April 17, 2008

FAIRFIELD, CT - The Sacred Heart baseball team will be home at Harbor Yard all weekend as it welcomes Mount St. Mary's for an important four-game Northeast Conference series. The series starts Friday at 3:00 p.m. and all four game will be available on free audio at Sacredheartpioneers.com.

About the Pioneers: A challenging non-conference schedule and a rash of injuries has resulted in a 4-27 overall record for the Pioneers. SHU does have a 2-6 record in the Northeast Conference after splitting a series with LIU last weekend. The Pioneers have played just seven games at Harbor Yard this year, going 1-6 in those contests. The team is coming off a 14-6 home loss to Manhattan on Wednesday.

SHU vs. The Mount: The Pioneers hold an 11-8 record all-time vs. the Mountaineers, though The Mount won three of four meetings in Maryland last season. SHU is 7-3 all-time at home in the series.

SHU Outside of the NEC: SHU is 2-21 in non-conference games this season. The Pioneers have struggled at the plate in those games, hitting just .220 and scoring an average of just 3.5 runs per game.

The M*A*S*H Unit: Already without the services of sophomore Steve Tedesco, who had off-season shoulder surgery, the Pioneers took a couple more huge blows when starting catcher Frank Bainer was lost for the rest of the season with elbow surgery. Right after that news, it was determined the first baseman Jeff Hanson would miss the rest of the year with elbow and shoulder injuries. Both were in their senior seasons, but will now return for another year in 2009. The status of outfielder Paul Schmidt is also in question for the weekend with a bad back.

Lynch Mob: Junior righty Ryan Lynch comes to the Pioneers after a solid career at Cecil Community College in Maryland. After going 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA in his first season with the Seahawks, he went 2-2 with a 3.49 ERA in an injury-plagued sophomore year. He has yet to post a victory on the hill for the Pioneers, but has pitched solidly. When not pitching he has played both first and designated hitter. He is hitting .274 at the plate with a homer and seven runs batted in.

Edward Excels: Sophomore third baseman JJ Edwards was pressed into more playing time with the pre-season injury to Steve Tedesco. He has responded, hitting .295 with ten RBI in 95 at bats to date. He has also been impressive at third, making just three errors and has helped turn four double plays.

Northeast Pre-season Poll: The Pioneers were picked to finish seventh in the 2007 Pre-Season Coaches Poll. Defending champion Monmouth was picked to finish first and received six of the eight first-place votes. Quinnipiac was picked second and Central Connecticut was selected third. Mount St. Mary's, which received the other two first-place votes, was picked fourth, while LIU was fifth and Wagner sixth. FDU was picked to finish in eighth place.

On The Air: At least 28 baseball games will be available on the Internet through Sacred Heart University's website, SacredHeartPioneers.com. SHU Assistant Athletic Director, Gene Gumbs, will provide play-by-play. Rick Cohen, Seth Kaplan and others will provide color commentary and analysis.

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