GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: March 30, 2022 LOCATION: Frank Vieira Field, West Haven, Conn.   GAME DAY LINKS LIVE STATS

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THE LEAD
The University of New Haven baseball team is coming off a tough stretch as they lost their final three games against the Pace Setters after winning the opening game on Friday. The Chargers will look to get back in the win column as they host a familiar opponent in the Bridgeport Purple Knights, who they played in a two game series earlier in March. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 PM on Wednesday, March 30 at Frank Vieira Field.

SERIES HISTORY VS BRIDGEPORT
History has largely favored the Chargers when these two programs collide as New Haven holds a dominant record of 66-9 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 hosting the Purple Knights, New Haven holds a record of 35-4. The two split a series earlier in the season on March 15-16 with Bridgeport winning the second game, 4-5.
 

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS: 
The Charger's strong start to the campaign took a bit of a turn in their return to Frank Vieira Field over the weekend. After winning their first game against a conference opponent, the squad dropped their past three.

New Haven was last ranked at sixth in the National College Baseball Writers Association East Region Poll with 46 points. 

Left fielder Cole Maucere (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) tallied an RBI in the series with the Setters as he continues to lead the team with 13 on the season. The freshman has been a tough out as he bats .310 to start the year while drawing a team high 13 walks. The only other Charger with double digit RBIs, so far, is Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park). The junior first baseman is New Haven's homerun leader (3) while plating ten runs. Bianco, who holds an on-base percentage of .319, has scored 15 runs while stealing three bases. Only three other Chargers have hit a homerun, including Kenneth Franquiz (Bellmore. N.Y./Mepham), who went yard in the team's most recent outing for his first as a Charger. Andrew Cain (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford), the team leader in average, also has a homerun on the season. The senior's .400 average ranks fifth amongst all NE10 batters. Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) also holds a strong average to date as he's hit 23-63 (.365) including a team high seven extra base hits.

Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) is still a force on the mound, tallying a 1.84 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The senior allowed nine hits and four walks through 7.2 innings, in his last outing, but also struck out four batters his way to his third win of the season. Bryan Pazulski (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara), who owns a 3.08 ERA and 1.52 WHIP, gave a strong performance during his time on the mound. The junior, who currently leads the team with 28 strikeouts, allowed five hits and three walks through 6.2 innings while punching out four.

Drew Silverman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) was finally tagged for a run, breaking up a 8.2 inning span of keeping opponents off the boards. The junior closer stills holds a 1.42 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP while recording 18 strikeouts and five saves, first in the NE10.

SCOUTING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS:
The Purple Knights enter the series on a one-game winning streak after dropping four of their last five games, prior to that. Despite dropping their first two games against Mercy, the Purple Knights got their first conference win of the season as they now head to West Haven to face the Chargers for third time. In their home debut with New Haven, Bridgeport split the series after picking up a 4-5 walkoff win on Wednesday, March 16.

Alex Rauso is the team leader with two homeruns and ten RBIs on the year while Jacob Rich, who also has ten RBIs, has gone yard once. Rich also leads the Purple Knights with 19 hits on 66 at-bats, giving him a .288 batting average. Following close behind is Jake Woods, who has racked up 18 hits while drawing 13 walks. The Knights have plenty of speed on the bases as sophomore outfielder Justin Leigh and Conall Roberts have combined for 15 stolen bases, with the former leading with eight.

Justin Nyarady has recorded a 2.90 ERA through 31 innings while striking out 25 batters. The junior has also held opponents to a .239 batting average. Jason Giambra, Justin Hafele, and Andrew Francella have been responsible for two wins, each, with the latter owning a 5.00 ERA. Francella is coming off a complete game win in which he only allowed six hits and one walk while striking out seven. Jason Burger, who is still in search of his first win of the season, has punched out 22 batters across 25 innings. Matthew Wirz and Justin Hafele have combined for five saves on the season, with the latter recording three.

UP NEXT
New Haven will continue their homestand with a three game series with NE10 rival Southern New Hampshire. The two will play a doublheader on Saturday before playing once more on Sunday. Both games are set to start at noon at Frank Vieira Field.