SLU Baseball Begins Postseason Run

For the 4^th straight year, SLU’s baseball team will have the top seed in the A-10 tournament after once again finishing atop the conference for the regular season. However, a regular season conference win isn’t their final goal, as they’re aiming for a 3^rd Atlantic-10 postseason championship in the last 5 years (2010,2013).

For a senior class that’s been to only one NCAA tournament, the goal turns towards Omaha. Senior leaders Clay Smith and Mike Vigliarolo bring strength and consistency to the pitching rotation and batting lineup. Smith finished the season with a 2.95 ERA and 8-3 record over 91.2 innings, while opponents batted only .229 against him over the year. Vigliarolo brought consistency to a Bills lineup needing it, with a .332 average and team-leading 72 hits over 54 games-the only Billiken to start every game this season. For both, their work was enough to gain all-conference accolades.

Smith and Vigliarolo are joined on the all-conference team by junior-bomber Michael Bozarth and sophomore-slinger Brett Shimanovsky, who leads SLU’s bullpen effort, with a team leading 2.05 ERA over 23 appearances, including 5 of the team’s 11 saves for the season-a good sign for the future. Michael Bozarth leads the team with a .403 batting average, which is top 10 in the nation (despite ncaa.com not recognizing him). Combine that with a .482 OBP (20^th in the nation, also not recognized by ncaa.com) and 18 steals on 19 attempts, Bozarth sets himself up for an excellent postseason and an even better senior campaign.

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On top of the all-conference selections includes all-conference snub Jake Henson, who was in the running for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the top catcher in the nation. While his 8 dingers led the team, his presence behind the plate couldn’t be matched, making him the integral member of the Bills, and a big reason for the great seasons from Shimanovsky and Smith.

VCU will be the first matchup for SLU, starting today at around 12:30. When the team met in the beginning of May at SLU, the Bills stole all three from the Rams. But the postseason is a different monster, especially in baseball. On any given day, any team truly can beat any team, which puts the Bills on upset alert. But in the same breath, it puts them on championship alert.

SLU hopes to have a similar celebration like above in the weeks to come

Next: Potential Cardinals Pitching Trades