GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: May 1-2, 2021 LOCATION: Finnerty Field Pleasantville, NY   GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS LIVE VIDEO

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE STATS 2021 STATS

UNH Baseball Heads to Pace For Key NE10 Weekend Series

THE LEAD

Fresh off a series split with SCSU last weekend and a mid-week win over AIC, the UNH baseball team will head south for a four-game set against NE10 Southwest Division opponent Pace this weekend. The games will be played  on Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 with both doubleheaders slated for first pitch at Noon. The series will feature the typical NE10 format of games being played in the 9-7-7-9 inning structure. Thus, Saturday's doubleheader will feature a nine-inning game first, followed by a seven-inning game. Sunday will be the reverse format.

UNH enters the game in second place in the Southwest Division standings with a 7-6 (7-4 NE10) mark in NE10 play. Pace is fifth in the standings with an 11-10 overall record, including a 6-8 mark in league play.

The two teams did play twice already this season, a non-league doubleheader to open the season. Pace won both games by scores of 9-3 and 7-3 (8 innings) back on Sunday, March 21, 2021.

All the action from Finnerty Field in Pleasantville, NY will be broadcast live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW. Live stats will also be available via NewHavenChargers.com. 

SERIES HISTORY VS PACE

This series will total over 50 games when it concludes on Sunday. UNH holds a 28-20 advantage in their first 48 meetings. UNH holds a slight 11-9 lead in games played at Pace. Similarly, the Blue and Gold have a 17-14 mark against Pace in NE10 play. The last 10 games have been evenly split with both teams winning five times. Pace has won the last three games, including the doubleheader sweep earlier this season. Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) (Danville, VT/St. Johnsbury Academy) and Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) both had two hits in the Chargers 9-3 loss in the first game. UNH mustered only two hits against Pace pitching in the nightcap, a 7-3 extra-inning win for the Setters. The first-ever meeting took place on May 13, 1972 when the Chargers swept a doubleheader by scores of 5-4 and 2-1. 

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS

UNH enters the weekend series ranked third in batting average in the NE10. The Chargers are led offensively by reigning NE10 Rookie of the Week Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) (Wolcott, CT/The Gunnery). Taylor leads the Blue and Gold with a .441 batting average and five doubles. He is second with 11 RBIs. Noah Budzk (Cromwell, CT/Cromwell) is tied with Wells with a .375 batting average. Budzik is first with 18 hits and 17 runs scored. Wells paves the way with 12 RBIs and is tied for second with 15 hits. On the mound, Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) (Locust Valley, NY/Locust Valley) leads the way. In his three starts, Eletto is 1-0 and pitching to a 2.03 ERA. He also has a 12-2 strikeout to walk ratio. The Chargers have seven wins from six different pitchers. Eletto, Brandon LaManna (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) ((Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West), Izaiya Mestre (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) (Pittsfield, MA/Taconic), Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) Seaford, NY/Seaford), Cam Guarino (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth), and Bryan Pazulski (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) (Media, PA/Cardinal O'Hara). LaManna has notched a pair of wins in relief, including picking up a win in the Chargers midweek game against AIC. LaManna also has two saves, has yet to allow an earned run, and has a 14-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

SCOUTING THE SETTERS

Pace's strength is their pitching. They are fourth in the NE10 in Team ERA (4.63). Christian Arch is 4-0 with a 1.77 ERA and an even more impressive 35-5 strikeout to walk ratio in his 31.1 innings of work. Opposing batters are only hitting .222 off Arch. Michael Roll has also won four games in his eight appearances with a 38-19 strikeout to walk ratio. Thomas Ippolito throws to a 1.90 ERA with opposing batters only hitting .217 off him. Matt Almonte is the Setters best stick at the plate. He leads the team in batting average (.413), hits (33), home runs (4), RBIs (21), and runs scored (24). Andrew Primm is another solid bat. He is hitting .385 with 15 hits and 13 RBIs.

TAYLOR NAMED NE10 ROOKIE OF WEEK FOR WEEK SEVEN

New Haven outfielder Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) (Wolcott, CT/The Gunnery) became the first Charger to earn NE10 accolades this spring when he was named Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week for the period of April 19-25, 2021. Taylor helped the Blue and Gold to a 3-3 week in their six games. Starting each game, Taylor started the week with a three-hit effort in a doubleheader at St. Rose on Monday, April 19, 2021. He closed the week with four hits in a doubleheader against city-rival Southern Connecticut on Saturday, April 24, 2021. He closed the week batting .474, collecting a team-high nine hits and collected one hit in five of the six games. He had six extra-base hits, including four doubles, a triple, and a home run.  

POST SEASON PLANS
As announced by the conference office on April 1st, the NE10 has adopted a postseason plan that includes all 14 teams qualifying for the conference championship. The Championship will be conducted in divisional play until the championship series. With seven teams in each division, the top seeded team will receive a first-round bye with the highest seeds, 2-4, hosting first-round games on Tuesday, May 11. Semifinal match-ups will take place on Thursday, May 13 with a best of three divisional championship series set for Sunday, May 16 and if necessary, Monday, May 17. The NE10 Championship Series, another best two of three series, is scheduled for Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22.

Playoff Dates
Tuesday, May 11 - Southwest Division First Round
Thursday, May 13 - Southwest Division Semifinal
Sunday, May 16/Monday, May 17 - Southwest Division Championship Series (Best 2 of 3)
Friday, May 21/Saturday, May 22 - Northeast-10 Conference Championship Series (Best 2 of 3)

NE10 Championship Baseball Bracket (PDF)

THE 2021 SCHEDULE

As recently announced by the league, the NE10 adopted a divisional format for 2021 – Northeast and Southwest – with all schools slated to play a 24-game conference schedule. Series will consist of four games on weekends in doubleheader format, while schools maintain the ability to extend the weekend series to three days or alter the days in which they play in accordance with academic calendars. New Haven will play in the Southwest Division which is made up of seven teams including Adelphi, American International, Le Moyne, Pace, Saint Rose and Southern Connecticut. In addition to its 24-game conference schedule, New Haven will play three non-divisional dates, including one date against a Northeast Division opponent, Saint Anselm, bringing their total scheduled games for 2021 to 29.

CHARGERS FIFTH IN PRESEASON POLL

In a poll of the conference's 14 head coaches, the New Haven baseball team was selected to finish fifth, among the seven teams in the Southwest Division. The Chargers received 56 points, three shy of a third place tie with Pace and Southern Connecticut. Adelphi and Le Moyne hold the top two positions in the preseason poll, with the Panthers earning 86 points and eight first place votes. Le Moyne garnered 74 points and three first place votes. Southern New Hampshire was a near unanimous choice to win the Northeast Division earning 12 of the 14 possible first place votes and a total of 90 points.

NEW HAVEN REGIONALLY RANKED TO OPEN 2021 SEASON

In the weekly tally conducted by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, New Haven was ranked seventh in the East Region Poll. The poll, which is voted on by a nine-member panel, ranks the top-10 teams in the East Region which is made up of three conferences; The Northeast-10, the East Coast Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. Southern New Hampshire was the unanimous No. 1 team in the most recent poll and leads a group of four Northeast-10 teams that make up the top-four in the poll.

UP NEXT

The lone home date remaining on the 2021 Chargers schedule is a doubleheader scheduled against Southwest Division leader Le Moyne on Wednesday, May 5 at 1:00 pm. The Blue and Gold will close out regular season play with a road trip to Manchester, NH to take on Northeast Division opponent Saint Anselm on Saturday, May 8 in a non-league contest. You can watch all the action broadcast live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW. Live stats will also be available via NewHavenChargers.com.