GAMEDAY: DOLPHINS OPEN SERIES AGAINST D'YOUVILLE WITH PLAYOFF HOPES ON THE LINE

5/5/2023 8:00:00 AM

Staten Island, NY - The College of Staten Island Baseball Team opens a four-game weekend series with the D'Youville University Saints this afternoon as they host the Saints with their East Coast Conference playoff hopes on the line. The Dolphins enter today's game 15-24 on the season and 7-13 in conference play. The Saints come into today's game 18-22 overall and 8-10 against conference opponents. The Dolphins lead the all-time series 8-2, but the Saints have won two of the last three meetings.

The Dolphins faced the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College in four games spread across five days in their most recent East Coast Conference series. On Friday, the Dolphins split two games with the Spartans, but they proceeded to lose both games at home on Monday and Tuesday. The Saints most recently were in action for a series against Queens. After splitting the first two games of the series, the final two games were postponed due to rain.

The Dolphin bats have heated up recently led by AJ Vigliotti, Shendi Ulaj, and Thomas Marten. Each of CSI's three leading hitters come in with a batting average of at least .360 on the season, a slugging percentage of .493, and an on-base percentage of .455. Michael Kehoe joins Vigliotti as the only two Dolphins with 40 hits on the season and comes in hitting .342. The CSI pitching staff was led by starters Ryan Kehoe and John Esposito in the series-opening doubleheader on Friday. Each allowed just one run in their start, and after the Dolphins were forced to use a lot of pitching against the Spartans, they will be looking to both for some longevity in their outings against the Saints.

Billy Morris and Ethan Hammond lead D'Youville in batting on the season for a team that comes in hitting .274 as a unit. Their starting rotation is anchored by Chris Auclair with their bullpen being led by Blaise Kolbert and Samuel Worthen. The Saints come in with a team ERA of 6.25 on the season, and in CSI's most recent victory over the Saints last season, the Dolphins scored 18 runs. However, Saints pitching held the Dolphins to just two runs in the final game of their 2022 season series.

The Dolphins entered yesterday tied with the Mercy College Mavericks in the East Coast Conference standings needing to be one game better than Mercy over each team's final four contests to make the playoffs. The Mavericks opened a four-game series with Lincoln University yesterday and continue their series against the Lions with a doubleheader today. Game one of that doubleheader is scheduled for 1:00 PM today with game two scheduled for approximately 4:00 PM. The Mavericks end their series with the Lions in their season finale tomorrow at 3:30. The Dolphins continue their series with the Saints at noon.

Gametime - 2:00 PM
Location - Staten Island, NY
All-Time Series - CSI leads 8-2
Last Meeting - 5/1/22: DYU won 3-2

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