Though the season only just reached its midpoint, it's crunch time for the Sacred Heart University baseball team over the next two weekends, as a pair of important Northeast Conference series bookend an eight-game homestand. This week for the Pios, it's three against second-place Fairleigh Dickinson, with the two sides separated by just two games in the standings.

First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, at Veteran's Park in Bridgeport, Conn. Brendan Capozzi will have the audio-only call for all three games on Mixlr. 

LAST TIME OUT
On a resplendent spring day at the United States Military Academy, the pitching rose to match the weather on Wednesday afternoon. In a contest which was well-pitched throughout – especially by midweek college baseball standards – SHU and Army buzzed through nine innings in just 135 minutes at Doubleday Field. A two-run home run from Derek Berg in the bottom of the second stood as the difference, as Army posted a 4-2 win in non-conference play. 

A LOOK AT THE PIOS
Sacred Heart (14-15, 9-6 NEC) can go a long way towards securing a positive finish to the 2023 season over the next two weekends. After dropping two of three on the road at first-place Central Connecticut State last weekend, the Pios get second-place FDU this weekend and host third-place Wagner next weekend. A pair of series wins would put SHU well on the path to a postseason berth. Sam Mongelli is currently second in the NEC in OPS, at 1.214, on the strength of a .415/.474/.740 slash line with eight home runs.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson (20-10-1, 11-4 NEC) has reached the 20-win plateau for the second consecutive season and comes to town following a three-game sweep of Stonehill last weekend. The Knights are winners of six in a row in league play, having swept Delaware State the weekend prior. FDU's potent offense leads the NEC in all three slash-line categories, with a .305 batting average, a .442 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage, which adds up to an eye-catching team OPS of .942.

ON THE MOUND
Sacred Heart projected starters:
Friday: Jake Babuschak (RHP)
            Season stats: 40.0 IP, 51 H, 28 R (24 ER), 15 BB, 34 K, 5.40 ERA, 1.65 WHIP
            Last start: April 6 at CCSU (L), 6.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 4 K
Saturday: Jack Kramer (RHP)
            Season stats: 38.0 IP, 39 H, 25 R (22 ER), 21 BB, 37 K, 5.21 ERA, 1.58 WHIP
            Last start: April 7 at CCSU (L), 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Sunday: TBD 

FDU projected starters:
Friday: Jude Baxt (RHP)
            Season stats: 30.1 IP, 33 H, 14 ER, 11 BB, 16 K, 4.15 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
            Last start: April 6 at Stonehill (W), 6.2 IP, 9 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
Saturday: Rich Racobaldo (RHP)
            Season stats: 40.0 IP, 41 H, 22 R (20 ER), 18 BB, 44 K, 4.50 ERA, 1.48 WHIP
            Last start: April 7 at Stonehill (W), 5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Sunday: Ethan Rembish (RHP)
            Season stats: 17.0 IP, 22 H, 16 R (13 ER), 15 BB, 15 K, 6.88 ERA, 2.18 WHIP
            Last start: April 8 at Stonehill (ND), 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 K 

LAST TIME AGAINST THE KNIGHTS
The two teams met for a pair of three-game NEC series last year. The Knights posted a three-game sweep over SHU at home to conclude the regular season on May 19-21. Earlier in the year though, the Pioneers took two out of three at home on April 1-2, which was FDU's most-recent trip to Veteran's Park. The winning team did not score fewer than seven runs in any of the six games. 

ALL-TIME VS. FDU
The two clubs have now met 89 times in an all-time series which dates to 1999, with Fairleigh Dickinson holding a 63-26 advantage, including a 59-23 margin in NEC play. Sacred Heart has held its own against the Knights at home over the years, with a 30-15 record in 45 games. 

NEXT UP
SHU has midweek home tilts against Fordham (Tuesday) and Massachusetts (Wednesday) next week, before hosting Wagner in an NEC series April 21-23.