DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Mar. 1, 2024) – The Mercy University baseball team hosts RV Southern Connecticut State in a doubleheader for their home opener on Sunday, March 3rd at 12 & 3 p.m. The Mavericks will then play at Southern Connecticut State on Tuesday, March 5th at 3 p.m.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Sunday, March 3rd 12 & 3 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-7), RV Southern Connecticut State (6-2)
Location: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 5th 3 p.m.
Records: Mercy (2-7), RV Southern Connecticut State (6-2)
Location: New Haven, Conn.
Last Meeting vs. Southern Connecticut State
Southern Connecticut State earned a 6-1 win over Mercy on March 8, 2023.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off an 18-2 loss to Bentley on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by sophomore Sean McAdams and graduate student Brandon Nolasco who both had an RBI. Mercy enters the 2024 season picked fifth in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 16-33 overall and 10-14 in ECC play last season, qualifying for the ECC Tournament for the third straight season. The Mavericks won their first ECC Tournament game since 2010 last season and look to qualify for the ECC Tournament for the fourth straight season under Head Coach Chris Schoen.
Leading the returners for the Maverick is graduate student Nolan Giblin who was named First Team All-ECC last season after hitting .326 with 33 RBI, 62 hits, 32 runs and nine stolen bases in 190 at bats. Junior Jaden Caballero was tabbed Second Team All-ECC last season and returns after hitting .322 with 23 RBI, 64 hits, 44 runs, 10 doubles and 23 stolen bases. Sophomore Zach Ashline comes back after a strong freshman campaign in which he was named Second Team All-ECC after hitting a team-high .385 with 24 RBI, 35 hits and 23 runs in 91 at bats.
Also returning is sophomore Sean McAdams who hit .324 with 44 hits, 31 runs, three home runs and 23 RBI in his rookie campaign last season. Senior Gabe Sanders returns after hitting .283 a year ago with 47 hits, 23 runs, three home runs and 27 RBI. Junior Joseph Gonzalez hit .266 in 2023 and returns after recording 28 RBI, 47 hits and 33 runs. Graduate student Justin Glennerster returns behind the dish after hitting .312 with 21 RBI, 39 hits and 16 runs scored a year ago.
Senior Janiel Ramirez recorded 16 RBI in 2023 and juniors Connor Ruland, Frankie Asaro and Alfred Hoti and sophomores John Nisco, Liam Padden and Kolongi Goins will also look to contribute for the Mavericks.
Leading the returners on the mound is junior Scott Scheppy who led the team with 74.1 innings pitched last season with a team-high-tying three wins. Scheppy made 12 starts in 2023 with 34 strikeouts and one save. Graduate student Ryan Dieguez is back after going 2-1 in 2023 with 14 strikeouts and a 4.37 ERA in 22.2 innings out of the bullpen. Sophomore Diego Wirz had a team-high-tying three wins in his freshman season and recorded 22 strikeouts in 29.0 innings.
Senior Ryan Rozinski was named Second Team All-ECC in 2021 and was named to the ECC Honor Roll twice last season after pitching 32.1 innings with 23 strikeouts. Senior Joshua Alvarado pitched 11.1 innings in 2023 with four strikeouts in eight appearances and graduate student John Gillespie is back for a final season after tossing 11.2 innings with seven strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched.
Sophomores Riley Williams, Brian Zbytniewski and Ryan Ehret, juniors Matthew Manzoeillo and Denis Garcia and seniors Gabriel Soto, Gaetano Pennisi and Nelson Perez Jr. also return and will look to contribute in 2024.
Schoen will also lean on freshmen Peyton Jemison, Nevin Scaperotti, Jack Esposito, Joey Bodin and Kyle Engmann to help get the Mavericks back to the ECC Tournament. The Mavericks will also rely upon transfers Brandon Nolasco, Jack Sullivan, Amaury Soto, Lucas Prokosch, Will Sullo, Vonzell Rivera, and Camren Patterson.
Scaperotti pitched 57 innings with a 1.80 ERA during his senior year at Carmel High School, Esposito was named All-League and All-Section Honorable Mention at Yorktown High School and Engmann was tabbed All-County and All-League at Shoreham-Wading River High School.
Nolasco is a transfer from Division III Mount Saint Mary College and hit .300 with two home runs during the 2021 season. Sullivan is a transfer from Allegany College of Maryland, Soto is a transfer from Phoenix College and Prokosch is a transfer from Division I Fairleigh Dickinson University where he appeared in four games and pitched seven innings last season. Sullo is a transfer from Rockland Community College where he pitched 9.2 innings in seven appearances in 2023. Rivera is a transfer from Salem Community College where he pitched 81.2 innings in two seasons with 40 strikeouts and six wins. Patterson is a transfer from Bryant & Stratton College in Virginia.
The Mavericks have been led at the plate by graduate student Justin Glennerster who has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice and is hitting a team-high .500 with a team-high nine RBI to go with seven runs scored. Freshman Peyton Jemison was named ECC Rookie of the Week on February 20th and is hitting .382 with five RBI, a home run, three stolen bases and six runs scored. Junior Joseph Gonzalez is hitting .297 with seven RBI and a team-high nine runs and sophomore Sean McAdams is hitting .333 with six runs and two doubles. Junior Jaden Caballero has four RBI and six runs and sophomore Zach Ashline is batting .250 with five RBI and two home runs.
The pitching staff is led by graduate student John Gillespie who was named to the ECC Honor Roll on February 20th and has a team-best 2.79 ERA with a 1-0 record in 9.2 innings pitched with five strikeouts. Junior Jack Sullivan was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday and has pitched 6.1 scoreless innings of relief to begin his career at Mercy with five strikeouts.
Mercy is 2-20 in their last 22 meetings against the Owls and have dropped 13 straight meetings. The Mavericks last beat Southern Connecticut State on March 9, 2013.
Scouting the Owls
Southern Connecticut State is coming off a 10-8 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday. The Owls were picked second in the NE10 Southwest Division Preseason Poll after going 29-16 last season, qualifying for the NE10 Championship. Southern Connecticut State is currently ranked third in the NCBWA East Region Top 10 poll and is receiving votes nationally in the NCBWA Top 25 poll. The Owls are led by Billy Sullivan who is hitting a team-high .409 with nine hits, five RBI and three stolen bases. Chad Fedeli has a team-high nine RBI and Jake Gruttadauria is hitting .357 with eight RBI and eight runs scored. The pitching staff is led by Mike Szturma who has a team-best 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched with 13 strikeouts. Steve Phillips is 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 10.1 innings with 10 strikeouts.
Next Game
Mercy hosts Pace on Friday, March 8th at 2 p.m.
