GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: March 25-27, 2022 LOCATION: Frank Vieira Field, West Haven, Conn.   GAME DAY LINKS WATCH LIVE STATS

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THE LEAD
The University of New Haven baseball team is coming off a sweep of the Caldwell Cougars in a doubleheader on Sunday. The Chargers will take on the Pace Setters for a four game series, Saturday's game being a doubleheader, in their return to Frank Vieira Field. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM on Friday, March 25 with Saturday and Sunday's games are both set for noon.

SERIES HISTORY VS PACE
In one of the more historic rivalries, the Chargers hold the edge over the Setters with a 30-23 all-time record in the series. When hosting Pace, New Haven has gone 15-11, as opposed to a 12-12 record when in Pleasantville. Dating back to the early 70's, the first time these two met was on May 13, 1972 in a doubleheader in which the Chargers took both, 5-4 and 2-1, respectively. The last time they met was on May 11, 2021 and it was a victorious 4-3 effort for the Chargers.
 

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS: 
The Chargers continue their strong start to the campaign, as the team heads to the Empire State with a 10-4 record after picking up a pair of wins over Caldwell on Sunday.

The Chargers remain ranked at six in the National College Baseball Writers Association East Region Poll with 46 points. 

Despite being held without a hit on Sunday, Cole Maucere (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) has delivered some timely hits for this New Haven offense. The freshman outfielder still leads the team with 12 RBIs while tied for 20th in the NE10. Trailing in second is junior first baseman Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), who went 2-4 in the last series with one run scored, with nine. Bianco has been the Charger's power threat, so far this season, as he's hit three homeruns to date. Only two other Chargers have homered including Hunter Boag (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck), who played a key role in the victories over Caldwell. The senior infielder went 3-6 in the series with two RBIs and two runs including a solo shot in second game. Boag now places third on the team with eight runs batted in, this year. The only other batter with a homerun is Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), who has gone 17-38 for a team leading .447 average. The senior utility man is currently ranked third in the conference in batting average, trailing only Kyle Olson of Adelphi and Brandon Gaul of American Int'l. After scoring once again, Bianco still holds the lead in runs with 13 while Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) follows with 12. Noah Budzik (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell) and Cain have each been plated 10 times with the latter scoring twice over the weekend. On the bases, New Haven speed has come mainly from Bianco and Tyler Wells (Danville, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) as the pair has combined for six steals, so far.

Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) continues to be a force on the mound, tallying a 1.64 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. The senior only threw two innings in his last outing but kept both scoreless as he struck out three. Bryan Pazulski (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), who owns a 2.75 ERA and 1.63 WHIP, picked up his third win of the season in game one of the doubleheader after allowing only one earned run through 4.2 innings while striking out eight. The junior currently has the most strikeouts on the team with 24 while Eletto is close behind with 22.

 Drew Silverman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) has been nearly unhittable in the closer role, registering a 0.77 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP while holding opponents to a 0.125 batting average. The junior has recorded five saves, first in the conference, in addition to 18 strikeouts through 11.2 innings.

SCOUTING THE SETTERS:
The Setters enter the matchup with a 7-6 record, after winning six of their last nine games. The team split a doubleheader with Goldey-Beacom on Sunday in their last time out.

Leading the Pace offense is graduate outfielder Matt Almonte, who has tallied five homeruns, 19 hits and 17 RBIs while batting .404, all of which are team leading stats. Almonte's five homeruns are tied for first in the NE10 while his .766 slugging percentage ranks fourth amongst conference batters. In the team's last series, Almonte went 6-9 at the plate while racking up two homeruns and six RBIs in the first game. Luke Jacobi, who is a successful 9-9 on steal attempts, has also been a run producer for the Setters. Another graduate outfielder, Jacobi has driven in 12 runs while scoring 11 times, himself. Another threat on the bases is Matthew Rinaldi, who has stolen six bases on the season. With a .353 average, the junior outfielder has recorded 18 hits, two of which were homeruns, as he holds a .450 on-base percentage.

Patrick Gleason has been the team's workhorse on the mound, owning a 3.15 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP across 20.0 innings pitched. The junior has struck out 26 batters for a conference 12th best. Michael Roll holds a 2.45 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 14.2 innings pitched as he has held opponents to a 2.45 batting average. Dan Brown and Marco Siracusa each have recorded two wins with the latter registering a 3.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Two Setters have recorded a save on the season, Nelson Arroyo and Patrick Gleason.

UP NEXT
New Haven will stay home as they host a familiar opponent, the Bridgeport Purple Knights, on Wednesday, March 30. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM at Frank Vieira Field.