PREVIEW
The Billikens will open their 2014 season with a three-game series at No. 21 Alabama. The Bills five positional starters from their 2013 squad that won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championships, including 2013 A-10 Player of the Year Mike Vigliarolo. Saint Louis was picked to repeat as A-10 champs by Perfect Game, Basebal America and College Baseball Insider. Additionally, a poll of league head coaches selected SLU as the preseason favorite in the A-10, garnering 11 of 12 first-place votes.
FOLLOWING THE BILLIKENS
A live video stream (fee required) and free live statistics are available for all three games this weekend. The links for both can be found in the schedule box located just below the main photo on www.SLUBillikens.com. Also, updates are provided on the Billiken Baseball twitter account, @SLUBaseball.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
The Crimson Tide are led at the dish by Freshman All-American Mikey White. White also earned second-team All-SEC accolades in 2013 after hitting .287 with a .370 slugging percentage and a .365 on-base percentage last season. He was the Tide's hottest hitter in SEC play, leading the team in batting average (.350), slugging percentage (.476) and on-base percentage (.419).
On the hill, Spencer Turnbull gets the ball on Friday. Last season, he was 4-3 with a 3.70 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 38 walks.
Southpaw Justin Kamplain will start on Saturday. He has huge strikeout potential, notching 50 punchouts in 54.2 innings pitched.
Ray Castillo was Alabama's second Freshman All-American in 2013 and is making the jump from closer to rotation after leading the team with 12 saves last season.
WALK LIKE A BILLIKEN
SLU had 253 walks in 2013, most in the Atlantic 10 and 40th nationally. Since head coach Darin Hendrickson took over in 2008, the Billikens have ranked in the top three of the Atlantic 10 in walks drawn in each season.
WE'VE GOT THE POWER
Saint Louis hit 43 home runs in 2013, the most in the A-10 and 28th in the NCAA. Mike Vigliarolo leads all returners with eight round-trippers and Braxton Martinez had seven long balls in 2013.
BULLPEN BULLIES
The Billiken bullpen had a terrific 2013. Five different pitchers made 16 or more appearances and five hurlers have recorded at least one save. In 2013, the Bills had 203.1 innings in relief with 182 hits, 65 earned runs and 174 strikeouts to 92 walks. The pen combined for a 2.88 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.
#ObscureStatOfTheWeek
The 2013 Billikens were a perfect 12-0 when committing exactly one error in a game.
BILLIKEN DYNASTY
With a 2-0 win over Richmond on April 28, 2013, SLU sealed its 30th win of the season. It is the sixth time in school history a Billiken team has reached the 30-win plateau. Four of these seasons have come under head coach Darin Hendrickson. After the 2013 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship, the Bills won 41 games, tying the school record set in 2012. Hendrickson has set the wins record three times in his six seasons.
HITS IN BUNCHES
The Billiken offense was firing on all cylinders in 2013. In 62 games, the Billikens had 37 games with 10 or more hits.
GOLDEN ARMS
The Billikens' recent success is due largely in part to great pitching. Only five teams in SLU history have finished the season with a sub-4.00 ERA. Saint Louis has achieved the feat in each of the past three seasons.
FRABASILIO PLAYS APART FROM BROTHER
Saint Louis catcher/designated hitter Colton Frabasilio is playing away from his twin brother, Jordan Frabasilio (infielder at Pitt) for the first time in his career. The duo had played together throughout high school and junior college.
AT THE 2013 A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Billikens made a historical run to capture their third Atlantic 10 tournament title and return to the NCAA tournament. The Billikens won five games in three days, including four in 27 hours. Saint Louis' hot bats kept the team alive in the consolation bracket. As a team, SLU collected 92 hits in six days (.395 average), shattering the previous A-10 Tournament record of 65. They also broke the tournament record with eight HR. Senior OF Alex Kelly was named the tournament MVP after breaking the tournament records in hits (15) and RBIs (13). He hit .536 with a .929 slugging percentage and a .533 on-base percentage. Freshman OF Michael Bozarth tied the tournament record for individual HR with three, the first three HR of his career.
BILLIKENS DOMINATE 2013 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Saint Louis had six Billikens named to the 2013 All-Conference team, two to the All-Rookie team, one to the All-Academic team and the co-Player of the Year. Mike Vigliarolo was named the co-Player of the year, the first time a Billiken has won the honor in the A-10 and is believed to be the first such honor in school history. He was joined on the first team by Grant Nelson, Alec Solé and Alex Kelly. Clay Smith and Mike Levine were named to the second team. Freshmen Braxton Martinez and Matt Eckelman were All-Rookie selections.
HEAD COACH DARIN HENDRICKSON
Darin Hendrickson enters his sventh season with a career record of 533-248 at NCAA four-year institutions (198-148 at Saint Louis). Entering the 2014 season, his career win percentage is .682, ranking him eighth among active NCAA Division I head coaches. Hendrickson is second all-time at SLU with 198 wins, trailing only Bob Hughes (361 career wins).
