University of Richmond Athletics
Richmond Faces VCU on Tuesday at The Diamond
05/07/2012 | Baseball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond Spiders baseball team will face cross-town rival VCU this Tuesday at The Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. Live stats can be found at RichmondSpiders.com.
Scouting the Spiders
The Richmond Spiders baseball team comes in to Tuesday's
game with rival VCU with an overall record of 22-22 on the season. This past weekend, Richmond lost two of three
games at Massachusetts in an Atlantic 10 series.
Leading the way for Spiders offensively this season have been seniors Phil Ruzbarsky and Chris Cowell. Ruzbarsky leads the team with a .357 batting average, while Cowell leads the Atlantic 10 with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs. Senior Bryan Conway has 15 doubles on the season with 36 RBIs.
Junior Jacob Mayers and freshman Zak Sterling have been the strengths of the Richmond pitching staff in 2012. Mayers has struck out a team-high 82 batters to go with a 6-3 record. Sterling (5-1) has a team-low 3.11 ERA and is limiting opposing batters to a .185 batting average.
Scouting the Rams
The VCU Rams have been hot of late, winning five of their
last six games to push their overall record on the season to 27-21. This past weekend, the Rams took two of three
from CAA-rival Georgia State at The Diamond.
Offensively, the Rams have been paced by a pair of impressive sophomores - Joey Cujas and Bill Cullen. Cujas leads the Rams with a .383 batting average and 37 runs driven in. Cullen has also been stellar for VCU, leading the Rams with 22 doubles, nine triples, and four home runs.
Pitching has also been solid for VCU this season, as the staff has posted a team ERA of 4.08. Junior Ryan Farrar (4-3) leads the squad with 62 strikeouts in 80.2 innings pitched. Junior closer Blake Hauser (4-1) has recorded 10 saves on the year with a ERA of 2.22.
The Series
In the recent history between VCU and Richmond dating back
to 2006, the Rams have posted a record of 6-4 over the Spiders. The last five, however, have been a different
story, with Richmond winning four of those five contests. Earlier this season on March 21, the Spiders
defeated VCU, 7-1.
Strikeout Cancer
In a partnership with the VCU Massey Cancer Center, Richmond
and VCU will look to "Strikeout Cancer" while showing support for Rams
head coach Paul Keyes, who
is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
Prior to the national anthem, players from both teams will exchange
wristbands at home plate with the number 5 embedded (Keyes' number) on them.
The two teams will exchange gold (VCU) and red (Richmond) wristbands.
