William & Mary, March 30, 2005.
Brown Named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie Of The Week
Freshman Cameron Brown was recently rewarded for his team-leading offensive performance against Fordham, when he was named Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week, April 17. The Troy, N.Y., native finished off last week with a team-best .450 average in five games, including four doubles and team-high six runs scored. Brown was 9-for-20 (.450) in five games, including a 7-for-12 effort in the three games against Fordham. The third baseman carried a slugging percentage of .833 in the Atlantic 10 games with three doubles, four runs scored and 10 total bases. He drove in a career-best four in the final game of the Fordham series to cap a career-high three-hit day (3-for-5).
Spiders Take Two At League-Leading Fordham
Richmond travelled north to face the Fordham Rams in the Bronx, and came home with a series win. The Spiders logged a 10th-inning win Friday with a two-run homer by sophomore Alex Hale to win the series in the first game Saturday. A bases-loaded wild pitch in the ninth inning of game three allowed the Rams to sneak a win out of the series, but not before the Spiders knocked the Rams from their perch atop the A-10 standings.
Richmond And Dayton Run Up The Score
It was not a typical Friday night college baseball game at Pitt Field, April 7. The Spiders and Flyers combined to score 44 runs on 43 hits, as Dayton won 27-17 in a game which lasted 4:01. Ten total pitchers gave up a combined five game-tying RBI, six go-ahead RBI, three game-tying homeruns, four go-ahead homers and seven total homers. The two teams combined to record eight hit by pitches, marking the fourth-most in a single game in NCAA history. Spider pitchers hit seven batters which was also marked the fourth-most HBP's in a single game in NCAA history.
Riggi Named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week
Junior Vince Riggi capped off his return to the Spider lineup with a 7-for-14 week, earning himself Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career, April 3. The Saratoga Spring, N.Y., native returned to the designated hitter spot against William & Mary, March 29, after missing 13-straight with a nagging leg injury. Riggi opened his return with three-straight multi-hit games, including two in Atlantic 10 play against Massachusetts. The junior, who finished the week with a .500 average going 7-for-14 with three doubles, also garnered College Baseball Foundation Honor Roll recognition for his week's performance.
Spiders Garner First A-10 Series Win
Richmond scored a total of 34 runs in three games to win a three-game series over Atlantic 10 foe UMass. The Spiders outscored the Minutemen 34-26 in the three-game series, while each team slugged three homers at Pitt Field. The Spiders bookended the UMass series with nine runs against William & Mary (3/29) and 13 runs against James Madison (4/4), marking a total of 56 runs in five games.
Owens Named Atlantic 10 Co-Pitcher Of The Week
After tossing a seven shutout innings to earn his first win of the 2006 season, sophomore Brian Alas in the eighth.
Croglio's Heroics Gives Spiders First Win
Freshman Victor Croglio capped a six-run seventh inning for the Spiders with a grand slam to straight-away centerfield, helping Richmond pickup its first win of the season, 10-9, over Delaware (1-1) Saturday, Feb. 25 at Pitt Field. After Delaware scored two in the top half of the seventh to take a 9-3 lead, the Spiders started the bottom half with a leadoff walk followed by four-straight hit batsmen. After the Blue Hens changed hurlers, Croglio came to the plate with the bases loaded and unleashed a shot to straight-away centerfield for his first-career homerun. The Fayetteville, N.Y., native, who had gone 2-for-15 until that at-bat, tied the game at 9-9 and eliminated a six-run Blue Hen lead. The four-run shot also marked the first grand slam for Richmond since Bryan Pritz did it against Xavier, May 2, 2004.
Berzinskas Honored By Atlantic 10 Conference
After limiting Nebraska to four hits and two run in six innings, Feb. 19, junior Rob Berzinskas was named the Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Week, Atlantic 10 officials announced Feb. 20. The Clinton, Conn., native left the ballgame after the Spiders had taken a 4-2 lead in the top half of the seventh, but did not figure in the decision. Berzinskas allowed two runs in Richmond's 12-inning, 5-4, loss to Nebraska, both of which came by way of homeruns. The Morgan School graduate fanned three and walked three in his six-inning outing.
Spider Baseball On ESPN Radio 950
As many as five Richmond Spider baseball contests will broadcast in the Richmond area on the new home of the Spiders, ESPN Radio 950 AM. Each of the Spiders' five home Atlantic 10 openers will be carried on the local Richmond station and will also be available on RichmondSpiders.com. Games to be broadcast over the airwaves include: March 31 - UMass, April 7 - Dayton, April 21 - Duquesne, April 28 - Saint Joseph's and May 12 - George Washington.
Spiders Best In The Atlantic 10
Richmond has the best conference record of any team in the Atlantic 10 Conference since joining the league in 2002. At 79-34 (.699), the Spiders are ahead of the Rhode Island (76-36, .679) and George Washington (74-35, .679). Included in the previous four seasons are two A-10 regular season Championships, one league tournament crown and two NCAA Tournament appearances (an at-large bid in 2002).
On top of that, Richmond is tied with Rhode Island in number of A-10 end-of-the-season honors through the 2005 season, with four. The Spiders also have had 12 First Team All-Atlantic 10 selections since 2002, tied for the most along with George Washington. Lastly, Richmond ranks second all-time in the A-10 standings behind only Virginia Tech in winning percentage. The Hokies, members from 1996-00, were 73-25 in A-10 play and won three titles in their five years of membership.
What Is Coming Back?
Nineteen of the Spiders' 30 roster spots return from 2005 and a large percentage of the numbers from last season return. When looking at stat leaders returning -- in 17 of the 18 categories, the Spiders return the 2005 leader.
