Bobcats to Open MAAC Play Against Sacred Heart

Friday, March 13

Hamden, Conn.

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

Sacred Heart

Photo by: Farrah Chernov

3/12/2026 12:26:00 PM | Baseball

Quinnipiac Bobcats (4-9, 0-0 MAAC) vs. Sacred Heart Pioneers (2-11, 1-2 MAAC)
Date: Friday, March 13^th
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Quinnipiac Baseball Stadium | Hamden, Conn.
Watch: Click Here | Listen: Click Here | Live Stats: Click Here | @TheQBaseball

Quinnipiac vs. Sacred Heart
Date: Saturday, March 14^th
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Quinnipiac Baseball Stadium | Hamden, Conn.
Watch: Click Here | Listen: Click Here | Live Stats: Click Here | @TheQBaseball

Quinnipiac vs. Sacred Heart
Date: Sunday, March 15^th
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Quinnipiac Baseball Stadium | Hamden, Conn.
Watch: Click Here | Listen: Click Here | Live Stats: Click Here | @TheQBaseball

HAMDEN, Conn. – The Quinnipiac baseball team will open its home slate with a weekend series against the Sacred Heart Pioneers as the Bobcats begin league play. Quinnipiac was one of three MAAC teams not to start league play last weekend.

LAST TIME OUT

The Bobcats dropped their non-conference matchup to the Brown Bears, 4-1, on Tuesday afternoon in Providence.
Kyle Garbowski picked up the lone hit and RBI for the Bobcats, driving in Camac in the opening inning.
Jacob Belecky got the start and went 3.0 innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three.

HISTORY VS. SACRED HEART

Friday's matchup will mark the 55^th time the Bobcats and Pioneers will face off since March 24^th, 2001.
Sacred Heart leads the all-time series, 29-25.
Last season, the Pioneers took the series, two games to one (May 15-17), to close out the regular season.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

The Sacred Pioneers hold a 2-11 overall record and a 1-2 conference record so far this season.
Sacred Heart went 1-8 to start the season before their first conference series of the season.
The Pioneers took one out of three from the Rider Broncs to start MAAC play, winning the final game of the series.
Last time out, the Pioneers dropped their midweek contest to the Yale Bulldogs, 4-2. Ronan Donahue was responsible for both Sacred Heart runs, scoring one and driving in the other.
This season, the Pioneers are hitting .194 as a team, which ranks 13^th in the MAAC, and have scored 43 runs, which is good for 10^th in the conference.
The Pioneers also have the highest ERA among MAAC teams, holding a 11.44 ERA through 13 games this season.
JW Fitzgerald holds the highest batting average among the Pioneers, hitting .289 through 13 starts this year. Fitzgerald has recorded 13 hits and has driven in two runs.
Among the five starters for the Pioneer pitching staff, Ryan Parker and Bryan Matuschat have each started four games.

BOBCAT LEADERS (Among Players that Qualify: 2PA/G and 75% of Games Played)

Batting Average: Jack Balcer (.333)
Runs: Alex Irizarry, Chase Camac (10)
Hits: Jack Balcer, Caden Williamson, Kyle Garbowski (15)
Doubles: Jack Balcer, Kyle Garbowski (4)
Triples: Kyle Garbowski, Matt Park, Christian Nilsen (1)
Home Runs: Five Tied (1)
RBIs: Kyle Garbowski (11)
Stolen Bases: Kyle Garbowski, Chase Camac (4)
ERA: Andrew Rubayo (4.76)
WHIP: Andrew Rubayo (1.24)
Wins: Matt Alduino (2)
Saves: Matt Alduino (2)
Innings Pitched: Andrew Rubayo (17.0)
Strikeouts: James Pazdera (17)

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

The Quinnipiac Baseball team was picked to finish 3^rd in the MAAC Preseason Poll after last season ended in the MAAC Semifinal round against the Rider Broncs.
Christian Smith was named to the Preseason All-MAAC team as he returns to Hamden.
Smith finished the year with a .329 batting average in 56 contests. Smith tied for the team lead in home runs with 15 and led the Bobcats with 67 runs batted in.
Smith had a tremendous MAAC Tournament last season, finishing the week with a .375 clip (6-for-16), while driving in nine runs in the five games in Pomona, earning him a nod on the All-Tournament team.

KEY RETURNERS

The Bobcats return 19 players from last year's team, with of those players seeing game action.
Of those returners, nine are pitchers: J.C. Franconere, Sam Wright, Griffin Seibel, Mike Poncini, Matt Alduino, Nick Balcom, Andrew Rubayo, Josh Lajoie, and Mason Ulsh.
Ten position players return: Cole Constable, Kyle Garbowski, Sam Ametrano, Christian Smith, Alex Irizarry, Luke Zeisloft, James Marino, Matt Park, Ian Nilsen, and Christian Nilsen.

LOTS OF NEW FACES

Quinnipiac welcomes 16 new faces to its campus this season.
The Bobcats used the transfer portal to bring in sophomore right-handed pitcher Maddex Labuda (Liberty), junior outfield/first baseman Jack Balcer (Widener), senior right-handed pitcher James Pazdera, and graduate outfielder Brendan Edvardsen (AIC).
Quinnipiac also brought in 12 first years, with six being pitchers and six being position players, Peyton Vancas (Pleasant Gap, Pa.), Timothy Park (Bridgewater, NJ.), Chase Camac (Northfield, NJ.), Caden Williamson (Broomfield, Co.), Teagan Beames (New Fairfield, Conn.), Brayden Hromada (Center Moriches, NY.), Joseph Hiller (Center Moriches, NY.), Kevin Rusinak (Manalapan, NJ.), Ethan Freed (Limerick, Pa.), Frank Orrei (Verona, NJ.), Langdon Hazen (Underhill, VT.), and Jacob Belecky (Komoka, Ontario, Canada).

NEXT TIME OUT

The Bobcats will remain in Connecticut to take on the CCSU Blue Devils on Tuesday, March 17^th. First pitch from New Britain is slated for 3 PM.

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