University of Richmond Athletics
Baseball At Xavier This Weekend For First A-10 Road Series
04/08/2011 | Baseball
April 8, 2011
| Richmond (15-12-2, 3-0) vs. Xavier (17-14, 2-4) | |
| Game 30 | Friday, April 8 (3 p.m.) Bret Williams, LHP (UR) vs. Tyler Koors, RHP (XU) |
| Game 31 | Saturday, April 9 (1 p.m.) Chris Bates, LHP (UR) vs. Jon Richard, LHP (XU) |
| Game 32 | Sunday, April 10 (12 p.m.) TBA (UR) vs. Vinny Nittoli (XU) |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio | Hayden Field | Weather |
| Radio | None |
| TV | None |
| Audio Webcast | GoXavier.com (Saturday & Sunday) |
| Gametracker | RichmondSpiders.com (All Games) |
| Game Information | UR Game Notes | UR Baseball Record Book | Twitter |
SHORT HOPS
• The Richmond baseball team leaves the Commonwealth of Virginia for the first time since the season-opening weekend with a three-game Atlantic 10 series at Xavier. The set opens Friday at Hayden Field at 3 p.m.
• The series continues Saturday at 1 p.m. and concludes Sunday at 12 p.m. Gametracker is available for all three games, while GoXavier.com will provide live audio coverage of Saturday's and Sunday's tilts.
• The Spiders are coming off a three-game sweep of St. Bonaventure and have won 11 of their last 13 heading into the Xavier series. For Richmond, the Bona sweep was its first in A-10 play since the 2008 season.
• Richmond was tripped up in extra-innings 9-8 by William & Mary in a mid-week contest at Pitt Field -- a game in which senior Mike Mergenthaler launched a grand slam home run and freshman SS Mike Small had three hits and three RBI. The Spiders led by scores of 5-1 and 7-5 in the game.
• Mergenthaler paces the offense with his .359 average, 11 doubles, four homers and 24 RBI. The senior from Rockland, N.Y., who has hit safely in five-straight games, needs just three more homers and five more RBI to crack the Spiders' all-time Top-10 lists in both categories.
• Sophomore LHP Bret Williams (4-0, 3.48 ERA) gets the nod for Richmond on Friday, with freshman LHP Chris Bates (1-1, 4.23) going Saturday. Williams went 8.1 shutout innings to get the win last Friday over Bona, 3-0, while Bates fired a no-hitter through five innings and got a no-decision in Richmond's 4-3 last Saturday win.
• Richmond enters the weekend ranked sixth in the A-10 in team hitting (.288 average), ranked third in the league in ERA (3.67) and third in the league in fielding percentage (.966).
• Junior closer Mike Mergenthaler is tied for third in doubles (11) and total bases (69).
