MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Feb. 24, 2022) – The Mercy College baseball team heads down to Myrtle Beach for four games this weekend. The Mavericks will face RV Felician on Friday, February 25th at 12 p.m., will face No. 9/11 Southern New Hampshire for a doubleheader on Saturday, February 26th at 2 & 5 p.m. and will conclude the trip with a matchup against No. 39 Franklin Pierce on Sunday, February 27th at 9 a.m.

Who, When and Where

Date/Time: Friday, February 25th 12 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-2), RV Felician (0-3)
Location: Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Date/Time: Saturday, February 26th 2 & 5 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-2), No. 9/11 Southern N.H. (0-0)
Location: Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Date/Time: Sunday, February 27th 9 a.m.
Records: Mercy (2-2), No. 39 Franklin Pierce (0-0)

Scouting the Mavericks

·         Mercy is coming off a sweep of RV Le Moyne and No. 14 Goldey-Beacom on Sunday afternoon in Cary, North Carolina. The Mavericks earned a 7-6 win over Le Moyne and a 6-5 win over the Lightning to improve to 2-2 on the year.

·         Mercy was picked third in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 18-11 last season, qualifying for the ECC Tournament for the first time since 2010. The Mavericks set a school record with 14 ECC wins and had their first winning record overall since 1990.

·         Freshman Jaden Caballero was named ECC Player of the Week after hitting a team-high .412 (7-for-17) with two RBI, two stolen bases and three runs scored in his first four games as a Maverick.

·         Senior Jonathan Diforio was named ECC Pitcher of the Week after tossing six innings with just two runs allowed and four strikeouts to earn a no-decision in Mercy's win over No. 14 Goldey-Beacom on Sunday.

·         Graduate student Robert Wootten and senior Nikko Liguori were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll. The duo both recorded a team-high five RBI and combined for three runs and eight hits.

·         Junior Justin Glennerster hit .308 to open the season with four hits and one run scored and the reigning ECC Rookie of the Year junior Nolan Giblin had two RBI and four hits in the Mavericks first four games.

·         Junior Anthony Burgio made the season-opening start against Goldey-Beacom on Saturday and went five innings with just two runs allowed and seven strikeouts to earn a no-decision. Freshman Matthew Manzoeillo was strong out of the bullpen, allowing just one earned run in three innings.

·         Mercy earned their first win over a ranked team since 2018 when they defeated St. Thomas Aquinas.

·         The Mavericks are hitting .230 as a team and have a 7.25 team ERA through four games.

·         Mercy is looking to beat Felician for the first time since February 22, 2008.

·         The Mavericks are searching for their first ever win against Southern New Hampshire.

·         Mercy looks to beat Franklin Pierce for the first time since March 18, 2012.

Scouting the Golden Falcons

·         Felician opened their season with three straight losses to nationally-ranked Nova Southeastern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of last week.

·         The Golden Falcons will face Southern N.H. on Thursday before playing Mercy on Friday.

·         Felician was picked second in the North Division of the CACC Preseason Poll after winning the North Division last season following a season in which they went 18-13.

·         Felician has won five consecutive CACC league, South Division or North Division regular-season crowns.

·         The Golden Falcons are ranked No. 8 in the NCBWA East Region Top 10 poll.

·         Freshman Luis De La Cruz was named CACC Rookie of the Week on Monday after going 3-for-9 during Felician's three games this past weekend.

·         Redshirt senior Shawn Vazquez batted .364 with a home run and two RBI in 11 at bats.

·         The pitching staff is led by redshirt junior Wilfrido Valenzuela who is 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA in 3.2 innings of work. Senior Darwin Matos pitched three innings and has a 9.00 ERA and freshman Logan Waltz tossed 2.1 innings of relief with a 3.86 ERA.

Scouting the Penmen

·         Southern N.H. will face Felician on Thursday and Queens on Friday before facing Mercy on Saturday.

·         The Penmen are currently ranked No. 9 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball Poll and No. 11 in the NCBWA Poll. Southern N.H. also is ranked first in the NCBWA East Region Poll.

·         Southern N.H. was picked first in the NE10 Northeast Division Preseason Poll.

·         The Penmen captured the NE10 regular season, NE10 tournament and NCAA East Regional Championships in 2021, ending the season with a 28-9 record.

·         Southern N.H. made their third trip to the College World Series in program history last year; all under the direction of 14th-year head coach Scott Loiseau.

·         Leading the returners for the Penmen is senior Dakota Mulcay who hit .338 with 14 home runs, 49 RBI and 41 runs scored. He was named First Team All-Region by the NCBWA.

Scouting the Ravens

·         Franklin Pierce will face Stonehill on Thursday, Post on Friday and Dominican on Saturday before facing Mercy on Sunday.

·         The Ravens are currently ranked No. 39 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball Poll and are receiving votes in the NCBWA Poll. Franklin Pierce is currently ranked third in the NCBWA East Region Top 10 Poll.

·         Franklin Pierce was picked second in the NE Northeast Division Preseason Poll after going 22-11 in 2021, advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

·         Leading the returners for the Ravens is sophomore Ian Battipaglia who hit a team-high .411 with 29 RBI, 30 runs, six doubles, and three home runs. He was named Preseason First Team All-Region and Honorable All-American by the NCBWA.

·         Leading the returners on the mound is sophomore Andres Auffant who was 5-2 in 2021 with a 4.78 ERA in 32.0 innings with 36 strikeouts. Sophomore Sean Foody was 2-0 on the mound with a 3.21 in 14.0 innings.

Next Game

Mercy resumes action on Wednesday, March 2nd when they host Bloomfield at 3 p.m.