DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – For the 11th year, Mercy University Athletics will recap the year by counting down the Top 10 most memorable moments of the 2025-26 season, with all 10 sports represented.
Mercy University Athletics will release a Top 10 moment, as chosen by the athletics staff, with a recap every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next three weeks culminating with the top moment from the 2025-26 athletic year being unveiled on Monday, August 3rd.
No. 6 – Baseball Finishes as ECC Runner-Up for First Time
Checking in at No. 6 in our 2025-26 Top 10 Moments is baseball who finished as ECC Runner-Up for the first time in program history.
Head Coach Chris Schoen and the Mavericks were picked a program-best second in the ECC Preseason Poll after going 29-24 in 2025, setting a school record for wins in a season and qualifying for the ECC Championship for the fourth time in five seasons. Mercy was also receiving votes in the NCBWA Preseason East Region Poll and John Nisco, Kolongi Goins, Andre Jenkins and Gordon Votruba were named NCBWA Preseason All-Region.
The Mavericks opened their 2026 season on February 13th with an 11-6 win over regionally-ranked Goldey-Beacom in Cary, North Carolina. Senior David Bernard Jr. had a game-high four RBI and Jenkins tossed six shutout innings as Mercy won their season opener for the first time since 2024. Senior Zach Ashline added three RBI, recording his 100th career RBI.
The following day, Mercy faced regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce and Goldey-Beacom. Junior Nevin Scaperotti and sophomore Ryan DiNapoli pitched 14 shutout innings as Mercy earned a 1-0 win over the Ravens. The Mavericks started 2-0 for the first time since 2021. The 14-inning game was the longest since a 15-inning game at Bridgeport on April 1, 2019. Scaperotti recorded his 100th career strikeout in the win. Mercy dropped a 7-0 decision to Goldey-Beacom in game two of the day.
Mercy concluded their Cary trip with a 22-13 win over Franklin Pierce on February 15th. Ashline and Goins both had a game-high four RBI as the Mavericks started 3-1 for the first time since 2018. Nisco also went 3-for-6 with three runs and two RBI, recording his 100th career RBI. Freshman Dylan Ruland allowed no earned runs in 2.1 innings to record his first collegiate win, and senior Ryan Ehret tossed 3.1 scoreless innings to earn his first career save. After the week, Goins and DiNapoli were named ECC Player and Pitcher of the Week and Ruland was tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks resumed action at RV UNC Pembroke on February 17th. Despite a three-run home run from junior Dylan Koch, Mercy dropped a 13-9 decision. Mercy headed to Myrtle Beach where they started their trip with a doubleheader against Post on February 21st. Four different Mavericks recorded an RBI on the day as Mercy earned a 6-5 win in game one before falling 7-4 in game two. Koch went 1-for-3 with an RBI in game one and DiNapoli pitched 3.2 innings with one earned run allowed to earn his second win of the season. Senior Samuel Gil picked up his first save of the season. Nisco recorded his 100th career run scored in game two. Mercy concluded their southern trip with a 13-11 win over RV Bentley on February 22nd. The Falcons would go on to play in the College World Series. Sophomore Anthony Altobelli, Nisco and Bernard Jr. all homered as Mercy started 5-3 for the second straight year. After the week was over, Gil was named ECC Pitcher of the Week and Altobelli and sophomore Geneo Savoca were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Schoen and the Mavericks were ranked No. 7 in the NCBWA East Region Poll on February 23rd. Mercy returned home for their home opener against Southern Connecticut State on March 1st. Scaperotti pitched seven innings with no earned runs allowed and Ashline and Koch both had a game-high two RBI as the Mavericks earned a 6-1 win in game one before dropping an 8-2 decision in game two. Senior Sean McAdams went 1-for-4 in game one, recording his 100th career hit. Scaperotti was named ECC Pitcher of the Week and Goins was tabbed to the Honor Roll on March 2nd.
Mercy was ranked No. 6 in the NCBWA East Region Poll on March 2nd ahead of their series against Pace. The Mavericks dropped 3-0 and 12-2 decisions at Pace on March 6th, falling to 6-6 on the year. McAdams homered and had two RBI as Mercy dropped 6-4 and 5-4 decisions to Pace on March 8th at Mercy Field, dropping to 6-8 on the year.
Nisco and Scaperotti were named to the ECC Honor Roll on March 9th, and the Mavericks were ranked No. 8 in the NCBWA East Region Poll. Mercy opened ECC play on March 13th with a doubleheader against D'Youville. The Mavericks dropped an 8-4 decision in game one before earning a 6-5 win in game two. Savoca recorded a walk-off RBI single in game two and graduate student Alfred Hoti set a school record with his 35th career hit by pitch in game one.
On March 14th, the Mavericks earned 19-7 and 3-2 wins at Queens. Nisco had a team-high five RBI and a home run and Votruba and DiNapoli earned wins as Mercy swept a doubleheader at Queens for the first time since 2021. The Mavericks started 3-1 in ECC play for the first time since 2024. Scaperotti and DiNapoli were named to the ECC Honor Roll on March 16th, and the Mavericks were ranked No. 8 in the NCBWA East Region Poll.
Mercy extended their winning streak to five games with 6-3 and 2-1 wins over #27 St. Thomas Aquinas on March 20th. Jenkins and Scaperotti recorded wins and Altobelli drove in the winning run in game two as Mercy swept a doubleheader against the Spartans for the first time since 2022. The Mavericks sat at 11-9 overall and 5-1 in ECC play. Goins recorded his 100th career hit in game one. Mercy finished off the weekend with 4-2 and 3-1 losses to Molloy at Mercy Field. Ruland was named ECC Rookie of the Week on March 23rd and Scaperotti and Altobelli were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Schoen and the Mavericks sat at No. 8 in the NCBWA East Region Poll ahead of their matchup against regionally-ranked Felician on March 24th. Koch had a game-high three RBI as the Mavericks dropped an 8-7 decision in 10 innings at Mercy Field.
Mercy resumed ECC play with a doubleheader at D'Youville on March 27th. Scaperotti pitched eight shutout innings and Altobelli had a game-high two RBI as Mercy earned a 7-2 win in game one. The Mavericks dropped a 4-2 decision in game two. The next day, the Mavericks earned a 10-2 win at D'Youville with sophomore Matthew Hesselbirg and Goins producing a game-high two RBI and Jenkins pitching eight strong innings. Mercy capped off the series with a 19-5 win over the Saints to improve to 14-13 overall and 8-4 in ECC play. Ashline hit for the cycle going 5-for-6 with a home run, two singles, a double, a triple, four RBI and three runs. Scaperotti went 5-for-6 with three RBI and three runs.
Scaperotti and Savoca were named ECC Pitcher and Rookie of the Week on March 30th and Ashline and Goins were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Mercy was ranked No. 8 again in the NCBWA Poll heading into their series with Staten Island. On April 3rd, the Mavericks earned 8-1 and 5-2 wins over the Dolphins to move to 16-13 overall and 10-4 in ECC play. Ashline had a team-high three RBI on the day and Scaperotti and Jenkins both earned wins. Ashline recorded his 100th career run in game one. Mercy capped off the weekend with 8-7 and 13-7 wins over Staten Island on April 4th. Savoca had a grand slam and team-high six RBI on the day as the Mavericks extended their winning streak to six games for the first time since 2021. Scaperotti was named ECC Pitcher of the Week for the third time and Ashline, Koch, Jenkins and Savoca were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
The Mavericks sat at No. 6 in the NCBWA Poll with a matchup looming against Dominican on April 7th. Nisco hit a three-run home run as Mercy earned a 14-13 win over the Chargers. The Mavericks improved to 19-13 on the year and won seven games in a row for the first time since 1990.
Mercy dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision at RV Molloy on April 10th with Ashline and Koch both homering. The Mavericks fell 12-5 and 5-2 to Molloy at Mercy Field on April 11th and dropped a 4-3 decision at Molloy on April 12th. Savoca was named ECC Rookie of the Week and Scaperotti, junior Kyle Engmann and Nisco were tabbed to the Honor Roll on April 13th.
Schoen and the Mavericks hosted St. Thomas Aquinas for a doubleheader on April 17th. McAdams recorded a walk-off RBI single in game two and Bernard Jr. had a team-high four RBI and a home run as Mercy dropped an 8-7 decision in game one before earning a 9-8 win in 10 innings in game two. The Mavericks improved to 20-18 overall and 11-9 in ECC play. Mercy now had 20 wins in a season for the sixth time under Schoen. The Mavericks recorded a second split against the Spartans on April 19th. Nisco, Goins and Scaperotti each had a team-high four RBI and Engmann homered as Mercy earned a 21-19 win in game one before dropping an 8-2 decision in game two. Gil recorded his 11th career save in game one, setting a new program record.
Sophomore Tate Van Alstyne was named ECC Rookie of the Week on April 20th, and Nisco, Bernard Jr. and Koch were tabbed to the Honor Roll. Mercy recorded their 22nd win of the season on April 23rd with a 4-2 win over Staten Island. Nisco had a game-high two RBI and Bernard Jr. and Hoti each had an RBI. On April 24th, the Mavericks dropped 10-9 and 6-0 decisions to the Dolphins, despite a home run and four RBI from Koch. Mercy concluded the series with Staten Island on April 26th with a 7-0 win over the Dolphins. DiNapoli pitched a nine-inning complete game shutout, needing just 97 pitches to finish the game. DiNapoli recorded the first nine-inning complete game shutout by a Mercy pitcher since Matt Nalbone in 2017. The Mavericks secured their second straight ECC Championship berth and fifth in six seasons. Van Alstyne was named ECC Rookie of the Week on April 27th and DiNapoli, Koch, Bernard Jr., and Goins were tabbed to the Honor Roll.
Six different Mavericks recorded an RBI as Mercy earned a 6-5 win over Queens on April 30th. Scaperotti recorded his sixth win of the season, tying the single-season school record for wins. Mercy played at Queens on May 1st and Ashline set a school record for career runs as the Mavericks won game one, 7-6, before falling 11-4 in game two. Ashline recorded his 26th career home run in game one, surpassing the previous record of 25 set by Matt Foley in 2003. Mercy concluded the regular season with a 13-11 come-from-behind Senior Day win over Queens on May 2nd. Prior to the game, Mercy honored McAdams, Nisco, Ehret, Ashline, Goins, Jack Sullivan, Bernard Jr., Anthony Dolce, Gil and Diego Wirz. The Mavericks overcame a nine-run deficit in the seventh inning and were led by a team-high three RBI and four hits from Koch. Mercy ended the regular season 26-22 overall and 17-13 in ECC play. The Mavericks ended the season in solo second place in the ECC standings for the first time. Mercy secured the No. 2 seed in the following week's ECC Championship and would face St. Thomas Aquinas in their first game on May 7th. Koch was named ECC Player of the Week on May 4th and Ashline, Nisco, Scaperotti and sophomore Omar Giret were named to the Honor Roll. Koch was also named NCBWA East Region Hitter of the Week.
Prior to the start of the ECC Championship, Nisco, Koch and Scaperotti were named First Team All-ECC and Jenkins was tabbed Second Team All-ECC.
Mercy opened play in the ECC Championship with a 11-10 walk-off win in 10 innings over No. 3 seed St. Thomas Aquinas on May 7th. Ashline had a game-high and career-high five RBI and McAdams added three RBI. Koch went 3-for-5 with two RBI, recording his 100th career hit. The Mavericks improved to 27-22 on the year and would play at No. 1 seed Molloy on May 8th.
Mercy dropped an 8-2 decision to No. 1 seed Molloy in their second game of the ECC Championship on May 8th. Koch recorded a home run and Engmann went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jenkins also picked up his 100th career strikeout. Facing elimination, the Mavericks earned a 7-5 win over No. 4 seed D'Youville in their second game of the day to advance to the ECC Championship Final for the first time. Hesselbirg had a game-high-tying three RBI and Ruland tossed 3.2 shutout innings of relief to earn his sixth win of the season.
The Mavericks saw their season come to an end on May 9th with a 13-1 loss at No. 1 seed Molloy in the ECC Championship Final. Scaperotti had an RBI and Nisco and Ashline both had two hits. Mercy ended the season 28-24, finishing the season as ECC Runner-Up for the first time. The Mavericks finished the season ranked a program-best No. 8 in the final NCBWA East Region Poll and Scaperotti was tabbed NCBWA First Team All-Region. Scaperotti also earned D2CCA Second Team All-Region and Ashline was named to the ABCA Division II East Region All-Defensive Team.
Schoen and the Mavericks also excelled in the classroom with Nisco, Ashline, Bernard Jr., DiNapoli and Jenkins being named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. Mercy also earned the ECC Academic Team of Excellence for baseball for the first time in program history and received the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. The Mavericks posted a 3.44 GPA during the 2025-26 academic year.
Mercy looks to continue their success during the 2027 season.
Schedule for the Top 10 Moments of the 2025-26 Season
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next three weeks, the Mercy University Athletic Department will release the Top 10 moments one at a time beginning with the No. 10 moment on Monday, July 13th. The No. 1 moment will be unveiled on Monday, August 3rd.
No. 1 – August 3rd
No. 2 – July 31st
No. 3 – July 29th
No. 4 - July 27th
No. 5 – July 24th
No. 6 – July 22nd
No. 7 – Men's Lacrosse Qualifies for ECC Championship for 11th Straight Season and Ends Season Receiving Votes Nationally
No. 8 – Men's Soccer Qualifies for ECC Championship for Seventh Time in Eight Seasons
No. 9 – Field Hockey Nearly Qualifies for NE10 Championship
No. 10 – Men's Basketball Earns ECC Academic Team of Excellence and Kohen Rowbatham is Named Third Team All-ECC and All-Met Honorable Mention
