DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Apr. 18, 2024) – The Mercy University baseball team plays at ECC foe Lincoln University on Friday, April 19th at 3 p.m. before playing a doubleheader at Lincoln on Saturday, April 20th starting at 12 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday, April 21st at 12 p.m. at Lincoln.
Who, When and Where
Date/Time: Friday, April 19th 3 p.m.
Records: Mercy (14-23, 4-8 ECC), Lincoln (11-23, 1-11 ECC)
Location: Lincoln University, Pa.
Date/Time: Saturday, April 20th 12 & 3 p.m.
Records: Mercy (14-23, 4-8 ECC), Lincoln (11-23, 1-11 ECC)
Location: Lincoln University, Pa.
Date/Time: Sunday, April 21st 12 p.m.
Records: Mercy (14-23, 4-8 ECC), Lincoln (11-23, 1-11 ECC)
Location: Lincoln University, Pa.
Last Meeting vs. Lincoln
Lincoln earned a 10-3 win over Mercy on May 6, 2023.
Scouting the Mavericks
Mercy is coming off a 4-3 loss at No. 16 Molloy on Sunday. The Mavericks were led by freshman Nevin Scaperotti who went 3-for-4 with 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 .395 with 13 RBI to go with 12 runs scored. Junior Joseph Gonzalez was named to the ECC Honor Roll on March 18th and is hitting .226 with 20 RBI and a team-high 30 runs. Junior Jaden Caballero was named to the ECC Honor Roll on Monday and has 18 RBI and 26 runs. Caballero recorded his 100th career run scored against Saint Rose on April 9th. Sophomore Zach Ashline has been named to the ECC Honor Roll three times and is batting .264 with a team-high 32 RBI and 11 home runs. The sophomore has tied the single-season school record for home runs. Ashline leads the ECC in home runs and is sixth in RBI. Sophomore John Nisco is second on the team with 22 RBI and graduate student Nolan Giblin was named to the ECC Honor Roll on April 1st and is hitting .282 with 15 RBI and 27 runs scored. Giblin recorded his 100th career RBI on April 13th against Molloy and his 200th career hit against Molloy on April 14th. Junior Gabe Sanders was named to the ECC Honor Roll on April 1st and is hitting a team-high .309 with 19 RBI and a team-high seven doubles. Graduate student Brandon Nolasco is hitting .372 with 14 RBI, three home runs and eight runs and junior Alfred Hoti is hitting .217 with 18 RBI. Freshman Nevin Scaperotti is hitting an ECC-best .421 with 12 RBI and nine runs scored.
The pitching staff is led by Scaperotti who was named ECC Pitcher of the Week on March 11th, was named to the ECC Honor Roll on March 18th and was tabbed Rookie of the Week on March 25th. The freshman is 3-2 in a team-high 44.1 innings with 30 strikeouts. Graduate student John Gillespie was named to the ECC Honor Roll on February 20th and is 1-3 in 20.1 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts and one save. Junior Jack Sullivan was named to the ECC Honor Roll on February 26th and is 3-2 in 22.0 innings pitched to begin his career at Mercy with 10 strikeouts. Sophomore Riley Williams was named to the ECC Honor Roll on March 4th and on Monday and has a team-high-tying two saves with two wins in 35.2 innings with 20 strikeouts. Junior Matthew Manzoeillo is 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA in 25.0 innings with 17 strikeouts and senior Ryan Rozinski has been named to the ECC Honor Roll twice.
Mercy is 17-1 all-time against Lincoln.
Scouting the Lions
Lincoln is coming off 6-2 and 11-4 wins over Virginia State on Sunday. The Lions were picked seventh in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 12-35-1 last season. Lincoln has been led by Jaden Greenidge who is hitting a team-high .368 with 29 RBI, six home runs and seven doubles. Wesley Hogan has 26 RBI and five home runs and Alex Jones is hitting .333 with 12 RBI and three home runs. Miguel Agramonte has 20 RBI and eight doubles and Jefry Azcona has a team-high 13 stolen bases. The pitching staff is led by Dennis Flores who has a team-best 6.59 ERA in 41.0 innings with a 3-4 record and 30 strikeouts. Jaden Greenidge is 2-3 with a 9.56 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 37.2 innings and Jalen Greenidge has a team-high two saves.
Next Game
Mercy plays at STAC on Friday, April 26th at 3:30 p.m.