University of Richmond Athletics
Richmond, VCU Renew Baseball Rivalry Today At Pitt Field
04/12/2011 | Baseball
April 12, 2011
| Richmond (17-13-2) vs. VCU (13-17) | |
| Game 29 | Tuesday, April 12 (3 p.m.) Anthony Cafagna, RHP (UR) vs. Blake Hauser, RHP (VCU) |
| Location | Richmond, Va. | Pitt Field | Weather |
| Radio | ESPN 950 |
| TV | None |
| Webcast | SpiderTV (Free) |
| Gametracker | RichmondSpiders.com |
| Game Information | UR Game Notes | UR Baseball Record Book | Twitter |
SHORT HOPS
• Coming off its second-consecutive Atlantic 10 series win, Richmond steps out of conference action Tuesday to renew its cross-town rivalry with VCU. Today's first pitch is set for 3 p.m. and the game can be heard live on ESPN 950 in Richmond and seen live on SpiderTV.
• The Spiders took both games from the Rams last season, sweeping VCU for the first time since the 2002 season. Richmond rallied late in both wins, scoring four times in the eighth inning to win 8-6 at The Diamond and scoring the game's final three runs, including a walk-off sac fly that scored Billy Barber, in a 9-8 thriller at Pitt Field.
• Richmond has won 13 of its last 16 games, including a 5-1 start to A-10 play. The Spiders have won back-to-back conference series for the first time since 2007 and are off to their best league start since that same year. Richmond's last trip to the A-10 Tournament came in 2007.
• Senior RF Mike Mergenthaler is closing in on the career top-10s in a number of categories at Richmond: 221 hits (needs 12 more to crack the career top 10), 43 doubles (needs 6 more), 28 home runs (needs 3 more) and 145 RBI (needs 5 more).
• After breaking a bone in leg in the fall, senior Billy Barber was welcomed back to the roster at just the right time. Barber ripped a two-out, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth last Saturday to beat St. Bonaventure, 4-3. Barber is hitting .341 (15-for-44) with two doubles, a homer and seven RBI in 13 games this season.
• Freshman SS Mike Small Small paced the offense last week, hitting .400 with team highs in hits (8), runs (5) and RBI (7). Small launched his first college homer - a three-run shot - in Friday's 8-6 win at Xavier. The rookie is hitting .292 overall (.320 in A-10 play) and has played error-free defense in seven-straight games.
• The Spiders sit in second place in the A-10 standings, behind first-place Charlotte (8-1). A key road series awaits Richmond this weekend at Dayton, which is 4-2 in league play and 16-16 overall. The Flyers were third in the A-10 preseason poll.
