RINDGE, N.H. – The Pace University baseball team defeated Le Moyne College on Tuesday in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship First Round, sending the Setters to 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend, which will be hosted by nationally-ranked No. 3 and Northeast-Division top seed Franklin Pierce University from Thursday, May 12, to Saturday, May 14. Pace opens up against the host Ravens on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
GAME INFORMATION:
Northeast-10 Conference Championship Weekend – Game 6
Southwest #2 Pace vs Northeast #1 Franklin Pierce
Game Time: 3:30 p.m.
Location: Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field – Rindge, N.H.
TICKETS:
Adults: $6.00
Seniors: $4.00
Children: $4.00
NE-10 Students (w/ valid ID): $1.00
Tickets are good for the entire day, and are sold on a day-to-day basis
GAME COVERAGE:
Live Stats:
http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/sports/bsb/2015-16/boxscores/20160512_8ohe.xml
Live Video:
https://www.boxcast.com/show/#/northeast-10-baseball-championship----thursday-183067
Live video free of charge, courtesy of BoxCast and the Northeast-10 Conference
HOW WE GOT HERE:
The Setters went 11-7 against the Southwest Division this season, earning a share of the Division Title and the No. 2 seed out of the division. This gave Pace a home game in the First Round of the Championship Tournament, and matched them up with Southwest No. 3 Le Moyne on Tuesday.
With the game knotted up at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth, junior first baseman
Garrett De Lotto (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) came through with an RBI double, scoring sophomore left fielder
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney) to put the Setters up, 4-3. Graduate reliever
Tim Deegan (Levittown, NY/Kellenberg Memorial) pitched the final three innings of the game, earning the win after allowing just one hit and no runs.
ALL-CONFERENCE PERFORMERS:
Pace boasted five student-athletes on the 2016 Northeast-10 All-Conference Teams, including four on the First Team, matching the highest total in the league. Senior catcher
Frank Mayo (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) earned a spot on the First Team in his first-ever appearance on the All-Conference Team. He is joined by junior center fielder
John Kukura (New City, NY/Clarkstown South), who makes the jump from the Second Team a year ago, as well as sophomore left fielder/catcher
Michael Gulino (Meriden, CT/Maloney), who was selected to the First Team as a utility player. Senior pitcher
Dylan Mouzakes (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills) also made his first All-Conference Team with First-Team honors. Senior pitcher
Josh Garran (Old Tappan, NJ/Northern Valley Regional) tallied his second All-Conference accolade in a row, making the Third Team for the second time.
Mayo has been far and away the best defensive catcher in the NE-10 this season. He has caught 33 runners attempting to steal, and has a runners-caught-stealing percentage of .524 through 41 games. Kukura leads Pace with a .340 average, 70 hits, 14 doubles, eight triples, 41 runs scored, 14 stolen bases, a .529 slugging percentage and a .414 on-base percentage this season. Gulino is tied for the team leads with 41 runs and five home runs. He is hitting .316 with hit 11 doubles and four triples, and has knocked in 36 RBIs.
Mouzakes has had an impressive season for Pace, currently holding an 8-2 record and a 2.42 ERA. He has tossed three complete games, as well as a pair of shutouts. He has struck out 75 batters in 85.2 innings, which are the most innings in the league. Garran is 6-3 on the season with a 2.50 ERA. In 82.2 innings, he has fanned 72 hitters. He has completed four games this year.
SCOUTING THE RAVENS:
Franklin Pierce has been a nationally-ranked team the entire season, and has been locked into the top-10 for the majority of that run. Now ranked No. 3, the Ravens are 45-4 on the year, and went 20-1 against the Northeast Division to take home the Division Title.
The Ravens picked up a decisive 6-0 victory over Northeast No. 4 Assumption College on Tuesday at Pappas Field to advance to Championship Weekend. Senior starter Paul Covelle tossed a four-hit shutout for the win. Senior left fielder Kurtis White delivered the big blow with a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth.
Junior third baseman Jay Jabs took home his second straight Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year Award this season, and was one of nine Ravens picked for the All-Conference Team. Through 49 games, Jabs is hitting .379 with 13 home runs, 58 RBIs and 57 runs scored. He also has 16 stolen bases and 11 doubles on the season.
Junior outfielder Chris LaVorgna is batting .332 with 49 RBIs. Sophomore shortstop Justin Brock has a .345 average to go along with 53 runs scored and a Division II-leading 46 stolen bases.
Sophomore right-hander Anthony Matarazzo, Franklin Pierce's projected starter for Thursday's matchup with the Setters, is 10-0 on the season with a 1.49 ERA. He has 65 strikeouts in 72.2 innings, and has also completed a pair of games. Senior reliever Tanner Bird has made 19 appearances, and has accumulated an 8-0 record and three saves. Bird has fanned 57 batters in 51.1 innings, and has a miniscule ERA of 0.53 on the year.
A LOOK AT THE REST OF THE FIELD:
Northeast No. 2 Southern New Hampshire University
The Penmen enter the weekend with an overall record of 42-5 this season, having most recently defeated Northeast No. 3 Merrimack College, 8-7, in Tuesday's First Round contest. Another nationally ranked team out of the NE-10, SNHU comes in at No. 8 in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll, five spots behind Franklin Pierce.
Junior outfielder Carson Helms leads the way with a .378 batting average. He has 54 runs, 47 RBIs, eight home runs and 21 stolen bases on the year. Junior infielder Manny Cruz has a team-high 57 runs scored and is batting .376. Graduate infielder Mike Mastroberti has a league-high 12 triples, and is hitting .361 with 52 RBIs and 50 runs. Junior outfielder Derek Bauer leads the team with 58 RBIs, while graduate outfielder Ryan Gendron has hit 11 home runs.
SNHU's junior starters Ben Criscuolo and Alex Person are both 8-0 on the season. Person boasts a 2.97 ERA, while Criscuolo is close behind at 3.02. Sophomore Justin Valdespina is 8-3 with a 2.65 ERA, while senior Tim Viehoff is 8-1 with a 2.77 ERA. Viehoff leads the team with 100 strikeouts in 81.1 innings. Sophomore reliever Jake Walkinshaw leads the team with nine saves on the year and has a 1.82 ERA.
Southwest No. 4 College of Saint Rose
The Golden Knights pulled off a First Round upset on Tuesday, taking down Southwest No. 1 Adelphi University on the road, 4-0. Senior right-hander Phillip Zdanowski went the distance, scattering eight hits without allowing a run to the Panthers for the win. Junior shortstop Tyler Ungerland went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead the Golden Knights offensively. Saint Rose improved to 19-18 overall with the win.
Ungerland leads the team with an impressive .420 batting average in 36 games this season. He also holds team-highs with 30 RBIs, four home runs and a .506 on-base percentage. Nick Venier is batting .347 this year with a team-best six triples. Derek Reed has scored 32 runs and is hitting .329.
Zdanowski owns a 3.79 ERA and a 4-2 record to lead the rotation for the Golden Knights. Nick Cioffi is 4-2 as well with a 3.84 ERA. Reliever Carmine Vricciariello is 2-2 with a 1.35 ERA and two saves in 14 appearances this season. Reliever Joe Pokrentowski has seven saves on the year and a 3.48 ERA in 11 games.
Southern New Hampshire and Saint Rose will meet in Game 5 of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships, opening Thursday with a 12 p.m. matchup at Pappas Field.
Northeast-10 Conference Baseball Championship
(Seeds in parentheses)
Tuesday, May 10
First Round - Single Elimination
Game 1: (SW4) Saint Rose def. (SW1) Adelphi, 4-0
Game 2: (SW2) Pace def. (SW3) Le Moyne, 4-3
Game 3: (NE1) Franklin Pierce def. (NE4) Assumption, 6-0
Game 4: (NE2) Southern New Hampshire def. (NE3) Merrimack, 8-7
Remainder of tournament double elimination
Hosted by Franklin Pierce University
Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field (Rindge, N.H.)
Thursday, May 12
Game 5: (SW4) Saint Rose vs. (NE2) Southern New Hampshire -- Noon
Game 6: (SW2) Pace at (NE1) Franklin Pierce -- 3:30 p.m.
Game 7: (SW4) Saint Rose vs. (NE1) Franklin Pierce -- 7 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Friday, May 13
Game 8: (NE2) Southern New Hampshire vs. (SW2) Pace -- 10 a.m.
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Loser -- 1:30 p.m. (loser eliminated)
Saturday, May 14
Game 10: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner -- 4 p.m.
Game 11: Game 10 rematch*
* Game 11 only necessary if Game 9 Winner wins Game 10.
The Northeast-10 Conference Champion will earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship East Regional, scheduled for May 19-23 at the highest seed which can secure a lighted field. For more information on the Northeast-10 Conference Championships, please visit
www.Northeast10.org.
For all information regarding Pace baseball, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics) and Twitter (
@PaceUAthletics), and follow Pace baseball on Instagram (
@PaceBaseball).
