Sacred Heart at Merrimack
Thursday, May 18 - 3 p.m.
Friday, May 19 - 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 20 - 1 p.m.
Greater Lawrence Technical School - Andover, Mass.

It will be fourth, fifth or sixth for the Sacred Heart University baseball team. The Pioneers have already locked up their spot in next week's Northeast Conference Championship, and will open play in the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday, May 24. With three games left in the regular season, it's all about seeding this weekend, as SHU visits Merrimack for a weekend series. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. both Friday and Saturday at Greater Lawrence Technical School in Andover, Mass.
 
The Pioneers are currently tied for fourth with LIU at 15-12 in the NEC, with the Sharks visiting Wagner this weekend. LIU has the tiebreaker, should the two finish tied. SHU and LIU are both two games clear of sixth-place Merrimack (13-14).
 
Seventh-place Maryland Eastern Shore (12-15) and eighth-place Coppin State (11-16) will both be honorary Sacred Heart fans this weekend, as their postseason dreams hinge on catching Merrimack from behind. UMES hosts Delaware State, while Coppin State hosts Norfolk State.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Sam Mongelli cracked his 14^th and 15^th homers of the season on Tuesday afternoon, but a late comeback attempt by Sacred Heart came up short on the road, in a 7-6 loss at Quinnipiac. Mongelli has now hit more home runs in a season than any other Pioneer in the program's Division I era, and has tied for the second-most in a season by a SHU player all-time. Dante D'Amore homered in the game as well.
 
A LOOK AT THE PIOS
Sacred Heart (23-27, 15-12 NEC) locked up its return to the postseason during its bye weekend, as UMES was swept on the road at Stonehill. The Pioneers are four-time NEC champions, and will be looking to capture their first conference crown since 2015. Mongelli will have to be in the discussion for NEC Player of the Year when voting rolls around at the end of this weekend. The senior shortstop is second in the league in batting average (.386), on-base percentage (.477), slugging percentage (.696) and OPS (1.173). His primary competition would appear to be Fairleigh Dickinson's Luke Cantwell, who has him edged in three of the four categories and is also the OPS leader in conference-only play.
 
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Merrimack (20-27, 13-14 NEC) had won six straight NEC games to bolster its postseason chances, before dropping two of three at FDU last weekend. Merrimack needs two wins this weekend to lock up its postseason berth, regardless of what UMES and Coppin State do, but if those teams drop games, the math gets easier for the Warriors. Befitting its sixth-place standing, Merrimack is the middle of the pack stats-wise, ranking sixth in the NEC in on-base percentage (.384) and seventh in ERA (5.86) in conference play.
 
ON THE MOUND (based on previous weekend rotations)
Sacred Heart projected starters:
Thursday: Jake Babuschak (RHP)
            Season stats: 69.1 IP, 72 H, 39 R (32 ER), 24 BB, 60 K, 4.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP
            Last start: May 5 vs. Del. St. (W), 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Friday: Jack Kramer (RHP)
            Season stats: 52.2 IP, 57 H, 40 R (35 ER), 28 BB, 55 K, 5.98 ERA, 1.61 WHIP
            Last NEC start: May 6 vs. Del. St. (ND), 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R (1 ER), 3 BB, 5 K
Saturday: Nick Kane (RHP)
            Season stats: 31.0 IP, 45 H, 32 R (29 ER), 19 BB, 29 K, 8.42 ERA, 2.06 WHIP
            Last start: May 7 vs. Del. St. (L), 0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
 
Merrimack projected starters:
Friday: Justin Butera (RHP)
            Season stats: 61.0 IP, 66 H, 40 R (38 ER), 27 BB, 33 K, 5.61 ERA, 1.52 WHIP
            Last start: May 12 at FDU (ND), 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Saturday: Cedric Gillette (RHP)
            Season stats: 51.1 IP, 51 H, 29 R (26 ER), 17 BB, 28 K, 4.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP
            Last start: May 13 at FDU (L), 2.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R (6 ER), 4 BB, 1 K
Sunday: Tyghe Healy (LHP)
            Season stats: 69.0 IP, 87 H, 55 R (43 ER), 25 BB, 43 K, 5.61 ERA, 1.62 WHIP
            Last start: May 14 at FDU (CG-W), 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE WARRIORS
Merrimack took four of the six meetings between the two teams a year ago, as the Warriors took two out of three at home in late March and then took two out of three at SHU in the middle of May as well. SHU's two wins were loud, with a 13-7 triumph at Merrimack and a 16-4 Senior Day victory at home.
 
ALL-TIME AGAINST MERRIMACK
The two teams met for the first time in 2021, after Merrimack joined the NEC. The Warriors hold an 8-4 edge in 12 all-time meetings. The two teams have met in four three-game series, with Merrimack taking two out of three games on each occasion.
 
NEXT UP
SHU travels to Wappingers Falls, N.Y., for the NEC Championship, held at the home of the New York Yankees high-A affiliate, the Hudson Valley Renegades. The tournament is set for May 24-28. If they finish as the four or five seed, SHU would open play at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, while a sixth-place finish would mean an 11 a.m. game on the same day.