GAME DAY INFORMATION DATE: April 2-3, 2022 LOCATION: Frank Vieira Field, West Haven, Conn.   GAME DAY LINKS LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS

NEWS NEWS ROSTER ROSTER SCHEDULE SCHEDULE STATS STATS

THE LEAD
The University of New Haven baseball team picked up their fourth win at home, 12th of the season, in a 10-2 win over the Bridgeport Purple Knights. The Chargers look to extend that offense into the weekend as they host the Southern New Hampshire Penmen, who are ranked atop of the Northeast Division. First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for noon with a 9 inning game to start followed by a seven inning game. Sunday's game is to be determined because of weather.

SERIES HISTORY VS SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE
History has largely favored the Chargers when these two programs collide as New Haven holds a dominant record of 39-16 in the series. In a series that dates back to the early 80's, the Chargers won 18 games of their first 21 meetings with the Penmen. When hosting Southern New Hampshire, New Haven holds a record of 21-8. The two split a doubleheader last time they met on March 24, 2019 with New Haven winning the latter game, 1-0.

SCOUTING THE CHARGERS: 
After dropping their final three games of a four game series with the Pace Setters, last weekend, the squad defeated the Bridgeport Purple Knights by the score of 10-2 on Wednesday afternoon.

Heading into this weekend's matchup, New Haven was ranked at eighth in the National College Baseball Writers Association East Region Poll with 28 points. 

Left fielder Cole Maucere (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) tallied a pair of RBIs in the win over the Purple Knights as he continues to lead the team with 15 on the season. The freshman has been a tough out as he bats .311 to start the year while drawing a team high 15 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 .312, has scored 16 runs while stealing three bases. Only three other Chargers have hit a homerun, including Kenneth Franquiz (Bellmore. N.Y./Mepham), who went yard last weekend for his first homerun 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 ninth amongst all NE10 batters. Robert Taylor (Wolcott, Conn./The Gunnery) also holds a strong average to date as he's hit 24-68 (.353) including a team high seven extra base hits. Hunter Boag (Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck) also holds a batting average over .300 (.326) after hitting 3-3 in the win over Bridgeport.

Thomas Eletto (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley) is still a force on the mound, tallying a 1.82 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. Eletto currently ranks fifth in the NE10 in ERA. 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. Cam Guarino (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) made his first start of the season on Wednesday, allowing four hits and one walk through 4.1 innings while striking out three. It was Gary Costello (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) who picked up the win after tossing two shutout innings in relief while striking out four.

After finally being tagged for a run over the weekend, breaking up an 8.2 inning span of keeping opponents off the board, Drew Silverman (Commack, N.Y./Commack) picked up where he left off as he went 1.2 innings on Wednesday. The junior closer stills holds a 1.26 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP while recording 19 strikeouts and five saves, first in the NE10.

SCOUTING THE PENMEN:
After posting a 28-9 record for the 2021 season, the Penmen have started off hot to begin the new campaign. Entering the matchup, the Penmen are 15-4 (4-0 in conference play), as they are currently on a five game winning streak after sweeping the Stonehill Skyhawks over the weekend and defeating the Saint Anselm Hawks on Wednesday. The Penmen have yet to lose at home, holding a 7-0 record, but have been less fortunate on the road as they start the road trip with a 3-3 record.

A power hitting team, Southern New Hampshire's offense is led by Sam Henrie. The senior utility man has gone 29-74 (.392) at the plate, six of which went yard, as he leads the team with 22 RBIs. Coupled with five doubles, Henrie's .703 slugging percentage ranks fifth in the NE10. Idelson Taveras and Danniel Rivera have each gone deep four times to start the season with the former recording 14 RBIs. Rivera, who leads the team with 27 runs, ranks third in the conference in runs and steals (15). Nick Schwartz has been a tough out for the Penmen as he enters with a .388 batting average and a .516 on-base percentage.

The Penmen have a formidable one-two punch with Josh Roberge and Brandon White, who have both tallied three wins, as the pair has recorded a 2.08 and 2.20 ERAs, respectively. White leads the team with 31 strikeouts while Roberge and Angus McCloskey follow close behind with 30. White, who has pitched 28.2 innings, has held opponents to a .178 batting average while Roberge has held batters to a .180 average, himself. Another pitcher with 30 strikeouts is reliever Trevor Anibal, who has been lights out in the role, as he owns a 0.51 ERA and 0.62 WHIP through 17.2 innings while picking up two saves.

UP NEXT
New Haven will finish off their homestand with a midweek matchup with the Assumption Greyhounds on Wednesday, April 6. First pitch for the game is scheduled for 3:00 PM at Frank Vieira Field.