GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: March 15-16, 2022 LOCATION: Seaside Park, Bridgeport, Conn.   GAME DAY LINKS WATCH LIVE STATS (Tue) | LIVE STATS (Wed)

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THE LEAD
The University of New Haven baseball team is coming off a series sweep of the Mercy Mavericks over the weekend. The double-header victory kicked off the Chargers's home debut as they will now head down the coastline to take on in-state rival Bridgeport for a weekday series. The squad will play two games at Seaside Park, one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday, as both games are set to start at 3:00 PM.

SERIES HISTORY VS BRIDGEPORT
History has largely favored the Chargers when these two programs collide as New Haven holds a dominant record of 65-8 in the series. In a series that dates back to the 70's, the Chargers won a consecutive 56 games over the Purple Knights. When hosted by Bridgeport, New Haven holds a record of 25-4. The last time these two played was April 3, 2019 and it resulted in a 4-15 loss for the Chargers.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS: 
The Chargers are off to a great start to their 2022 campaign as they will enter Tuesday's matchup with a 7-3 record. Despite dropping their first two games of the season, the Chargers have won seven of their last eight, including a series sweep over the Mercy Mavericks in their home debut.

Cole Maucere (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) continues to make highlights for the Charger's offense as he racked up three RBIs on 2-5 hitting in the Mercy series. The freshman outfielder has now recorded an RBI in eight consecutive games and is currently tied for 13th in the NE10 with 12 runs batted in. In a comeback effort to start the first game off, Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) got things going with a two-run shot to left field, his first homerun of the season. After hitting 4-5 in the weekend series, Cain leads the Chargers with a .500 batting average with the next highest being Maucere with .382. Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) and Noah Budzik (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) each recorded two hits in the series, both coming in game one, with the latter reaching base via walk, as well. The pair have accounted for 21 of the Charger's runs, with Taylor leading the team with 11. Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) is still in front of the pack when it comes to homeruns but the junior first baseman also leads in another way. Bianco and Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) are tied for first on the team with steals (3), while the former stole home in the sixth inning of game one to tie the game.

Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) continues to dominate on the mound, racking up 1.80 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP through 20 innings. The senior righty picked up his second win of the season after pitching a complete game in game one, in which he allowed three earned runs and struck out seven. Also with two wins on the season, Bryan Pazulski (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) has recorded a 3.00 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. The junior has struck out 16 batters so far this season as he holds opponents to a .279 average.

Drew Silverman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) has tallied three saves in the closing role while striking out 13 batters. The junior closer has allowed one earned run through 7.1 innings as he owns a 1.23 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS:
The Purple Knights enter the series on a seven-game skid after winning three of their first four games. In their last three games, the Purple Knights have been outscored 43-6 including a 10-0 shutout to the Adelphi Panthers in their most recent.

Despite their record, the Knights have not yet made an appearance at Seaside Park this season. The team will make their home debut against New Haven on Tuesday afternoon.

Jacob Rich and Alex Rauso lead the team with one homerun and five RBIs, each. Sopohmore outfielder Justin Leigh, who has racked up a team leading 11 hits, also has five RBIs to start the season. Freshman outfielder Michael Fletcher holds a .333 batting average while he and Leigh have stolen four bases, each.

Justin Nyarady has recorded a 4.09 ERA through 11 innings while striking out 10 batters. The junior has also held opponents to a .175 batting average. Jason Giambra and Andrew Francella have been responsible for two of the team's three wins with the former owning a 6.52 ERA. Anthony Martino has been the Purple Knight's leader when it comes to strikeouts as he's punched out 11 on the year.

UP NEXT
New Haven head to New Jersey for a Sunday double-header with Caldwell. First pitch for the double-header is scheduled for 12:00 PM at Kiwanis Oval on Sunday, March 20.