Friday, April 24, 2015

Marquee Match-Up of the Week; Mercyhurst vs Seton Hill

Our Marquee Match-Up of the Week for this weekend takes us to the PSAC, where first place in the conference is on the line in the last weekend of play in the regular season, as well as the driver's seat for the top spot in the Atlantic region. We focus on #17 Mercyhurst (30-4, 20-4 PSAC), #1 in the Atlantic Region and #4 Seton Hill (37-7, 20-4 PSAC), #3 in the Atlantic Region.

Seton Hill began their season a little slowly, going 4-3 to begin the year, but since then, they have been unstoppable. They didn't really stack their non-conference schedule with tough opponents, as their best competition was Winston-Salem State, who they split a doubleheader with in the second series of the year. In PSAC play, however, they have been rolling, as they should be. The Griffins have swept the four-game series with Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Indiana (Pa.), and Clarion. Their toughest PSAC conference set to date, with Slippery Rock, was a split. The Griffins have been perfect at home, going 20-0 up to this point in the season.

As a team, the Griffins' offense has been off the charts. Seton Hill ranks in the top 10 of 12 different offensive categories. They lead all of Division II in slugging percentage (.632), are second in batting average (.364), home runs per game (1.57) and on-base percentage (.446). They are also ranked highly in home runs (69; 3rd), stolen bases (122; 4th), stolen bases per game (2.77; 5th), scoring (9.1 runs/game; 5th), runs (400; 8th), doubles (108; 8th), triples (19; 8th) and hit by pitches (69; 10th). And if you want well-rounded, we can throw in that they are also 12th in the nation in fielding percentage (.972).

The straw that stirs that Seton Hill drink is of course, senior Nick Sell. Sell leads the nation in RBI per game (1.8), RBI (79) and slugging percentage (1.082) and ranks third in total bases (159), home runs (24), and home runs per game (0.55). He is also 10th in batting average (.456) and 12th in runs (56). He is one of, if not the top, hitter in Division II this year.

All 11 regulars in the offensive lineup are batting above .300, with four batting over .400, led by Sell. Chris Miller is hitting .451 with 12 doubles, 10 homers, 34 RBI and a .574 on-base percentage, which leads the team, while Logan Urtz is hitting .443 with 13 doubles and Pat McCarthy is hitting .405 with 19 doubles and 19 stolen bases. Although almost everyone on the team can swipe a bag (they are 122-for-157 on steal attempts), Garret Vrbanic leads the way with 24 stolen bases in 27 attempts, and that is helped by him getting hit by 20 pitches already this year, the second-highest total in Division II.

The offense needs to be top notch, and it is, because the pitching staff is not to that point. The Griffins have a great #1 so far this year with Zach Martinelli, who is 6-0 with a 1.52 ERA and a .186 batting average against in 41.1 innings (10 appearances, 7 starts), but the starting rotation leaves a bit to be desired after that, with the three other weekend starters carrying ERA's north of 4.30. The bullpen has a pair of very consistent arms in Perry DellaValle (1-2, 2.25 ERA, 4 saves, 15 K in 20 IP) and Austin Sleek (0-1, 2.65 ERA, 2 saves, 17 K in 17 IP).

For Mercyhurst, they were one of the hottest teams out of the gate in Division II baseball, winning their first 14 games of the year. Just like Seton Hill, they are another team that is getting it done at home, going 12-1 in their friendly confines. Although, when you are 30-4, all of your record splits are going to look pretty good.

If there was a case of unstoppable force against immovable object, it is the Seton Hill offense going up against the Mercyhurst pitching staff. Where the Griffins rank highly in nearly every offensive category, Mercyhurst does the same for nearly every pitching category.

The Lakers lead the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (11.0), are fourth in hits allowed per nine innings (7.45), seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.45), eighth in WHIP (1.18) and ninth in ERA (2.92).

The starting staff is anchored by Jon Klein, who is 6-1 with a 0.99 ERA (9th in D-II) with three complete games, a 64/9 K/BB ratio in 45.1 innings pitched with only 26 hits allowed. He is 10th in D-II in K/9 (12.71), 14th in hits allowed per nine (5.16) and 6th in WHIP (0.77).

Colin McKee is right there in nearly every category as well, as he is 5-1 with a 2.19 ERA, three complete games, 53 K in 37 IP with only 23 hits allowed. He is eighth in D-II in K/9 (12.89), 18th in hits allowed per nine (5.59) and 64th in WHIP (1.05).

They are not the only show on the mound for Mercyhurst, either. Finishing out the weekend starters is Cam Knott (5-0, 2.08, 43/5 K/BB in 30.1 IP) and a combination of Joe Gnacinski (1-0, 2.84 ERA, 12 K in 12.2 IP) and Matthew Jaskolka (4-0, 3.38 ERA, 39/4 K/BB in 32 IP).

Their stalwart out of the bullpen is Ben Nolan (6-0, 2.08 ERA, 2 saves, 25 K in 21.2 IP), as well as Matthew Minnick (1-1, 3.18 ERA) and Jake Hall (3.45 ERA in 13 appearances, 16 K in 15.2 IP, 6 saves).

The offense does not compare to Seton Hill's, but they are no slouches in their own right, carrying a team batting average of .324, led by Angel Martinez, who is hitting .405 with a team-leading 30 runs, 51 hits, and 10 doubles. They have six regulars batting over .300, with three others between .294 and .299, so it might as well be everyone. Their lineup also includes Dan Popio (.364 AVG, .591 SLG, .482 OBP), former Ashland player Giancarlo Saia (.352 AVG, 29 RBI, .562 SLG, .447 OBP) and Hank Morrison (.339 AVG, team-leading 5 HR, 29 RBI, .563 SLG).

The two teams are currently tied for first in the PSAC West, but are separated in the Atlantic regional rankings by West Chester, who is #2 in the region, between #1 Mercyhurst and #3 Seton Hill. I have to think that a split of this series would open the door for Millersville to sneak in to the top 3, while a series victory for Seton Hill would move them ahead of West Chester and possibly in to the #1 spot. For Mercyhurst, I think they have some leeway in the rankings, and as long as they get one win, should hold on to a top-2 spot in next week's rankings.

Below, you can find links to follow along with the action this weekend, as well as some projected starting pitching match-ups:

#1 Atlantic/#17 Mercyhurst (30-4, 20-4 PSAC) vs #3 Atlantic/#4 Seton Hill (37-7, 20-4 PSAC)

Game One: Friday, April 24th, 1 PM ET @ Seton Hill (Live Stats | Live Audio)
Colin McKee (5-1, 2.19) vs Mike Bittel (6-3, 4.31)

Game Two: Friday, April 24th, 3 PM ET @ Seton Hill (Live Stats | Live Audio)
Jon Klein (6-1, 0.99) vs Brett Sullivan (6-0, 5.33)

Game Three: Saturday, April 25th, 1 PM ET @ Mercyhurst (Live Stats)
Matthew Jaskolka (4-0, 3.38) vs Jordan Fuller (7-1, 4.63)

Game Four: Saturday, April 25th, 3 PM ET @ Mercyhurst (Live Stats)
Cam Knott (5-0, 2.08) vs Zach Martinelli (6-0, 1.52)

Note: Pitching match-ups are projected based on past series' and are subject to change.

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