Complete Game Notes as a PDF

BUSY WEEK
Inclement weather conditions have forced the Southern Connecticut State University baseball team (10-16, 5-7 NE-10) to reschedule Saturday's doubleheader against UMass Lowell to Monday. The first game will now take place at LeLacheur Park at 3:30 p.m. Southern heads back on the road for another Northeast-10 road game at Merrimack on Tuesday before returning home to host Merrimack on Thursday, April 16. The team ends the week with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game at The Ballpark at SCSU on Sunday against AIC.

.300 AND ABOVE
Through 26 games, Ryan Geffert and Andrew Babb are leading the Owls offensively as the only two batters batting above .300. Geffert maintains the team's highest batting average at .313 with 31 hits while Babb is hitting .300 with 27. Senior captains Kevin Bowerman and Karl Derbacher have knocked 27 hits as well, tied for second-best on the team.

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
The River Hawks of UMass Lowell rank fourth in the conference with a record of 8-5 and overall mark of 16-9. They are coming off back-to-back losses to Bentley and Bryant but have won five of their last eight. UMass Lowell relies on their strong pitching staff led by starter Jack Leathersich. He boasts the best ERA in the conference at 0.28 with a 4-1 win-loss record. Once they have a lead, they can bring in their dependable closer Dallas Nunes who holds a conference-best six saves with a 0.69 ERA.

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
As of Monday, April 13, the Merrimack Warriors stand alone at the bottom of the Northeast-10 standings with a mark of 3-10 and 12-15 overall. Despite a strong start to the season (9-4), the Warriors have lost 11 of their last 14 games. They are led by their senior centerfielder Jeff Bercume. He ranks second in the conference in hits (43) and fifth in RBI (25) with a batting average of .426.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
Southern ends the week against the AIC Yellow Jackets. AIC is currently 6-20 overall and 4-10 in the conference. After losing seven straight, the Yellow Jackets went 4-4 in their last eight contests. Offensively they are led by the powerful hitting of senior Kevin Farrell. Kevin is tied for seventh in the conference with five homeruns and bats .299.

COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH
On Sunday, April 5 with the game tied at three, Greg Malen led off with a double to left center. After a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Bowerman and two intentional walks, Franklin Pierce decided to pitch to Geffert with the bases loaded. A bad decision by the Ravens as Geffert sent it deep to center field for a sacrifice fly, driving in Malen for the game-winning run.

GREAT PERFORMANCE GONE UNREWARDED
On April 2, senior pitcher Justin Cox pitched a gem against Pace as he went eight innings, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. The Owls, however, fell short 3-2 and Cox received a no-decision.

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTION
During their three-day stay in Florida, freshmen Sam Greenberg, Ryan Geffert and Chris Zbin contributed stellar performances for the Owls. Throughout the week, Greenberg went 8-for-19 (.421 avg.) with two RBI, two doubles, a triple and three stolen bases. He also scored four runs and walked three times. Geffert was very impressive as well as he hit 7-for-18 (.389 avg.) from the plate including a game winning home run against Caldwell in the ninth. Geffert now leads the team in home runs with three. Finally, in his first start as an Owl, Zbin pitched a complete game allowing two runs on five hits and 10 strikeouts to record his first career win against Felician.

BIG TURNAROUND
Since losing their first three games to then number 18 Georgia College and State, the Owls rebounded to go 7-2 in their next nine contests. The Florida road trip gave Southern the spark they needed as they went 4-1 in a matter of three days.

FIRST WIN OF '09
The Owls grabbed their first victory of the season on Saturday, Feb. 28 as they defeated Dominican 11-4. In the win, freshman first baseman Ryan Geffert led the Owls offensively as he went 3-for-5 from the plate and drove in three runs. Southern scored in seven of the eight innings they were at-bat and out hit their opponent 13 to five. Junior Ed Bethke got the win as he pitched four and two-third innings, allowing one run on one hit and striking out five batters.

ZBIN OWNS THE K ZONE
Freshman starting pitcher Chris Zbin recorded his first collegiate win on March 13 in a dominating performance. Zbin pitched a complete game, allowing two unearned runs on six hits. He struck out 10 and didn't walk a batter as the Owls took a 4-2 victory.

BETHKE OWNS THE MOUND
A day after Chris Zbin pitched a complete game, Ed Bethke started and pitched nine scoreless innings to defeat No. 24 Caldwell, 1-0. Bethke allowed five hits and struck out seven for his first win of the season.

GOING DEEP
In his first career hit with the Owls, freshman first baseman Ryan Geffert went deep. In only took him three games and 11 at-bats to get his first career homerun. He is also the first Owl to hit a home run this season.

HEADING DOWN SOUTH
The Owls made two trips to Florida this season. On Thursday, March 12 the squad traveled to Boca Raton, Fl. for five games. They faced Bloomfield (3/12), Felician (3/13), Adelphi (3/13), St. Rose (3/14) and Caldwell (3/14). A couple days later they traveled back to Boca Raton to face St. Thomas Aquinas in a doubleheader on Friday, March 20. They remained in Florida to compete in seven games in seven days. Within those seven days, the Owls went to Ormond Beach, Melbourne, Lakeland and Tampa.

ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNERS
Of the twelve returnees from last year's squad, four earned All-Conference honors last season for their performances within the Northeast-10. Seniors Karl Derbacher, Kevin Bowerman and Justin Cox and sophomore Andrew Babb all received the award. Derbacher ranked second in the conference in hits (86), RBI (53) and doubles (20) and had the third highest batting average (.408). Bowerman hit .329 with 29 RBI and was second on the team in steals (29). Cox returns to the Owls bullpen this season after posting a 6-4 record and an ERA of 3.09 during the 2008 campaign and Babb hit .306 with 26 RBI. as a freshman.

SIGNING PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTS
Mike Diaz and Jim Fuller, both members of last year's squad, have inked professional contracts. Diaz was selected by the Houston Astros in the 30th round of the 2008 MLB Draft and Fuller was picked in the 21st round by the New York Mets. Diaz finished his career at Southern with a .365 batting average (221-for-606). On the Owls' career lists, he ranks first all-time in triples (16), second in stolen bases (73), third in hits (221) and fifth in at-bats (606). His eight triples in 2008 were a program single-season record. In 2008, Fuller led the nation in strikeouts (145), ranked second in strikeouts per nine innings (13.45) and was also among the top-10 nationally in hits allowed per nine innings and earned-run average.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Fourteen of the 26 players on the SCSU roster are new to the club this season. The newcomers are comprised of one sophomore, 11 freshmen and two red-shirt freshmen.

THE CAPTAINS
Seniors Karl Derbacher, Kevin Bowerman and Mike Connors will serve as team captains for the Owls this spring.

IN THE NE-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Owls were tabbed for second 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. Over the course of the past seven years, Shea has compiled a 203-137 record. He guided the Owls to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2005. Shea's latest accomplishments include the 2008 Northeast Region Coach of the Year and 2008 Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year honors.

ON DECK
Southern is scheduled to return to action on Monday, April 20 as they host Mercy in a make-up game at 3:30 p.m. at The Ballpark at SCSU.