GAME DETAILS
Saint Louis (16-22, 7-2 A-10) vs. Saint Joseph's (18-14, 6-3 A-10)
Friday, April, 22, 2016 | Live Stats
Saturday, April 23, 2016 | Live Stats
Sunday, April 24, 2016 | Live Stats
St. Louis, Mo. (Billiken Sports Center)

PREVIEW
The Billikens host a pivotal Atlantic 10 Conference three-game series against Saint Joseph's University on April 22-24. Entering the series, Saint Louis sits atop the A-10 standings with a 7-2 record, while St. Joe's is in third place at 6-3. 

PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday: RHP Matt Eckelman (SLU) vs. LHP Lucas Rollins (SJU)
Saturday: RHP Miller Hogan (SLU) vs. RHP Tim Brennan (SJU)
Sunday: LHP Devin Mahoney (SLU vs. RHP Tim Ponto (SJU)

#ObscureStatOfTheWeek
25 of the Billikens' 35 steals this season have come in Billiken victories. Sniatynski has six swipes and Bozarth has 11 in wins. 

ABOUT THE BILLIKENS
At the plate, Saint Louis is led by Josh Bunselmeyer, who leads the team in batting average (.312), on-base percentage (.412) and slugging percentage (.617). He is second in the A-10 with 10 HR and leads the conference with 41 RBIs. Lead off hitter Michael Bozarth leads the Atlantic 10 with 18 stolen bases (34th in NCAA).  As a team, the Billikens are 33rd in the NCAA with 34 home runs this season.  

ALUMNI WEEKEND
Saturday's contest will be the annual Alumni Weekend for Billikens Baseball. Saint Louis invites all baseball alumni to come out to the Billiken Sports Center to support the team. Barbecue and drinks will be provided for Billiken Alumni.

CATCHING ON
Braxton Martinez is thriving in his first season as a catcher. When he catches for the Billikens, he hits .377 with a .476 on-base percentage and a .660 slugging percentage (16 games). Martinez has six doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs in that role.

BASH BROTHERS
The Billikens  3-4-5 hitters of Josh Bunselmeyer, Braxton Martinez and Trent Leimkuehlerhave been among the top power threats in the Atlantic 10 this season. Bunselmeyer is second in the A-10 with 10 home runs (27th nationally), while Martinez and Leimkuehler are tied at sixth with six HR each. Bunselmeyer leads the A-10 with 41 RBIs (42nd nationally).

POWER CORE
In addition to the "Bash Brothers" James Morisano has six home runs this season. No other team in the Atlantic 10 has four representatives in the conference top 10. 

STREAKING
Braxton Martinez has the Billikens' longest hitting and on-base streaks this season at 18 and 15 games respectively. Josh Bunselmeyer has the team's longest active on-base streak at 10 games while MIchael Cusenza is riding a four-game hitting streak.

BLAZING BOZARTH
Michael Bozarth leads the Billikens and Atlantic 10 with 18 steals so far this season. In his career, Bozarth has 65 steals, the fourth most in SLU history, and 12th among active NCAA Division I student-athletes. He is on pace to be the third Billiken with 70 career steals. 

BULLIES IN THE BULLPEN
The Billikens have three pitchers in the bullpen with at least 20 IP and sub-3.00 ERAs (Brett Shimanovsky, Ryan Lefner and Nick Vichio). Lefner leads the 'pen with a .185 batting average against. Shimanovsky leads the bullpen with a 2.19 ERA. Vichio has been serving as the SLU closer, leading the Bills with five saves. 

VICHIO DEALING OVER LAST 14
In his past 15 appearances, SLU closer Nick Vichio has recorded five saves. He has a 1.52 ERA in that time with 19 strikeouts and six walks. Opposing hitters have been held to a .143 average against Vichio in that time.

ECK'S GONNA GIVE IT TO YA
Saint Louis starting pitcher Matt Eckelman has been solid over his last seven starts. He has a 6-0 record with a 2.15 ERA, 44 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched. He has held the opposition to a .224 average in that span. 

UPCOMING MILESTONES
• Michael Bozarth has 65 career steals. He is the fourth Billiken to reach 60 career steals. SLU's record is 80.
• Head coach Darin Hendrickson has 796 career wins, four from 800.
• Braxton Martinez has 243 career hits, sixth among active NCAA DI student-athletes. Only two Billikens have ever surpassed 250 hits: Mike Vigliarolo (2012-15) and Pat Conreaux (91-94)
• Martinez has 365 total bases, fifth among NCAA DI athletes and seventh all-time at SLU. 
• Bozarth has 146 runs scored in his career, eighth among active NCAA DI athletes. Only four Billikens have ever scored 150 times. 

BILLKENS IN THE TOP 100
Over the summer, D1Baseball.com named Saint Louis as one of the top 100 baseball programs of the “modern era.” Programs were rated by recent success (within 5-10 years), coaching staff quality, facilities, scholarship/financial aid situation, conference dynamics and recruiting/player development. 

IT'S GETTING DRAFTY
Perfect Game named Braxton Martinez as the 16th-best senior in the NCAA entering the season. In its preseason Atlantic 10 preview, D1Baseball named Michael Bozarth, Matt Eckelman and Martinez among the top prefessional prospects in the Atlantic 10 for the 2016 draft. James Morisano and Nick Vichio were mentioned for the 2017 draft. 

FOUR-PEAT
The 2015 SLU baseball team is the first team to win four consecutive Atlantic 10 regular-season titles since the Billikens joined the A-10 in 2006. Only four other teams have won four consecutive A-10 regular season titles in conference history:
2003-06 Rhode Island
1994-99 UMass
1986-93 Rutgers
1984-88 West Virginia
(From 1981-92, 1996-2000 and 2002-05 the Atlantic 10 played with a divisional format in which two champions were named)

HEAD COACH DARIN HENDRICKSON
Darin Hendrickson enters his ninth season with a career record of 602-290-1 at NCAA four-year institutions (267-190-1 at Saint Louis). Entering the 2016 season, his career win percentage is .674, ranking him 10th among active NCAA Division I head coaches. Hendrickson is second all-time at SLU with 267 wins, trailing only Bob Hughes (361 career wins).

SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S
The Hawks are led by one of the top offensive threats in the A-10 in Deon Stafford. He posts a .376 average, .477 on-base percentage and a .712 slugging percentage. Stafford leads the Atlantic 10 in home runs (11), on-base percentage and slugging percentage. On the mound, LHP Lucas Rollins gets the ball on Fridays. He has a 1-3 record with a 3.32 ERA, 49 strikeouts and five walks in 43.1 innings pitched. Saturday starter Tim Brennan leads the team with a 2.30 ERA and a .207 batting average against.