2008 Southern Connecticut
State University Baseball
Games 21, 22 & 23
SCSU (10-10, 0-1 NE-10) vs.
Bentley (8-14, 2-3 NE-10)
March 29 • New Haven, Conn. • 12/3 p.m.
March 30 • Waltham, Mass. • 1 p.m.


View full game notes (.pdf).



LET'S PLAY TWO
After a postponed game on Thursday, the Southern Connecticut State University baseball team returns to action on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Bentley in a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader at The Ballpark at SCSU. The twin bill will mark the first conference doubleheader of the season for the Owls. So far this season, SCSU has swept three doubleheaders, been swept twice and split two double dips.

LAST TIME OUT
Matt Anderson hit 3-for-5, scored twice and drove in a run on Tuesday afternoon against the Southern Connecticut State University baseball team to lead No. 8 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce to a 9-0 victory in the Northeast-10 Conference opener for both squads at The Ballpark at SCSU.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Picked to finish seventh in the Northeast-10, Bentley has won six of its last nine games to run their record to 8-14 after an 0-8 start and has opened NE-10 play at 2-3. Most recently, Charles Hardy hit 4-for-4 with a double and a triple to drive in all three runs in a 3-2 Bentley victory at Massachusetts-Lowell on Thursday afternoon at LeLacheur Park in Lowell. On the season, the Falcons are led by Joe Dorr's .357 batting average and Garrett Stenhouse's 19 runs batted in.

LAST TIME AGAINST BENTLEY
Brian Fioretti tossed a complete-game, five-hit shutout on April 26, 2007 to lead Bentley to a 2-0 victory over SCSU in Northeast-10 play at DeFelice Field in Waltham, Mass. Kevin Vona hit 1-for-4 with a key RBI for Bentley in the victory. Billy Hite went 2-for-3 and drew a walk for SCSU.

WHITEWASHED
Sophomore starter Jim Fuller tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout and struck out 11 in a 5-0 win over Dominican on March 21 in Boca Raton, Fla. For his performance, the Marlborough, Mass. native was named Northeast-10 Conference Pitcher of the Week for the week ending on March 23. It was the second time this season an Owl has been named Pitcher of the Week.

SPRING BREAK FLORIDA
The Owls played 10 games over eight days in Florida over spring break to gear up for their grueling Northeast-10 Conference schedule. Over the week and a day, SCSU went 4-6, including shutout wins over Mercy and Dominican. Of the 10 games, eight were played against Northeast Region foes, with the Owls holding a 4-4 record in those contests.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
The SCSU pitching staff combined for 17 strikeouts in the Owls' 11-0 victory over New Haven on March 11. Sophomore starter Jim Fuller pitched the first six innings and struck out 11. Senior Nick Carlucci recorded two strikeouts in the seventh inning, senior Toby Nylin struck out the side in the eighth and junior Mike Connors tallied a strikeout in the ninth. In the game, SCSU pitching allowed just three hits, walked one batter and hit another.

DOUBLE DIGITS
The 11-run output on March 18 at Barry marked the fourth time this season the Owls have posted a double-digit run total. The Owls are 3-1 when they score double digits this year and 0-3 when they allow double digits to be scored against them.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
After opening the season by getting swept at Florida Institute of Technology, the Owls have ran off a nine-game win streak in the first half of March. Over that span, SCSU outscored its opponents 68-9, including a quartet of shutouts. The last time the Owls had won nine in a row was March 8-20, 2006. The last time SCSU won more than nine straight was March 24-April 4, 2002, when the rattled off 12 consecutive victories.

EXPLOSIVE OFFENSE
The SCSU offense scored its most runs in nearly a year on March 2 when the Owls defeated Assumption 17-3 in the second game of a doubleheader. In all, 11 Owls recorded at least one base hit and 10 SCSU players scored at least one run. The last time the Owls scored 17 runs was in a 17-11 victory over Dominican on March 4, 2007. The last time SCSU scored more runs was April 4, 2002, when they tallied an 18-7 victory at Merrimack.

HELP FROM THE HILL
After giving up double-digit run totals in each of the season's first three games, the SCSU pitching staff did not allow more than three runs in a game in the next seven contests. Included in that span were shutouts of C.W. Post, Assumption, New Haven and Mercy.

DUAL HONORS
Junior centerfielder Karl Derbacher was named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for the week ending on March 2. In the same week, senior pitcher Nick Carlucci was named the conference's Pitcher of the Week.

OWLS ON THE HONOR ROLL
Junior shortstop Mike Diaz was named to the Northeast-10 Conference Honor Roll for the week ending on March 23. The Owls have had nine honor roll selections so far this season.

ENJOYING THE WARM WEATHER
Junior second baseman Kevin Bowerman saw success as the Owls opened their season with three games at Florida Tech on Feb. 16 and 17. The West Haven, Conn. native hit 8-for-13 (.615) with five RBI, a double, a run scored and a stolen base on the trip.

DIAZ EARNS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA HONORS
Junior shortstop Mike Diaz has been named a Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Magazine. He garnered All-Northeast Region and First-Team All-Northeast-10 Conference honors a year ago after batting .360.

STRONG ARMS AT THE TOP
The Owls return a bevy of experienced pitchers this spring. Seniors Toby Nylin and Nick Carlucci both have logged significant time as starters, while junior Justin Cox is back on the hill after missing all of last year with an injury. He was an All-Conference pick two years ago after going 7-0 for the Owls. Also back in sophomore lefty Ed Bethke, who led the staff in innings pitched last year en route to a five-win season. The bullpen will be anchored by junior Mike Connors, who was second on the club in appearances last season.

FLIRTING WITH A FINE FIGURE
In addition to Mike Diaz, who hit .360 last year, the Owls have two other returnees who have posted single-season efforts above .300. Joe Kahlden batted .315 in 2006, while Chris Barile batted .312 last year. In addition, Billy Hite batted .294 last season, while Kevin Bowerman hit .296 in 2006.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Fourteen of the 28 players on the SCSU roster are new to the club this season. The newcomers are comprised of three juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen.

THE CAPTAINS
Senior Joe Kahlden and junior Kevin Bowerman will serve as team captains for the Owls this spring.

IN THE NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Owls were tabbed for fifth in this year's Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches Poll. Franklin Pierce was selected as the preseason favorite.

HEAD COACH TIM SHEA
Affiliated with Southern Connecticut State University as a student-athlete, instructor and coach for two decades, Tim Shea's long-standing relationship with the university has been a tremendously successful one. He took over as head baseball coach prior to the 2002 season after serving 11 years as an Owls assistant to Joe Bandiera. Now in his seventh season, Shea has compiled a 177-128 (.580) record. He guided the Owls to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2005.

ON DECK
The Owls return to the field on March 31 when they visit Assumption for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Rocheleau Field in Worcester, Mass.