MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Feb. 18, 2020) – The Mercy College baseball team resumes action on Wednesday, February 19th when they play at Francis Marion. The Mavericks will then play No. 9/14 Southern New Hampshire on Thursday, Southern Connecticut State on Friday and a doubleheader against No. 34 Franklin Pierce in Myrtle Beach.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 19th 4 p.m.
Records: Mercy (1-4), Francis Marion (5-4)
Location: Florence, S.C.
Date/Time: Thursday, February 20th 6 p.m.
Records: Mercy (1-4), No. 9/14 Southern N.H. (0-3)
Location: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Date/Time: Friday, February 21st 4:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (1-4), Southern Connecticut State (1-0)
Location: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Date/Time: Saturday, February 22nd 2:30 & 5:30 p.m.
Records: Mercy (1-4), No. 34 Franklin Pierce (0-0)
Location: Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Last Meeting
Vs. Francis Marion – First Meeting
Vs. Southern N.H. – The Penmen earned a 7-4 win over the Mavericks on February 22, 2019.
Vs. Southern Connecticut State – The Owls earned a 17-9 win over Mercy on February 23, 2019.
Vs. Franklin Pierce – The Ravens earned an 8-7 victory over the Mavericks on February 24, 2019.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy enters Wednesday's game on a three-game losing streak and is coming off an 8-3 loss at No. 15 Newberry on Monday. The Mavericks have been led by ECC Player of the Week and NCBWA East Region Hitter of the Week graduate student Miguel Ortiz Sanchez who is hitting .450 (9-for-20) with three RBI and a run scored. The second baseman recorded his 100th career hit against Barton on Sunday. Freshman Nolan Giblin has started his career on a high note, batting a team-best .455 (5-for-11) with one RBI and a run scored. Graduate student Anthony Murphy and senior John Mooradian both have a team-high four RBI and Murphy was named to the ECC Honor Roll after recording a team-high two home runs. Junior Jack Kelly was also named to the ECC Honor Roll after going 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in 6.1 innings against Barton on Saturday. Senior James Jakuba pitched 5.0 innings against Barton on Saturday and has a team-high seven strikeouts. Senior Andrew Hernandez leads the bullpen as the closer with a 3.38 ERA and one save in 2.2 innings of work.
Scouting the Patriots
Francis Marion is currently one game over .500 on the season and is coming off a 7-4 win over Georgia College on Saturday. The Patriots return 17 letterwinners from last season's 28-21 squad that tied for sixth place during the Peach Belt regular season. Francis Marion has been led by Todd Mattox who is batting .324 with a team-high 11 RBI along with six runs. Sam Stonskas and Grayson Cottingham both have seven RBI and Darius Nobles is batting a team-high .444 with four doubles. The pitching staff is led by Josh Bobrowski who is 1-2 with a 1.69 ERA and team-high 26 strikeouts in 16.0 innings. Weston Rogers is 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 16.1 innings.
Scouting the Penmen
Southern New Hampshire opened their 2020 season at No. 2 Colorado Mesa this past weekend, going 0-3. The Penmen dropped a 10-1 decision in the final game of the three-game set and are coming off a season in which they went 40-15, advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Southern N.H. was selected No. 2 in the NCBWA East Region Preseason Poll. Leading Southern N.H. at the plate is senior Jake Coro who is batting .385 with a team-high five hits along with two runs and an RBI. Redshirt junior Marcus Chavez and freshman Christian Mercedes both have a team-high two RBI and junior Dakota Mulcay has four hits and two runs. The pitching staff was led by redshirt junior Alex Gomes who went 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in 5.2 innings. Junior Jeffrey Praml has pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Scouting the Owls
Southern Connecticut opened their 2020 season with a 12-11 win over Florida National in ten innings on Friday. The Owls went 20-28 last season and were led in their season opener by Anthony Zambito who had a team-high three RBI and two stolen bases. Zach Bedryczuk went 3-for-3 in the opener with three runs, two doubles and an RBI. Jack Drewry batted 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI and Connor Redahan had a team-high-tying three runs. Zach Rodgers made the start for the Owls and went 5.1 innings with five strikeouts and five runs allowed to earn a no-decision. Jared Henry pitched 1.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to earn the win.
Scouting the Ravens
Franklin Pierce will open up their season on Thursday against New York and will play Dominican on Friday before taking on Mercy on Saturday. The Ravens went 29-24 last season and won the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Ravens are No. 5 in the NCBWA East Region Preseason Poll. Franklin Pierce was led last season by Jonel Ozuna who hit .313 with 43 RBI, 28 runs and 18 doubles. John Mead hit .286 with 24 RBI and Jethro Hurt had 32 RBI as a freshman. Leading the probable returners on the pitching staff is Derek Duffy who went 6-2 last year with a 1.59 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 62.1 innings. Danny Gracia posted a 4.31 ERA as a freshman in 2019 with three saves and 42 strikeouts in 54.1 innings.
Next Game
Mercy resumes action on Thursday, February 27th when they host Bloomfield at 3 p.m.
