Tuesday, May 1
Hamden, Conn.
3:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
vs
Yale
QU Baseball Continues Home Stand with Midweek Games: Makeup vs. Yale and Central Connecticut
4/30/2018 2:12:00 PM | Baseball
Quinnipiac (20-22, 11-4 MAAC) vs. Yale (20-17, 14-4 Ivy)
Date + Time
Tuesday, May 1 — 3 p.m.
Location
QU Baseball Field — Hamden, Conn.
Quinnipiac vs. Central Connecticut (13-23, 8-13 NEC)
Date + Time
Wednesday, May 2 — 3 p.m.
Location
QU Baseball Field — Hamden, Conn.
Live Stats — QuinnipiacBobcats.com
Quinnipiac Baseball on Twitter — @TheQBaseball
HAMDEN, Conn. — The Quinnipiac Bobcats will host two midweek nonconference games at the QU Baseball Field — against the Yale Bulldogs on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and the Central Connecticut Blue Devils on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Quinnipiac (11-4 MAAC) is in first place in the 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — and has been since day one of the conference season.
Yale (14-4 Ivy) is in first place in the eight-team Ivy League, while Central Connecticut (8-13 NEC) is fifth in the seven-team Northeast Conference. The Yale-QU contest on Tuesday is a makeup game.
In the MAAC, Canisius (12-6) is in second place and Marist (10-5) is third.
Quinnipiac is in the midst of a nine-game home stand, which began last week with a 6-5 nonconference win against Hartford on Tuesday. It would have been 10 straight, but the nonconference home game scheduled against UMass on Wednesday was rained out.
LAST TIME OUT: IONA 9, QUINNIPIAC 4
In MAAC action, the Iona Gaels defeated Quinnipiac 9-4 on Sunday at the QU Baseball Field. Quinnipiac dropped two of three games to Iona in the weekend series, marking the first time this season they've lost a MAAC series. The teams split Saturday's doubleheader.
Heading into this past weekend, the Bobcats had won four straight MAAC series this season, beginning with the year's first conference series.
The Gaels scored first on Sunday, in the top of the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead on a single, a walk and an error. Bobcats senior Ben Gibson answered right away in the bottom of the second, launching a solo home run to tie the score 1-1.
Iona scored two unearned runs in the top of the fourth for a 3-1 lead. While the Gaels recorded three hits in the inning — a double and two singles — the sloppy Bobcats' defense committed two errors, resulting in the two runs. In the top of the sixth inning, the floodgates opened for the Gaels as they scored five runs to stretch their lead to 8-1.
Sophomore Evan Vulgamore and Gibson hit solo home runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Bobcats' deficit to 8-3. Gibson's dinger gave him 11 this season, which leads the MAAC.
The Gaels added another run in the top of the ninth inning to extend their lead to 9-3. In the bottom of the ninth, senior Julius Saporito slugged a solo home run to cut Iona's lead to 9-4, but that's as close as the Bobcats would come.
DOUBLEHEADER RECAP: QU, IONA SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE
Quinnipiac and Iona split a conference doubleheader on Saturday at the QU Baseball Field. The Bobcats won game one 2-1 behind starter Taylor Luciani's gem, but lost game two 3-0 as Gaels sophomore starter Mario Ferraioli threw a seven-inning no-hitter.
Game one was a classic pitcher's duel. The Bobcats won 2-1 thanks to a tremendous pitching performance by Luciani, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and posted a stellar line: eight innings, one run, two hits (both singles) and eight strikeouts, plus four walks. A senior, Luciani upped his record to 7-2, tied for the most wins among MAAC pitchers (in all games).
The Gaels broke up Luciani's no-hit bid — and the scoreless deadlock — in the top of the fifth, with some help from Luciani. The 6-foot-1 right-hander issued two walks and then gave up his first hit of the game, a single to left field by freshman Sam Punzi that gave Iona a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, QU freshman Ian Ostberg led off with a single to right field and sophomore Andre Marrero doubled to left-center as Ostberg hustled to third base. Junior Brian Moskey walked to load the bases, and then junior Liam Scafariello walked — his non-swinging RBI tied the game 1-1.
The next batter, sophomore Evan Vulgamore, hit a flyout to right field that scored Marrero from third base for the game-winning RBI.
So after starting the rally with two hits, the Bobcats finished it by driving in their only two runs of the game without the benefit of a hit — on two walks (one game-tying) and a game-winning sacrifice fly.
Heading into the ninth inning, with Luciani's pitch count at 109, Bobcats senior closer Mike Davis entered the game and shut the door for his fourth save. Marrero (3-for-4, two doubles, one run) and Ostberg (2-for-3, one run) paced Quinnipiac's offense. Punzi (2-for-3) had the Gaels' only two hits (yes, he saved Iona from being no-hit).
While the Bobcats have been above .500 in the MAAC all season, after their win in game one they reached the .500 mark overall (at 20-20) for the first time since they were 8-8 on March 17.
In game two, Iona's 3-0 win came with an exclamation point: Ferraioli's seven-inning no-hitter. Remember, in college baseball one game of a doubleheader is typically seven innings.
MAAC STATS UPDATE: GIBSON TOPS HR LIST
Note: The following individual stats are for all games through this past Sunday, not just conference games. Source: MAAC website.
Hitters
In home runs, Quinnipiac senior Ben Gibson (11) leads the MAAC and junior Liam Scafariello (9) is second, while sophomore Evan Vulgamore (7) is tied for fourth-most. Gibson is fifth in slugging percentage at .550.
In stolen bases, junior Brian Moskey and sophomore Andre Marrero (10 apiece) are tied for second-most in the MAAC, while senior Anthony Cruz, Scafariello and Vulgamore are tied for fifth-most (7 apiece).
In doubles, Marrero (13) is tied for fourth-most while Scafariello is tied for fifth-most (12). Moskey is the Bobcats' leading hitter with a .308 average.
In hits, Moskey (49) is sixth in the conference. In walks, Scafariello (25) has the fifth-most and Marrero (24) is tied for sixth-most. In RBI, Scafariello (35) is seventh, while Gibson (34) is tied for eighth-most.
Pitchers
In wins, Quinnipiac senior pitcher Taylor Luciani (7-2) is tied for first in the MAAC and graduate student Brandon Shileikis (5-4) is tied for third-most.
In strikeouts, junior Tyler Poulin (65) is second in the league while Shileikis (55) has the sixth-most and Luciani (50) is tied for seventh-most.
In ERA, sophomore reliever Colin Donnelly (1.84) is tied for fifth in the league among pitchers with at least 10 innings. Among pitchers with at least 20 innings, freshman Arthur Correira (2.38) is 10th in the league.
Team
In conference games only, Quinnipiac hitters lead the MAAC in home runs, slugging percentage and stolen bases (tied for first). Quinnipiac pitchers are first in shutouts, runs allowed and hits allowed, and second in ERA and batting average against.
QU is in first place in the MAAC standings with an 11-4 record.
Against Saint Peter's on Saturday, March 31, Quinnipiac set a new Division I program record for most runs scored in a single game (28). The team's old record of 24 runs was set against Wagner College during the 2003 season. The last time the Bobcats scored at least 20 runs in a game was in 2007, when they scored exactly 20 against LIU Brooklyn.
BOBCATS NO. 4 IN NEIBA POLL
Quinnipiac was ranked fourth again in last week's New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association Coaches Poll. QU was No. 4 the previous two weeks.
Last week's rankings:
1 – UConn
2 – Northeastern
3 – Bryant
4 – Quinnipiac
5 – Yale
Last week's NEIBA poll was the fifth of the season. Quinnipiac was ranked fifth in the season's first poll, announced on Monday, March 26. It was the first time the Bobcats had cracked the poll since 2015 and only the second time in the last decade. In the second NEIBA poll on April 2, the Bobcats dropped from the top five but received votes.
The poll is conducted by New England college baseball coaches in Division I; the top five teams are ranked. There are also NEIBA polls for Divisions II and III.
HOME SWEET HOME
After playing 26 straight road games over two months to start the season, Quinnipiac finally hosted a visitor at the QU Baseball Field in the weekend series against Monmouth on April 7-8. The Bobcats' three-game series sweep was the first time they swept the Hawks. The long road exodus had sent the Bobcats to such destinations as Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Long Island and New Jersey.
In the doubleheader with Monmouth on April 8, Quinnipiac was propelled to victory by the clutch hitting of junior Liam Scafariello and senior Ben Gibson, who tag-teamed for some walk-off magic. Each player had the game-winning hit in Quinnipiac's last at-bat, and the final score of each game was 4-3.
MAAC PRESEASON POLL
Quinnipiac was picked to finish eighth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bobcats were placed between Siena and Rider. Marist was slated to finish first, garnering seven first-place votes, with Canisius, Fairfield and Niagara rounding out the top four.
HEAD COACH JOHN DELANEY
Head Coach John Delaney is in his fourth season at the helm with Quinnipiac baseball. He has amassed 88 wins in his three-plus years as head coach, including 29 wins in 2015, which tied the program record for most victories in a single season. The Bobcats went 29-27 (15-9 MAAC) overall that year, finishing third in the conference — their highest regular season conference finish since winning the regular season Northeast Conference title in 2007, when Delaney played for the team.
NEXT UP
After the Bobcats' nonconference home games against Yale on Tuesday and Central Connecticut on Wednesday, they will host Niagara for a three-game weekend MAAC series on Saturday (doubleheader, 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.).
Date + Time
Tuesday, May 1 — 3 p.m.
Location
QU Baseball Field — Hamden, Conn.
Quinnipiac vs. Central Connecticut (13-23, 8-13 NEC)
Date + Time
Wednesday, May 2 — 3 p.m.
Location
QU Baseball Field — Hamden, Conn.
Live Stats — QuinnipiacBobcats.com
Quinnipiac Baseball on Twitter — @TheQBaseball
HAMDEN, Conn. — The Quinnipiac Bobcats will host two midweek nonconference games at the QU Baseball Field — against the Yale Bulldogs on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and the Central Connecticut Blue Devils on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Quinnipiac (11-4 MAAC) is in first place in the 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference — and has been since day one of the conference season.
Yale (14-4 Ivy) is in first place in the eight-team Ivy League, while Central Connecticut (8-13 NEC) is fifth in the seven-team Northeast Conference. The Yale-QU contest on Tuesday is a makeup game.
In the MAAC, Canisius (12-6) is in second place and Marist (10-5) is third.
Quinnipiac is in the midst of a nine-game home stand, which began last week with a 6-5 nonconference win against Hartford on Tuesday. It would have been 10 straight, but the nonconference home game scheduled against UMass on Wednesday was rained out.
LAST TIME OUT: IONA 9, QUINNIPIAC 4
In MAAC action, the Iona Gaels defeated Quinnipiac 9-4 on Sunday at the QU Baseball Field. Quinnipiac dropped two of three games to Iona in the weekend series, marking the first time this season they've lost a MAAC series. The teams split Saturday's doubleheader.
Heading into this past weekend, the Bobcats had won four straight MAAC series this season, beginning with the year's first conference series.
The Gaels scored first on Sunday, in the top of the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead on a single, a walk and an error. Bobcats senior Ben Gibson answered right away in the bottom of the second, launching a solo home run to tie the score 1-1.
Iona scored two unearned runs in the top of the fourth for a 3-1 lead. While the Gaels recorded three hits in the inning — a double and two singles — the sloppy Bobcats' defense committed two errors, resulting in the two runs. In the top of the sixth inning, the floodgates opened for the Gaels as they scored five runs to stretch their lead to 8-1.
Sophomore Evan Vulgamore and Gibson hit solo home runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Bobcats' deficit to 8-3. Gibson's dinger gave him 11 this season, which leads the MAAC.
The Gaels added another run in the top of the ninth inning to extend their lead to 9-3. In the bottom of the ninth, senior Julius Saporito slugged a solo home run to cut Iona's lead to 9-4, but that's as close as the Bobcats would come.
DOUBLEHEADER RECAP: QU, IONA SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE
Quinnipiac and Iona split a conference doubleheader on Saturday at the QU Baseball Field. The Bobcats won game one 2-1 behind starter Taylor Luciani's gem, but lost game two 3-0 as Gaels sophomore starter Mario Ferraioli threw a seven-inning no-hitter.
Game one was a classic pitcher's duel. The Bobcats won 2-1 thanks to a tremendous pitching performance by Luciani, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and posted a stellar line: eight innings, one run, two hits (both singles) and eight strikeouts, plus four walks. A senior, Luciani upped his record to 7-2, tied for the most wins among MAAC pitchers (in all games).
The Gaels broke up Luciani's no-hit bid — and the scoreless deadlock — in the top of the fifth, with some help from Luciani. The 6-foot-1 right-hander issued two walks and then gave up his first hit of the game, a single to left field by freshman Sam Punzi that gave Iona a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, QU freshman Ian Ostberg led off with a single to right field and sophomore Andre Marrero doubled to left-center as Ostberg hustled to third base. Junior Brian Moskey walked to load the bases, and then junior Liam Scafariello walked — his non-swinging RBI tied the game 1-1.
The next batter, sophomore Evan Vulgamore, hit a flyout to right field that scored Marrero from third base for the game-winning RBI.
So after starting the rally with two hits, the Bobcats finished it by driving in their only two runs of the game without the benefit of a hit — on two walks (one game-tying) and a game-winning sacrifice fly.
Heading into the ninth inning, with Luciani's pitch count at 109, Bobcats senior closer Mike Davis entered the game and shut the door for his fourth save. Marrero (3-for-4, two doubles, one run) and Ostberg (2-for-3, one run) paced Quinnipiac's offense. Punzi (2-for-3) had the Gaels' only two hits (yes, he saved Iona from being no-hit).
While the Bobcats have been above .500 in the MAAC all season, after their win in game one they reached the .500 mark overall (at 20-20) for the first time since they were 8-8 on March 17.
In game two, Iona's 3-0 win came with an exclamation point: Ferraioli's seven-inning no-hitter. Remember, in college baseball one game of a doubleheader is typically seven innings.
MAAC STATS UPDATE: GIBSON TOPS HR LIST
Note: The following individual stats are for all games through this past Sunday, not just conference games. Source: MAAC website.
Hitters
In home runs, Quinnipiac senior Ben Gibson (11) leads the MAAC and junior Liam Scafariello (9) is second, while sophomore Evan Vulgamore (7) is tied for fourth-most. Gibson is fifth in slugging percentage at .550.
In stolen bases, junior Brian Moskey and sophomore Andre Marrero (10 apiece) are tied for second-most in the MAAC, while senior Anthony Cruz, Scafariello and Vulgamore are tied for fifth-most (7 apiece).
In doubles, Marrero (13) is tied for fourth-most while Scafariello is tied for fifth-most (12). Moskey is the Bobcats' leading hitter with a .308 average.
In hits, Moskey (49) is sixth in the conference. In walks, Scafariello (25) has the fifth-most and Marrero (24) is tied for sixth-most. In RBI, Scafariello (35) is seventh, while Gibson (34) is tied for eighth-most.
Pitchers
In wins, Quinnipiac senior pitcher Taylor Luciani (7-2) is tied for first in the MAAC and graduate student Brandon Shileikis (5-4) is tied for third-most.
In strikeouts, junior Tyler Poulin (65) is second in the league while Shileikis (55) has the sixth-most and Luciani (50) is tied for seventh-most.
In ERA, sophomore reliever Colin Donnelly (1.84) is tied for fifth in the league among pitchers with at least 10 innings. Among pitchers with at least 20 innings, freshman Arthur Correira (2.38) is 10th in the league.
Team
In conference games only, Quinnipiac hitters lead the MAAC in home runs, slugging percentage and stolen bases (tied for first). Quinnipiac pitchers are first in shutouts, runs allowed and hits allowed, and second in ERA and batting average against.
QU is in first place in the MAAC standings with an 11-4 record.
Against Saint Peter's on Saturday, March 31, Quinnipiac set a new Division I program record for most runs scored in a single game (28). The team's old record of 24 runs was set against Wagner College during the 2003 season. The last time the Bobcats scored at least 20 runs in a game was in 2007, when they scored exactly 20 against LIU Brooklyn.
BOBCATS NO. 4 IN NEIBA POLL
Quinnipiac was ranked fourth again in last week's New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association Coaches Poll. QU was No. 4 the previous two weeks.
Last week's rankings:
1 – UConn
2 – Northeastern
3 – Bryant
4 – Quinnipiac
5 – Yale
Last week's NEIBA poll was the fifth of the season. Quinnipiac was ranked fifth in the season's first poll, announced on Monday, March 26. It was the first time the Bobcats had cracked the poll since 2015 and only the second time in the last decade. In the second NEIBA poll on April 2, the Bobcats dropped from the top five but received votes.
The poll is conducted by New England college baseball coaches in Division I; the top five teams are ranked. There are also NEIBA polls for Divisions II and III.
HOME SWEET HOME
After playing 26 straight road games over two months to start the season, Quinnipiac finally hosted a visitor at the QU Baseball Field in the weekend series against Monmouth on April 7-8. The Bobcats' three-game series sweep was the first time they swept the Hawks. The long road exodus had sent the Bobcats to such destinations as Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Long Island and New Jersey.
In the doubleheader with Monmouth on April 8, Quinnipiac was propelled to victory by the clutch hitting of junior Liam Scafariello and senior Ben Gibson, who tag-teamed for some walk-off magic. Each player had the game-winning hit in Quinnipiac's last at-bat, and the final score of each game was 4-3.
MAAC PRESEASON POLL
Quinnipiac was picked to finish eighth in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bobcats were placed between Siena and Rider. Marist was slated to finish first, garnering seven first-place votes, with Canisius, Fairfield and Niagara rounding out the top four.
HEAD COACH JOHN DELANEY
Head Coach John Delaney is in his fourth season at the helm with Quinnipiac baseball. He has amassed 88 wins in his three-plus years as head coach, including 29 wins in 2015, which tied the program record for most victories in a single season. The Bobcats went 29-27 (15-9 MAAC) overall that year, finishing third in the conference — their highest regular season conference finish since winning the regular season Northeast Conference title in 2007, when Delaney played for the team.
NEXT UP
After the Bobcats' nonconference home games against Yale on Tuesday and Central Connecticut on Wednesday, they will host Niagara for a three-game weekend MAAC series on Saturday (doubleheader, 12 p.m. and 3 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.).
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