CSI and Mercy will be finalizing their season series today, playing another 16 innings of baseball in a pair of games that will both count towards the ECC standings. Mercy won both games yesterday by scores of 11-3 and 8-7.
COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND VS. MERCY COLLEGE
Matchup: College of Staten Island (3-12, 3-10 ECC) vs. Mercy College (12-7, 8-3 ECC)
Where: CSI Baseball Complex - Staten Island, NY
Live Video:
http://www.csidolphins.com/CSISportsNet
Live Stats: https://csidolphins.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Spectator Policy: No Spectator Access
All-Time Series: Mercy leads, 9-7
Last Meeting: Yesterday - Mercy won both games, 11-3, and 8-7
Players to Watch (CSI): Junior
Thomas Joyce took CSI Baseball's first-ever ECC weekly honor as he was awarded Player of the Week honors last week. he now stands second on the team with a .326 average and has a team-best 13 RBI to his credit to go with his team-leading 15 hits and two home runs. He is second in batting only to
Thomas Marten, who leads the team with a .389 average, with six of his 14 hits for extra bases (all doubles).
Peter Lombardo is the only other Dolphin batting over .300 with a .321 average, with nine hits and four bases on balls.
Angel Santiago is just south of .300 after a torrid start, batting .298, tied for second on the team with 14 hits. CSI is being led on the mound this season by
Salvatore Trancucci IV, who is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in a limited 8.1 innings.
Steven Collica has garnered two saves this season and in 13.2 innings has accumulated a respectable 3.95 ERA.
Players to Watch (MC): Mercy is being led at the plate by the sensational hitting of Charles Lebron, who is batting .387 with 24 hits and 16 RBI, which is second on the squad. The RBI leader is Anthony Murphy, who is next in line, batting .327. He is also tied for the team lead with eight extra base hits, including three home runs. Francisco Paulino is also doing well, batting .325 with nine RBI. Nolan Giblin leads Mercy with 17 runs plated, hitting .290, while Miguel Ortiz Sanchez leads Mercy with six doubles and six stolen bases. On the mound, MC has a great 1-2 punch with Anthony Burgio and Ryan Rozinski, who have five starts each. Burgio is 4-1 with a 2.40 ERA through 30 innings, and opponents are batting just .186 against him, while Rozinski is right there with him with a 2-1 record and a 3.10 ERA, fanning 31 in 29 innings.
News & Notes: Mercy is one of the few NCAA Division II teams that CSi has some degree of familiarity with. Today will mark the 17th and 18th games the sides have played against one-another in their history, with Mercy now having won 9 of the previous 16 meetings after the doubleheader sweep yesterdat. CSI and Mercy squared off in a non-conference doubleheader last year, in fact, in what was the final CSI contest played in 2020 before the COVID pandemic hit and canceled the remainder of the year. The teams split that doubleheader, with the Mavericks winning the opener convincingly, 14-6, and CSI returning the favor with a hard-fought, 5-3, win in game two. The series is tied, 3-3, in games played at Staten Island all time. Prior to last year's meeting the series lay dormant for 23 years, as the teams last played one-another in 1997. Mercy is currently ranked third in the ECC in hitting as a team with a .295 team batting average, while CSI places sixth at .251. Both teams have shown their power, as Mercy is tops in the conference with 11 home runs this season, and CSI is tied for third with six. Pitching has been the Mavericks' bread and butter as they top the ECC with a 3.46 ERA, accumulating 133 strikeouts (2nd in the ECC). CSI has struggled on the hill at times, boasting a league-low 11.57 ERA.
