DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (May 11, 2022) –The Mercy College baseball team opens play in the ECC Baseball Championship on Thursday, May 12th at 3 p.m. at Mitchel Field in Uniondale, N.Y.

2022 ECC Baseball Championship hosted by Molloy College at Mitchel Field - Uniondale, N.Y.

Thursday, May 12

12:00 PM - No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas (22-21, 14-7 ECC) vs. No. 1 Molloy (32-11, 16-2 ECC)
3:00 PM - No. 3 Mercy (21-23-1, 14-7 ECC) vs. No. 2 Queens (24-15, 15-6 ECC)

Friday, May 13

10:00 a.m. - Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two
1:00 p.m. - Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two
4:00 p.m. - Winner Game Three vs. Loser Game Four

Saturday, May 14

12:00 p.m. - Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Five
If necessary - 30 minutes after the completion of Game Six

Tickets

$20 – All-Tournament pass for all tournament games.
$8 – Single day tickets for adults.
$5 – Single day tickets for Children/Seniors/Students

Tickets must be purchased for each day. Tickets must be purchased at www.eccsports.org/tickets. Cash will not be accepted so walkup tickets at the venue must be purchased through the ECC website (QR code will be available at the gate).

Scouting the Mavericks

·         Mercy is coming off a 10-4 loss to Queens on Monday. The Mavericks were led by junior Justin Glennerster and freshman Jaden Caballero who each had an RBI.

·         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.

·         The Mavericks have secured their second straight ECC Championship berth but will be playing in their first ECC Championship since 2010.

·         Mercy is looking for their first-ever ECC Championship and first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

·         The Mavericks 14 ECC wins this season tied a school record set last year.

·         Mercy went 1-2 against Queens and Molloy this season and 2-1 against STAC.

·         The Mavericks are looking to win their first game in the ECC Championship since 2010.

·         Mercy has now recorded 20 or more wins in three of the six seasons Chris Schoen has been head coach.

·         Freshman Jaden Caballero was named ECC Rookie of the Week for the third time on Monday and ECC Player of the Week on February 21st and is hitting a team-high .376 with 65 hits to go along with three home runs and 26 RBI. He also has 36 runs and a team-high 20 stolen bases and 14 doubles in 45 games. The freshman currently leads the ECC in hits, is second in stolen bases and is fourth in doubles.

·         Senior Jonathan Diforio was named ECC Pitcher of the Week on February 21st and has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice. He is 5-4 on the mound with a 5.38 ERA in 77 innings pitched with 51 strikeouts. Freshman Scott Scheppy has pitched 63 innings and has 33 strikeouts with a team-best 4.29 ERA. He picked up his first collegiate win in the game one win over Lincoln on April 16th.

·         Graduate student Robert Wootten was named to the ECC Honor Roll two weeks ago and Wootten and senior Nikko Liguori were tabbed to the ECC Honor Roll on February 21st. Wootten has 30 RBI and 31 runs scored on the year with a team-high four triples. Liguori has 10 RBI, 15 runs and is batting .295 on the year.

·         Junior Justin Glennerster has a home run and 28 RBI on the year and the reigning ECC Rookie of the Year junior Nolan Giblin is hitting .371 with a team-high 34 RBI, 40 runs, and six home runs. He also is second on the team with 59 hits and is third on the team with 10 stolen bases. Senior James Mattutat is fifth on the team with 28 RBI, has five home runs and was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday.

·         Freshman Alfred Hoti was named ECC Rookie of the Week on March 14th and has nine RBI in 27 games.

·         Junior Anthony Burgio was named ECC Pitcher of the Week on March 21st and was named Second Team All-ECC last season. He has pitched 51 innings this season with a 4.94 ERA, a team-high 49 strikeouts, a 3-4 record and one save. Junior Kevin Seckler was named ECC Pitcher of the Week on last week and is 5-1 on the bump in 60.2 innings with 35 strikeouts and a 4.45 ERA in 14 appearances. Graduate student Kuzari Jocelyn is 2-1 with three saves and a 2.50 ERA in 18.0 innings with 11 strikeouts.

·         The Mavericks are hitting .275 as a team and have a 5.75 team ERA through 45 games.

Scouting the Knights

·         Queens is coming off a 10-4 win over Mercy on Monday.

·         The Knights were picked fifth in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 14-13 last season, advancing to the ECC Championship.

·         Queens is ranked seventh in the latest NCBWA East Region Poll.

·         The Knights have now qualified for the ECC Championship in each of the last three years it has been held. They currently hold the longest streak of consecutive tournament appearances.

·         Queens looks to end a 24-year drought without a conference championship, with their last coming during the 1998 season.

·         Leading Queens at the plate is three-time ECC Player of the Week senior Lou Antos who is batting an ECC-best .430 with 36 RBI and an ECC-best-tying nine home runs. Four-time ECC Rookie of the Week sophomore Marc Cisco is second in the ECC hitting .429 with an ECC-high 46 RBI, 45 runs and nine home runs.

·         Senior Jayson Rodopoulos has a team-high 16 stolen bases and is hitting .342 with 15 RBI. Freshman Matt Filip is hitting .304 and is second on the team with 39 RBI. He also has five home runs on the year.

·         The pitching staff is led by senior Julien Arcos who is 5-2 with a team-best 3.25 ERA in a team-high 69.1 innings pitched with 71 strikeouts. One-time ECC Pitcher of the Week senior Liam Pulsipher is 4-5 on the mound with 62 strikeouts and a 5.23 ERA in 53.1 innings.

·         Senior Rob Backus is 3-2 with a 4.81 ERA in 33.2 innings and senior Dylan Hughes is 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 27.1 innings.

·         Queens is hitting .296 as a team and has a 4.48 team ERA through 39 games.

Scouting the Lions

·         Molloy is coming off a 5-2 win over East Stroudsburg on Tuesday.

·         The Lions were picked first in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll after going 25-11 last season, winning the ECC Championship. Molloy advanced to the final of the NCAA East Region Championship in 2021.

·         Molloy enters the Championship on an eight-game winning streak.

·         The Lions set a program record for wins a season and won their third regular season championship in program history.

·         Molloy is currently ranked No. 20 nationally in the NCBWA Top 25 Poll and is ranked second in the NCBWA East Region Top 10 Poll. The Lions are ranked second in the latest NCAA East Regional Rankings.

·         The Lions are looking to win their third ECC Tournament Championship.

·         Molloy is led by ECC Preseason Player of the Year senior Matt Overton who is batting .354 with 35 RBI and a team-high five home runs. He also has 38 runs and a team-high 19 doubles. Senior Thomas Brady is hitting a team-high .364 with 38 RBI and 40 runs with 12 doubles.

·         Junior David Franchi is hitting .359 with 36 RBI and 36 runs and sophomore Chris Einemann is hitting .342 with a team-high 40 RBI to go along with 40 runs scored. Senior Vincent Pecora has a team-high 33 stolen bases and 42 runs and is hitting .341 on the year.

·         ECC Preseason Pitcher of the Year junior Charlie Cucchiara is 7-0 on the mound with a 2.88 ERA in 75 innings with 48 strikeouts. Senior Billy Wildeman is 7-1 with a 3.34 ERA in 67.1 innings with 63 strikeouts and senior Mike Andreoli has a team-high nine wins with a 4.36 ERA in 66 innings.

·         Molloy is hitting .330 as a team and has a 4.90 team ERA through 43 games.

Scouting the Spartans

·         STAC is coming off 3-1 and 6-0 victories over Bridgeport on Sunday.

·         The Spartans were picked second in the ECC Preseason Coaches' Poll after winning the ECC Regular Season Championship in 2021 and advancing to the NCAA Championship for the seventh time in eight seasons.

·         STAC is making their 13th appearance in the Championship over the last 14 seasons.

·         The Spartans have won four ECC titles over the last 14 seasons but have not won since 2018.

·         STAC enters the Championship on a six-game winning streak.

·         The Spartans are led at the plate by senior Matthew Johnson who is hitting .322 on the year with 32 RBI, 47 hits, 26 runs and 11 doubles. Junior Gregory DiGiaro is hitting .322 with a team-high seven home runs to go along with 34 RBI and 23 runs.

·         Senior Andrew Jemison is hitting .326 with a team-high 36 RBI and a team-high 12 stolen bases. He also has 37 runs scored and 12 doubles. Senior Danny Di Marzo is hitting .272 with 30 RBI and a team-high 17 doubles and 37 runs scored. Senior Andrew Guerra is hitting a team-high .337 with 30 RBI, 30 runs, 55 hits and 10 doubles.

·         The pitching staff is led by senior Yanni Orfanidis who has appeared in 30 games and is 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 40.1 innings with 43 strikeouts. Senior John Archer is 5-5 on the mound with a 3.78 ERA in 64.1 innings with 57 strikeouts.

·         Senior Aaron Dona is 3-3 on the year with a 3.66 ERA in 66.1 innings with 81 strikeouts and junior Justin Baeyens has a team-high seven saves.

·         STAC is hitting .290 as a team and has a 5.91 team ERA through 43 games.