PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University Baseball team has announced their schedule for the upcoming 2015 season. The schedule includes 31 games against Northeast-10 Conference opponents.
The schedule begins with a trip south to Melbourne, Florida when the Setters will play a pair of doubleheaders on back-to-back days against Florida Institute of Technology on February 14th and 15th. Then, after a 12 day hiatus, the Setters return to the diamond when they head to Silver Lake Park in Harrison, NY to face off with Bentley University in a three game weekend series February 27, 28 and March 1.
The next contest for Pace is again at Silver Lake Park in Harrison, NY on March 3rd when they square off with last year's winner of the NCAA Division II East Regional, St. Thomas Aquinas College. Then, one day later they head to Oakdale, N.Y. to take on Dowling College, another member of last season's NCAA Tournament. Pace returns home for a series of six consecutive games starting on Thursday, March 5th. After the home opener on the 5th against Chestnut Hill College, Dominican College comes to town for a doubleheader on March 7th, and a single game on the 8th. Following a game against Queens College on March 10th, the home-stand comes to an end with a Wednesday, March 11th contest against Concordia College.
Saturday, March 14th starts five neutral site games for the Setters at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina. The first of two games on the 14th is against the University of Findlay. Then, hours later the Setters square off against NE-10 rival Merrimack College. Pace next faces off in a single game on the 15th against Dominican before a pair of games against Dowling and NE-10 foe Franklin Pierce University on March 16th.
The next five games of the month are back home for the Setters. They first play a doubleheader against Assumption on March 21st before hosting Merrimack on the 22nd of March. The fifth game is a single contest against Nyack College on Tuesday, March 24th. On March 25th the Setters head back on the road for four games, the first of which is a single game against Adelphi University. Next, Pace heads to New Haven, Connecticut to take on the Southern Connecticut State University Owls in a doubleheader on March 28th. They conclude the three-game series against the Owls on the road on March 30th. The month concludes with a home matchup against New Haven on March 31st.
April starts with 11 consecutive road games for Pace. First, a three-game series against The College of Saint Rose as the two teams play a single game on the 3rd before facing each other in a doubleheader on April 4th. The Setters head to Bronxville, N.Y. to face Concordia on April 7th before beginning six consecutive NE-10 road games. First, on April 8th, Pace plays Adelphi at 3:30 p.m. Next is a series of doubleheaders for Pace as they have a twin bill against Saint Anselm College on the 11th before playing against Saint Michael's College on the 12th. The road trip concludes with a pair of games, first against New Haven on April 14th followed by St. Thomas Aquinas on April 16th.
Seven of April's final nine games for the Setters will be played in Pleasantville, as Pace begins a three-game series against American International College with a doubleheader on the 18th and a single game on the 19th. Then, the Setters travel to Nyack on the 21st of April before returning home for a quartet of games. Pace squares off with Adelphi on April 22nd and then plays the University of Bridgeport on back-to-back days beginning on April 25th. Then, after a home matchup with New Haven on April 28th, the Setters end the month with their final road contest on April 30th against Dominican. The Setters end the season with a trio of home games against Le Moyne College as they play a doubleheader on May 1st before a single game on May 2nd to conclude the regular season schedule.
The Setters return a core group of players for the new campaign. Sophomore
John Kukura is the highest returning batting average for Pace. He ended last season hitting .271 at the dish with 26 hits, seven RBI, and nine runs scored. Senior
Tom Midolo returns as the top power hitter for Pace after ranking second on the team last season with three long balls. He posted a .250 batting average with 14 runs batted in and a team-best nine doubles. Midolo also ranked second on the team with a .382 slugging percentage. Junior outfielder
Michael Viegas ended 2014 with 21 hits and ten runs scored. Viegas also drew ten walks, and committed just one error in the outfield all season.
On the mound, Pace brings back a solid group of players highlighted by senior
Tim Deegan who led the Setters with a 1.80 earned run average in 2014. Deegan led the team with 55 innings pitched and went 3-4 with 26 strikeouts and just nine walks. Senior
Jonathan Chudy returns to the squad after posting a 2-4 record with a 3.58 earned run average last season. Chudy added a team-best 39 strikeouts in 50.1 innings of work.
Dylan Mouzakes also returns for his junior campaign after tossing 42.2 innings last year with a 1-4 record, 3.59 ERA, and 34 strikeouts. Senior
Robert Rizzitelli returns after missing the 2014 season because of injury. As a junior in 2013, Rizzitelli posted a 2-3 record with a 3.74 ERA while averaging 11.2K/9IP.
