University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders, Billikens Open Weekend Series Friday Night In The Arch City
04/03/2009 | Baseball
April 3, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. -
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Heading west this this weekend, the Richmond baseball team battles Saint Louis in a three-game Atlantic 10 series that begins Friday night at 8 p.m. ET. Saturday's game is set for 2 p.m., with Sunday's series finale slated at 1 p.m.
THIS WEEKEND'S LIVE LINKS:
QUICK HITTERS:
• The Spiders are 13-9 overall, 3-3 in the Atlantic 10, and had won four of five games before dropping the final two at George Washington this weekend and both games to William & Mary this week. The Billikens enter the series at 14-13, 2-3.
The all-time series between the Spiders and Billikens is tied 3-3. The two teams met last year in Richmond, where the Spiders took two of three. In 2006, SLU took two of three in the Arch City.
• Last weekend, the Billikens swept a doubleheader against Duquesne in a rain-shortened series. Senior SS Ryan Bennett, who is riding a career-best 11-game hitting streak, entered the week second in the Atlantic 10 in hitting. He leads the squad with a .448 average, 43 hits and a .594 slugging percentage. Freshman 3B Zach Miller, who was named A-10 co-Rookie of the Week, leads the team with 33 RBIs and has driven in nine runs in the last four games.
• Senior 3B Cameron Brown leads the Richmond offense in nearly every offensive category with his .372 average, 6 home runs, 31 runs and .628 slugging percentage. The junior, who entered the week eighth in the A-10 in batting, smacked a pair of homer in the Spiders win last Friday at GW. Senior Ryan Metzroth's 23 RBI leads the club, while freshman 2B Adam McConnell leads the team with his 13 stolen bases. The Spiders are one stolen base away from matching their total number of steals from all last season (51).
• Junior Stephen Owens will get the start for Richmond Friday night. He entered the week ranked second in the A-10 with his 1.90 ERA, but is just 1-0 in his four starts this season. Junior lefty Matt Zielinski gets the call Saturday, with sophomore Anthony Cafagna in line for Sunday.
• Richmond moved to 4-1 this season in extra-inning games thanks to three games decided in extras last week. The Spiders needed 11 innings to win 2-1 at VMI last Tuesday, needed 11 to beat GW 9-6 last Friday and fell in 10 innings at GW last Saturday.
• All five of Richmond's extra-inning contests have come in the last nine games and the team has played 14 innings of "free" baseball since March 20.
• Next week, Richmond remains on the road for a Wednesday night at
