May 21, 2008

Watch l Gametracker | Listen | A10 Championship Central

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
DATE:Wednesday, May 21- Saturday, May 24
LOCATION:Camden, N.J.
VENUE:Campbell's Field (6,800)
TALENT:Greg Kennedy (play-by-play)
Patrick Pierson (analyst)
WEB AUDIO & VIDEO: www.GoBonnies.com
LIVE STATS: www.GoBonnies.com

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

AT A GLANCE
St. Bonaventure will make its eighth appearances at the Atlantic 10 Tournament this week as the sixth seed. The Bonnies will open up against third-seeded Duquesne on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. The winner will advance to play second seeded Charlotte in the quarterfinals on Thursday, while the loser will turn around and play and elimination game against the Temple/Rhode Island loser.

BONNIES IN A-10 POSTSEASON
The Brown and White are 11-12 all-time at the Atlantic 10 Tournament over seven appearances. St. Bonaventure has won at least one game in the conference postseason tournament five of its seven trips. The Bonnies made one of the league's most memorable runs in 2004, as they won four games in four days to claim the championship as the fourth seed.

HEAD COACHING PROFILE
ST. BONAVENTURE HEAD COACH
Larry Sudbrook
@ St. Bonaventure: 505-493 (23rd Season)
Overall: same
Vs. Atlantic 10: 219-236
At The A-10 Tournament: 11-12 (7)

MOLEY, VINCNET GARNER ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
On the eve of making their third appearance at the Atlantic 10 Tournament, St. Bonaventure seniors Randy Moley and Cody Vincent were named to the A-10 All-Conference teams, in a voting conducted by the league head coaches. Moley garnered one of the conference's top honors, collecting his second consecutive Student-Athlete of the Year award. The Lancaster, N.Y. product was also named the All-Conference first team, becoming the 10th player in program history to do so. Vincent's All-Conference second team selection is the first postseason accolade of his illustrious four-year career. It's been a banner season for Moley, who has set program single-season records with 83 hits and 60 runs scored through 51 starts. Moley leads the Atlantic 10 and ranks 15th in the nation with a .417 batting average, highlighted by 26 multi-hit performances. The speedy center fielder is one of four players in the A-10 with at least 30 stolen bases and is just the fifth Bonnie to reach that plateau in a single-season. Moley has been a force at any spot in the lineup, reaching base in 50 of 51 games resulting in a league-leading .502 onbase percentage. Moley also leads the Bonnies with 19 doubles, six home runs and is just three RBI (56) short of tying the single-season record. The All-Conference accolade has been longawaited for Vincent who will go down in history as the most complete pitcher in school history. Vincent has been "Mr. Do It All" in his senior season, posting a 6-5 record with a team-highs in earned run average (3.44), innings pitched (96.2), saves (3) and strikeouts (55). All six of Vincent's league-best six complete games have come in A-10 actions, including a pair of coast-to-coast victories in game two during the A-10 season after picking up the save in the opener.

HITTING 500
Head coach Larry Sudbrook has managed the St. Bonaventure for 23 seasons. On May 5, 2008, Sudbrook added another accolade to his already impressive baseball resume with his 500th career victory during a 4-2 A-10 win over La Salle. The victory and milestone were made even more special for Sudbrook as his son Cory, a sophomore reliever, picked up the save. In all, Sudbrook has orchestrated the Bonnies to 12 winning seasons, at least 20 wins 15 times and an Atlantic 10 Championship in 2004.

A SEASON TO REMEMBER
Senior Randy Moley entered this season a career .326 hitter over his first three years. Not even he could have predicted the senior campaign he is having. The Lancaster, N.Y. product leads the Atlantic 10 in six different statistical categories and has set program single-season records for hits (83) and runs (60). Moley began the season on a 16-game hitting streak and never looked back, finishing the regular season as the A-10 leader with a .417 batting clip. Moley's offensive numbers are staggering across the board evident by his team-leading 19 doubles, six home runs, 56 RBI, 30 stolen bases, 30 walks, .502 on-base percentage and .613 slugging percentage. The speedy center fielder has scored a run in 40 of 51 games and has at least one hit in 42 contests.

MAKING THE MOST OF THE OPPORTUNITY
When the 2008 season started, senior Josh Sova wasn't an everyday starter at first base. Sova cracked the starting lineup for good during the second weekend of the Atlantic 10 slate and has given head coach Larry Sudbrook no reason to take him. Sova leads the team and ranks third in the Atlantic with a .397 batting average in conference contests. The free-swinging lefty has equaled his three-year total of 44 hits this season and with a sizzling .450 batting average (18-40) during the month May, Sova has raised his season batting average to .328. On the season, Sova has produced 13 multi-hit games and has struck out just three times in his last 54 at-bats.

GOING OUT WITH A BANG
going out with a bang The opening month of senior T.J. Pennino's senior season didn't go exactly to plan. Nagging injuries resulted in Pennino being in and out of the starting lineup, batting just .163 through16 games. It may have been an early April fool's joke by the Meadville, Pa. product because since April hit opponents haven't been able to get him out. Pennino's .402 batting average in April and May is tops on the team as is his 12-game hit streak entering this week's Atlantic 10 Tournament. Pennino has picked up a hit in 23 of 27 games played over the last two months, including 10 multi-hit performances, and 20 of the last 21 contests.

THOU SHALL NOT STEAL
St. Bonaventure's version of the "Iron Man", junior Brandon Salerno will make his 119th consecutive start on Wednesday against Duquesne. Regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in the A-10, Salerno has thrown out 31 percent (23-73) of attempted base stealers and has picked-off runners. Salerno has backed up his defensive skills with his best season at the dish, setting career-highs with a .301 batting average, 56 hits, 11 doubles and 35 RBI.

WELCOME BACK TO WNY
After a one-year stint at Santa Fe Community College, Rochester, N.Y. native Anthony Randich made his way back to Western New York to play for the Bonnies. Randich has made an immediate impact in his first campaign in the Brown and White. Randich is second on the club with a .351 batting average, five home runs and 42 RBI. He opened his Division 1 collegiate career with a hit in 16 of his first 17 games, highlighted by a 14-game streak. Randich has also come through in the clutch, posting a .406 (28-69) batting average with runners in scoring position and 22 two-out RBI.

ST MARYS UNIVERSITY
Head coach Larry Sudbrook has made a habit of heading into Pennsylvania to recruit players. The Bona roster sports three players from St. Marys High School in junior Tristan Mulcahy and freshmen Jesse Bosnik and Brad Steinbach. Both Mulcahy and Steinbach had different intentions coming out of high school. Mulcahy headed to Edinboro to play football and Steinbach wrestled for a year at West Liberty State before coming to St. Bonaventure. Also a twosport athlete in high school, Bosnik was a highlyrecruited basketball player before becoming a full-time short stop at Fred Handler Park. Bosnik has produced 49 hits, 12 doubles and 30 RBI as one of three players to start all 51 games. The team's starting third baseman, Steinbach has also taken on the role of the pitching staff closer. A flame-throwing righty that can reach the mid-90s, Steinbach leads the team with a 3.12 ERA in 15 appearances.

SWING AWAY
St. Bonaventure can attribute its strong play in May to swinging to swinging a hot back. The Bonnies collected 10 or more hits in eight of their last eight games to close the regular season going 7-2 over that span. The Brown and White are 18-8 on the year when getting to double-digit hits. St. Bonaventure's 39 hits last week at Richmond was its highest total in an A-10 series this season.

MOLEY FEATURED IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Senior Randy Moley recieved some national recognition a few weeks ago as he was featured in the "Faces of the Crowd" section of the May 12 issue of Sports Illustrated. Moley is the first St. Bonaventure student-athulete to be featured in the magazine's weekly honor roll. His head shot and a brief bio of his accomplishments can be found on page 28 of the issue. Moley was recognized for his start to the 2008 season, going 18-for-27 to start the year. During that span, he set a program record with six hits in a win over Boston College.

A DIFFERENT BRAND OF BASEBALL
After losing sluggers Brian Pellegrini and Joe Rizzo to graduation last season, head coach Larry Sudbrook knew he would have to take a different approach to manufacturing runs this season. The Bona skipper did just that early in the season using "small ball" to get his young and inexperienced lineup use to the Division 1 level. St. Bonaventure ranks second in the Atlantic 10 and 30th in the nation with 50 team sacrifice bunts and has doubled its stolen base total from last year with 64. Senior Randy Moley leads the team with 30 stolen bases in 33 attempts and is just the third player in program history to steal 30 bases in a season. Junior Kevin Suminski is right behind Moley with 16 thefts.

SUMINSKI TABBED A-10 CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second week in a row, the St. Bonaventure baseball team drew some recognition from the conference office as junior Kevin Suminski was named the Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week on the Monday prior to the tournament. The second baseman follows in the footsteps of fellow infielder Jesse Bosnik who was named the league's Rookie of the Week last Monday. In All, four Bona baseball players have earned weekly accolades from the conference this season. Suminski guided the Bonnies to a 3-1 week that included a win over Richmond that clinched the team's third consecutive A-10 Tournament berth. The Mentor, Ohio product went 8-for-15 with seven runs scored and seven RBI over the four games. Suminski's .523 batting clip was highlighted by three multi-hit games and a 3-for-day at the dish in game two against the Spiders that included three runs scored, a two-run home run and two stolen bases. Suminski has been one of the team's most productive players at the players this season in both conference and non-conference games. For the year, he is batting .333 and is second on the team in hits (62), runs scored (58), on-base percentage (.438) and stolen bases (16). Suminski's three multi-hit games last week gave him 18 on the season.

THE 50/50 CLUB
For the first time in school history, the St. Bonaventure offensive attack has two players that have gone over 50 hits and 50 runs for a single season. Senior Randy Moley and junior Kevin Suminski are also just the second and third players, respectively, to score 50 runs in a season. Moley's 60 runs is currently a program record, but is just two runs ahead of Suminski with 58. Moley has also shattered the single-season hit total, passing Brian Pellegrini's mark of 69 set last season with 83 hits this year. Suminksi is just seven hits back of Pellegrini's-best with 62 hits on 45 singles, 11 doubles, a team-best three triples and three home runs.