Baseball Opens 2020 Campaign Friday Night

Friday, February 14

San Antonio, Texas / Roadrunner Field

5:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM CT

Quinnipiac University

UTSA

Photo by: Liz Flynn, QBSN

2/14/2020 11:40:00 AM | Baseball

Bobcats Kick Off Season with Three-Game Series at UTSA

By: QU Athletic Communications

Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) at
UTSA Roadrunners (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Date: Friday, Feb. 14, 2020
Time: 5 PM ET/4 PM PT
Location: Roadrunner Field | San Antonio, Texas
All-Time Series: 3-1 (Won last meeting, 12-10, on Feb. 19, 2017)
Probable Starters: Christian Nicolosi (0-0, 0.00 ERA) at Slater Foust (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Watch | Live Stats | @TheQBaseball

Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) at
UTSA Roadrunners (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020
Time: 3 PM ET/2 PM PT
Location: Roadrunner Field | San Antonio, Texas
All-Time Series: 3-1 (Won last meeting, 12-10, on Feb. 19, 2017)
Probable Starters: Arthur Corriera (0-0, 0.00 ERA) at Shane Daughty (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Watch | Live Stats | @TheQBaseball

Quinnipiac Bobcats (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) at
UTSA Roadrunners (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020
Time: 11 AM ET/10 AM PT
Location: Roadrunner Field | San Antonio, Texas
All-Time Series: 3-1 (Won last meeting, 12-10, on Feb. 19, 2017)
Probable Starters: Derek Goldrick (0-0, 0.00 ERA) at TBA (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Watch | Live Stats | @TheQBaseball

HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac baseball team officially kicks off the 2020 season this weekend as the Bobcats open the year with a three-game series at UTSA beginning Friday night in San Antonio.

Scouting UTSA
The Roadrunners finished the 2019 season eighth in the Conference USA standings with a conference mark of 13-16 and were 28-30 overall. UTSA was led offensively by a quintet of batters who hit over .300, including an impressive .376 batting average from Ryan Stacy with seven home runs, 24 total extra base hits and 71 hits on the season. Bryan Arias has 10 home runs and 40 RBIs while coming home to score a team-high 58 runs while Bryan Sturges led the Roadrunners with 48 RBIs. Karan Patel pitched 92 innings to lead the way for the Roadrunners with a 2.84 ERA despite a 4-5 record while Slater Foust went 8-2 in 85 innings pitched. Patel was the most dominant arm for UTSA with 104 strikeouts.

All-Time vs. UTSA
This weekend marks the second series between the two teams and first since the 2017 season. Quinnipiac is 3-1 all-time against UTSA as the Bobcats had an impressive first meeting between the two teams. Former Bobcat Liam Scafariello hit five home runs in that four-game series to kick off his Quinnipiac career.

A 2019 to Remember
Quinnipiac has a lot of fond memories of the 2019 season which will go down as the best in program history. The Bobcats won a program record 30 games, won its first MAAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships, and won its first-ever NCAA Tournament Game with a 5-4 win at #10 ECU in the Greenville Regional.

Big Shoes to Fill
The Bobcats graduated some familiar faces who played pivotal roles in the Bobcats 2019 success. Scafariello, the program's all-time home run leader, graduated after a 14-home run campaign. Fellow outfielder Brian Moskey graduated after winning MAAC Tournament MVP honors as well as catcher Anthony Cruz and shortstop Kevin Huscher. The Bobcats also graduated some big arms as starters Tyler Poulin and Chris Enns completed their degrees while reigning MAAC Relief Pitcher of the Year Andrew Workman also graduated in 2019.

National Attention
Quinnipiac received national attention following its record-breaking season as the Bobcats received votes in the Collegiate Baseball News Preseason Division I Poll. The Bobcats were one of two teams to receive votes, as Canisius joined the Bobcats in the preseason rankings.

Preseason Favorites
Quinnipiac was picked to repeat as MAAC Champions in the 2020 Preseason Coaches' Poll as the Bobcats received four first-place votes and 105 points in the poll. 2020 is the first time the Bobcats have been picked as the MAAC Preseason favorites after being picked fourth in 2019. Colton Bender, Andre Marrero and Ian Ostberg were all named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team, with Bender's selection being his second straight.

Marrero's Making His Mark
Andre Marrero has received a good deal of national attention this preseason as he was named one of the top 150 hitters and the No. 64 outfield power rankings by D1Baseball.com. He had a breakout season in 2019 with 10 home runs, 14 doubles, 48 RBIs and 51 runs scored with a .321 batting average as he started all 59 games.

Record Breaking Season
In addition to all the team firsts in 2019, the Bobcats shattered several program records including runs scored (380), hits (575), doubles (128), stolen bases (108), walks (225) and tied the program record with 328 RBIs. Quinnipiac pitching also had a dominant season as its 430 strikeouts were the most in program history.

Career Records
Several players climbed high in the Bobcats record book, led by Liam Scafariello's program record 45 home runs after hitting three straight seasons with 14 or more home runs. Brian Moskey tied the program record with 49 doubles, finished sixth with 215 career hits and tied for fourth with 137 runs scored while Scafariello's 121 RBIs are the third-most in Division I program history.

Lord Vulgamore
Evan Vulgamore returns for his senior season after another impressive year as he finished with 55 RBIs, good for the second-most in a season in Division I program history and third overall. He had a career-high 18 doubles and drilled nine home runs, and finished the year with 30 extra-base hits. His career-high 43 runs tied for sixth in a season in Division I program history.

The Last Airbender
Colton Bender broke out in 2019 and earned Second Team All-MAAC honors after leading the Bobcats with a .322 batting average and closing the season with a 10-game hitting streak. Bender had 66 hits, including 14 doubles, and drove in 32 RBIs as he provided consistency in the lineup.

Tip of the Ostberg
Ian Ostberg looks to build off a 72-hit campaign in 2019 where he finished second on the team in hits and batting average (.321). Ostberg was a First Team All-MAAC selection at Utility last season, an honor he retained in the preseason this year.

Jankins Headed to Spring Training
Former Bobcat Thomas Jankins received his first-ever Non-Roster Invite to spring training from the Milwaukee Brewers as he continues to climb the Brewers farm system. He spent most of the 2019 season in Triple-A where he went 10-5 with a 4.38 ERA in 21 starts.

Hitt Shows His Stuff
Another former Bobcat made his presence felt on the national stage as Robbie Hitt was added to the Arizona Fall League by the Brewers. He went 1-0 with a 5.73 ERA in eight appearances and 11 innings. He struck out 14 batters, and had three strikeouts on three separate occasions.