The College of Staten Island Baseball team returns to the diamond this afternoon, traveling to Lincoln University to take on the associate-ECC member for the first of a three-game series between the two sides at the LU Baseball Complex.  CSI comes in looking to overturn a four-game losing streak, while the Lions are looking to extend a three-game win streak.

COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND VS. LINCOLN UNIVERSITY
Matchup: College of Staten Island (1-9, 1-8 ECC) vs. Lincoln University (3-6, 3-0 ECC)
Where:  LU Baseball Complex - Lincoln University, Penn.
Live Stats: https://lulions.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Spectator Policy:  No Spectator Access
All-Time Series:  First Meeting
Players to Watch (CSI):  Through 10 games, CSI is being led at the plate by Thomas Marten, who has appeared in eight of those contests.  He bats .391 this season, leading the way with four doubles and tied for fifth on the team with five RBI.  Angel Santiago, another first-year Dolphin, is right behind him at .382, scoring a team-high 13 hits, while placing second on the team with eight runs scored.  Peter Lombardo sits at .318 having only played six games.  CSI's RBI-leader is Shendi Ulaj with eight.  He also has a team-high six bases on balls this season.  Nick Cippoletti (2.81) leads CSI with two stolen bases.  Salvatore Trancucci IV has CSI's only win on the mound this season in relief.  Nick Vilardi in four relief appearances has a team-best 1.29 ERA.
Players to Watch (LU):  Alex Jones is the Lions' leading hitter with a .435 average in his seven starts.  He is tied for second for the team-lead in hits with 10, lending four RBI as well.  Elias Beltre is batting .385 with 10 hits and a home run for his efforts, while Sheldon Johnson is batting a healthy .368 with a team-high three doubles.  The RBI-leader is Hilman Truss, who sports 12 so far with his .348 batting average.  Kashif Hill is just as potent, leading LU in hits with 12, adding three RBI. On the hill, LU is steadied by ace Rolando Alvarez, who comes in at 1-1 with a 3.37 ERA through three starts and 18.2 innings pitched.  Josiah Lara is next in line at 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA, while Trevon Sutton, through three starts, is 1-2 with a 7.11 ERA in a team-best 19 innings of work.       
News & Notes: Today's meeting is the first-ever between the two sides and the first in a three-game weekend series.  The two teams will meet again in Pennsylvania for a doubleheader tomorrow beginning at Noon.  CSI is on a four game-skid after dropping a non-conference tilt to Dominican and then a three-game series to St. Thomas Aquinas last weekend.  Lincoln is trending in the opposite direction.  After six-straight losses to open the season, they have reeled off three-straight, all conference wins against D'Youville College by a combined 32-8 margin.  It helped raise LU's batting numbers to .285 as a team, and it reduced their team ERA to 8.10 after a rocky start.  CSI is batting just .253 as a unit and their ERA is hovering over the 12.00 mark.  Neither team has hit a triple this season and neither team has been running the bases much.  CSI sports just three stolen bags next to Lincoln's 11.  LU's six losses have come by an average of seven runs, while CSI's have come by an average of 8.3 runs.  Both teams will look to keep these games close, especially in the early innings, where both teams have fallen into big deficits early.