GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: May 11, 2021 LOCATION: Frank Vieira Field West Haven, CT   GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS LIVE VIDEO

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE STATS 2021 STATS

THE LEAD

The New Haven baseball team will play Pace for the seventh time in this shortened 2021 baseball season. This time in a first-round, single-elimination playoff game between the third-seeded Chargers and sixth-seeded Setters on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. By virtue of being the higher seed, the blue and gold will host the game at Frank Vieira Field. You can read the release on the seeding here - UNH Hosts Pace Tuesday. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m. Ironically, the Chargers last series was against Pace back on May 1-2, 2021. UNH hasn't played since, having had their last four games canceled - two against Le Moyne on May 5, 2021 because of weather and two against Saint Anselm this past weekend when the Hawks had to make up Northeast Division games. All the action from Vieira Field will be broadcast live on the Charger Sports Network on NE10 NOW. Live stats will also be available via NewHavenChargers.com. 

SOUTHWEST DIVISION PLAYOFF SEEDING

                            NE10    Win Pct.

1.      Adelphi         14-7    .667
2.      Le Moyne     13-7    .650
3.      New Haven   8-7     .533  
4.      AIC                10-11  .476 
5.      SCSU            7-9     .438
6.      Pace              9-13   .409
7.      Saint Rose    6-13   .316

CLICK HERE FOR THE NE10 BASEBALL PLAYOFF BRACKET

UPDATED SPECTATOR POLICY

With the support of the Northeast-10 Conference Presidents, the University of New Haven updated its Spring 2021 Spectator Policy in attempts to allow parents of our athletes to attend contests this spring. The new policy (as of April 9) states that University of New Haven students, faculty and staff may attend by showing cleared status in CoVerified. In addition, each participating University of New Haven student-athlete is allowed two (2) off-campus guests per contest, provided that prior to arrival, off-campus guests must provide proof of full vaccination or submit a negative CoVID-19 test result from within 72 hours of the start of the contest. Full vaccination is defined as two week post receiving a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

SERIES HISTORY VS PACE

UNH holds a 29-23 all-time advantage over the Setters. However, Pace won three of four against the Chargers two weekends ago and has won six of the seven meetings in 2021. Pace defeated UNH in the first three games of their weekend series by scores of 13-8, 4-1, 6-0, before the Chargers used a great mound effort from Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) (Locust Valley, NY/Locust Valley) to win the finale by a 6-2 count. The Blue and Gold have a 14-11 edge in games played in West Haven and a slim 18-17 mark against Pace in NE10 play. 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 seventh in batting average in the NE10. The Chargers are led offensively by former NE10 Rookie of the Week Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) (Wolcott, CT/The Gunnery). Taylor leads the Blue and Gold with a .404 batting average and seven doubles. He is tied for the team lead with 12 RBIs. Taylor is tied with Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) and Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) (Danville, VT/St. Johnsbury Academy) with 12 RBIS. Bianco is second in batting average, hitting at a .368 clip. His 21 hits and four home runs lead the team. Noah Budzk (Cromwell, CT/Cromwell) is third on the Chargers with a .339 batting average. On the mound, Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) leads the way. In his three starts, Eletto is 2-0 and pitching to a 1.33 ERA. He also has a 18-2 strikeout to walk ratio. The Chargers have eight wins from six different pitchers. Eletto and Brandon LaManna (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) ((Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) have two apiece, while 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) have all collected one win. LaManna's wins have come in relief, including picking up a win in the Chargers midweek game against AIC on April 28, 2021. LaManna also has two saves, has yet to allow an earned run, and has a 15-1 strikeout to walk ratio.

SCOUTING THE SETTERS

As a team, Pace is hitting .271 placing them one spot ahead of the Chargers in the NE10 statistics. Leading the way is Matt Almonte. He sets the Pace with a .396 batting average, which leads the team. He is also first in hits (42), doubles (7), home runs (6), runs (27), total bases (69), and stolen bases (12). Mitchell McCabe and Harrison Treble are the other Pace hitters with an average above .300. McCabe is hitting .333 with 25 hits, 18 RBI and even doubles. Treble has 32 hits and is hitting .317. He has five doubles, four triples, two home runs, and 24 RBIs. On the mound, Christian Arch and Thomas Ippolito have thrown the most innings. That duo has helped Pace to a 4.95 team ERA, good enough for fourth in the NE10. Arch has made 10 appearances with six starts and sports an unblemished 5-0 record. In his 41 innings pitched, he has a.220 ERA with a 44-8 strikeout to walk ratio. Opponents are only batting .209 against Arch. Ippolito has thrown the second-most innings, pitching to a 3.15 ERA. The Setters have collected only four saves - one each from Ippolito, Nelson Arroyo, Frankie Givliano, and Chris Vivenzo. 

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 winner of Tuesday's first-round game will play the winner of 2nd-seeded Le Moyne and 7th-seeded Saint Rose, also being played Tuesday. The highest remaining seed will host the game on Thursday, May 13. Should the Chargers advance to Thursday's game, they would travel to Le Moyne if the Dolphins win. UNH would host Saint Rose, should the Golden Knights pull the upset. 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.