In a year the Sacred Heart University baseball team has pretty much run the gauntlet of the Northeast Conference, it seems fitting the team's quest for its first regular-season title would come up against its fiercest rival on the second weekend of May. The defending champs are in town, as Central Connecticut State comes calling at Veterans Memorial Park for a three-game series.
 
The Pios clinched their second straight NEC Championship berth while they were idle on Sunday. The team cannot lock up the regular-season crown this weekend, but would earn a first-round bye with a sweep of the Blue Devils. LIU and Wagner, both tied for second place a game behind SHU, square off with each other this weekend, which means one team will tally at least two wins and the other will suffer at least two losses.
 
First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Vet. Live video (YouTube Live), live audio (Mixlr) and live stats will be available for all three contests.
 
THE LAST WEEK
SHU is all alone in first place thanks to a pivotal series win on the road at Wagner a week ago. The weekend opened with a hotly-contested doubleheader on Friday, as Sacred Heart surrendered a 3-1 lead in the first game, but then erased a 5-1 deficit in the second game on the way to a split. Elijah Foster was electric in the rubber game on Saturday night, with six innings of scoreless, one-hit ball and nine strikeouts, as the Pios took a 3-1 victory and sole possession of the NEC's top spot.
 
SHU was home on Tuesday for non-conference play and took a wild, 11-9 victory over Stony Brook.
 
A LOOK AT THE PIOS
Sacred Heart (27-20, 20-7 NEC) has won eight of nine, including seven of its last eight NEC games. Three of the team's seven league losses have been in extra innings and only one NEC loss has come by more than two runs, as the Pios have been competitive in every league game they've played so far in 2024. SHU is 15-3 in 18 games at the Vet and has won its last six at home.
 
Zack Kovalchik is seventh in the NEC in hits (58), while he and Alex Ungar are both tied-seventh in doubles (12).
 
As a team, SHU continues to lead the NEC in ERA (4.82), nearly a full run ahead of Wagner, and is ninth in the league in on-base percentage (.370).
 
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
The title defense has not been smooth for perennial contender CCSU (16-20, 15-11 NEC), but the Blue Devils will come to the Vet hungry, set to face their in-state rival amid their own fight for a postseason spot. CCSU was just 5-10 in NEC play in early April, after getting swept by Stonehill and Merrimack in back-to-back weekends. The Blue Devils have lost just one NEC game since and come into the weekend winners of five straight after taking both games at Coppin State before the third was rained out last weekend. A series win for CCSU would go a long way towards securing the program's fifth straight postseason berth.
 
Gianno Merlonghi boasts a .419/.436/.602 slash line, which makes him the NEC's leader in batting average and puts him seventh in OPS (1.038) and ninth in slugging. Brady Short has the league's highest on-base percentage (.477) and is second behind Merlonghi in average (.395).
 
CCSU is fourth in the league in OBP (.381), second in slugging (.451) and sixth in ERA (6.61).
 
ON THE MOUND
Sacred Heart projected starters:
Friday: Jake Babuschak (RHP)
            2024 stats: 65.2 IP, 69 H, 38 R (37 ER), 20 BB, 60 K, 5.07 ERA, 1.36 WHIP
            Last start: 5/3 at WAG (ND), 7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Saturday: Joe Trombley (RHP)
            2024 stats: 47.0 IP, 50 H, 26 R (21 ER), 17 BB, 29 K, 4.02 ERA, 1.43 WHIP
            Last start: 5/3 at WAG (ND), 3.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (3 ER), 4 BB, 3 K
Sunday: Elijah Foster (RHP)
            2024 stats: 48.1 IP, 30 H, 19 R (18 ER), 40 BB, 71 K, 3.35 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
            Last start: 5/4 at WAG (W), 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K
 
CCSU projected starters:
Friday: Jake Neuman (LHP)
            2024 stats: 61.0 IP, 53 H, 38 R (33 ER), 38 BB, 37 K, 4.87 ERA, 1.49 WHIP
            Last start: 5/3 at CSU (W), 6.0 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 4 K
Saturday: Luke Garofalo (RHP)
            2024 stats: 22.2 IP, 37 H, 30 R (29 ER), 18 BB, 14 K, 11.51 ERA, 2.43 WHIP
            Last start: 4/27 at UMES (W), 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
Sunday: Vincent Spizzoucco (LHP)
            2024 stats: 26.1 IP, 20 H, 11 ER, 19 BB, 29 K, 3.76 ERA, 1.48 WHIP
            Last start: 5/3 at CSU (ND), 4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
 
LAST MEETING
Last year's series came a month earlier in the year, as the two locked horns at CCSU on the first weekend in April. SHU left 10 men on base and hit into three double plays in a 5-2 loss in the opener and CCSU had a five-run third en route to an 8-4 win in the second game. In a wild series finale, Central rallied to tie the game in both the bottom of the ninth and 10^th innings, before Sacred Heart finally used a four-run 11^th to chalk up a 10-7 (11 inn.) victory to avoid the sweep.
 
The two met twice in the postseason as well, with CCSU dealing SHU both of its losses in last year's NEC Championship. On Thursday, the Blue Devils used a four-run sixth to pull away for 5-2 win. The two would clash again in an elimination game and semifinal on Saturday afternoon. SHU loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth, and needed one more hit to make things interesting, but Vincent Spizzoucco was able to induce three straight foul pop-ups to end the game and secure a 4-1 CCSU victory.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
The intrastate rivalry between the two teams dates to 1998 and spans 103 games, heading into the final NEC series between the two. CCSU has had the better of it, with a 60-43 advantage, which includes a 48-37 margin in NEC play. The Blue Devils have won nine of the last 10 meetings, dating to 2021.
 
NEXT UP
SHU will wrap up the regular season next week. The Pios close out the home slate with a Tuesday matinee against Quinnipiac and then travel to Maryland Eastern Shore to wrap up the NEC campaign May 16-18.