QU Set For Final Home Weekend Of The Year Against Saint Peter's

Thursday, May 9

Hamden, Conn.

3:15 PM

Quinnipiac University

Saint Peter's

Photo by: Farrah Chernov

QU Set For Final Home Weekend Of The Year Against Saint Peter's

5/8/2024 11:15:00 AM | Baseball

Quinnipiac Bobcats (17-26, 7-11 MAAC) vs Saint Peter's Peacocks (10-36, 4-14 MAAC)
Date: Thursday, May 9^th
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: QU Baseball Field | Hamden, Conn.
All-Time Series: Quinnipiac leads the all-time series, 18-2.
Last Meeting: W, 13-9 (May 13, 2023 – New Britain, Conn.)
Watch Here | Live Stats | @TheQBaseball

Quinnipiac Bobcats vs Saint Peter's Peacocks
Date: Friday, May 6^th
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: QU Baseball Field | Hamden, Conn.
Watch Here | Live Stats | @TheQBaseball

Quinnipiac Bobcats vs Saint Peter's Peacocks
Date: Saturday, May 7^th
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Fiondella Field | Hartford, Conn.
Watch Here | Live Stats | @TheQBaseball

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac baseball program will return home for the final home conference weekend of the season as they host the Saint Peter's Peacocks for a three-game series. Thursday's first pitch is scheduled for 3 PM at the QU Baseball Field. On Friday, the Bobcats will be honoring the seniors in a pre-game ceremony before the first pitch at 3 PM. Saturday's contest is slated for a 1 PM first pitch at Fiondella Field on the campus of the University of Hartford.

HISTORY VS. SAINT PETER'S

Thursday's matchup will be the 21^st time the two programs will be facing off.
Quinnipiac leads the all-time series, 18-2, dating back to April 19, 2014.
In their last matchup, Quinnipiac downed the Peacocks, 13-9, in New Britain, Connecticut. Braydon Seaburg and Christian Smith led the offense with three RBIs each.
Keegan O'Connor went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI.

SCOUTING THE PEACOCKS

Saint Peter's enters the weekend series at a 10-36 overall record and a 4-14 mark in conference play, which has them in 11^th place in the MAAC.
The Peacocks have lost 14 straight contests and are coming off a MAAC series loss to the Canisius Golden Griffins. Saint Peter's was outscored 33-6 in the series with three runs coming in each of the first two games of the series.
Ashby Vining has played 46 games this season with 45 starts and leads the team with a .307 batting average. Vining leads the Peacocks with 10 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .542 slugging percentage.
Jonny Gilligan leads the Peacocks' pitching staff with a 5.89 earned run average in 13 appearances and nine starts. Gilligan holds a 2-6 win-loss record with 47 strikeouts in 55.0 innings pitched.

LAST TIME OUT

The Bobcats got swept by the Niagara Purple Eagles this past weekend, which puts the Bobcats at a 7-11 record and seventh place in the MAAC.
Quinnipiac dropped the opening game of the series, 10-7, despite two RBIs each from Dominick Proctor and Matt DeRosa.
In the middle game of the series, Quinnipiac got out to a one-run lead in the first but ultimately fell 16-9. Spencer Chard drove in four runs and hit his first collegiate home run in the ninth inning.
The Bobcats and Purple Eagles were locked into a 4-4 game in the seventh inning before Niagara added two in the eighth inning to take a 6-4 lead. QU added one run in the ninth but fell 6-5 in the series finale.

STAT LEADERS

Batting Average – Jared Zimbardo (.344)
Slugging Percentage – Christian Smith (.550)
On-Base Percentage – Jared Zimbardo (.471)
Runs Scored – Jared Zimbardo, CJ Willis, and Keegan O'Connor (41)
Hits – Keegan O'Connor and Jared Zimbardo (55)
Runs Batted In (RBI) – Keegan O'Connor (42)
Home Runs – Christian Smith and Keegan O'Connor (9)
Stolen Bases – Gabe Wright (28)
Wins – Sam Favieri (4)
Saves – Matt Alduino (2)
Strike Outs – Mason Ulsh (53)
Fielding Percentage –Jared Zimbardo (.992)

O' CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

Junior Keegan O'Connor enters his senior season.
O'Connor was named to the All-MAAC First Team and NEIBA All-New England First Team
O'Connor played and started in 55 games a season ago and batted .342.
He blasted 13 home runs and drove in 60 runs and scored 51 runs.
O'Connor drove in a game-high 7 runs in a win over Saint Peter's (5/11).

SE-BASH-TIAN

Sebastian Mueller was named to the 2023 MAAC All-Academic Team
Mueller played in 56 games and made 55 starts as a junior
In 225 at-bats just a season ago, Mueller had a batting average of .311.
He hit 18 homers, to lead the team, and drove in 54 runs.
Mueller went 4-for-7 and drove in a season high 8 runs in a win over Saint Peter's (5/11)

KEY RETURNERS

The Bobcats return 23 players from last season's team.
Sophomore Matt Alduino will be a key returner as he earned 2023 All-Rookie honors for his incredible campaign. Alduino led the team with a 4.50 ERA and 1.38 WHIP.
Starting Pitchers, Mason Ulsh and Jimmy Hagan will also play a key role this season. Hagan will return to the mound after being shut down last season. Ulsh will look to play off his solid sophomore season.
Other key returners include Braydon Seaburg, John Heitzman, Sean Swenson, Aaron Zenus, Matt DeRosa, Sam Favieri, Frank Craska, and Andrew Rubayo.

LOTS OF NEW FACES

Quinnipiac welcomes 13 new faces to their campus this season.
The Bobcats used the transfer portal to fill any openings and grabbed Dominick Proctor (Bryant and Stratton), CJ Willis (Western New England), Skyler Manelski (Linfield University), Jack Kabel (Nichols College), Gabe Wright (Indian River State College), Brett Leighton (Gettysburg), and Jack Gannon (Saint Peter's).
Quinnipiac also brought in six first years, Spencer Chard (Newtown, Conn.), Kyle Garbowski (New Fairfield, Conn.), Raymond McNaught (East Bridgewater, Mass.), Andrew Hearn (Westfield, Mass.), James Fahan (Stamford, Conn.), and Sam Ametrano (Guilford, Conn.).

NEXT TIME OUT

The Bobcats will go back on the road to battle the Sacred Heart Pioneers in a midweek, non-conference matchup in Fairfield, Conn. The first pitch from Veterans Field is scheduled for noon and can be seen here.

For more information on the Quinnipiac baseball team, visit gobobcats.com/baseball and follow the team on Twitter, @TheQBaseball, and Instagram, @bobcatsbsb.