Every Friday, the NE10 is going to highlight the biggest contests each weekend. It may be a big-time rivalry, matchup between two ranked teams or a battle for playoff-positioning. Fans can follow the action for every game by visiting our schedule page.
BASEBALL
Le Moyne at Saint Rose: Saturday, Apr. 23 – 12:00 p.m. (DH) (Live Stats – Video)
Le Moyne at Saint Rose: Sunday, Apr. 24 – 12:00 p.m. (DH) (Live Stats – Video)
Le Moyne, which recently climbed into first place of the NE10 Southwest Division standings, prepares for a four-game set with Saint Rose this weekend. The Dolphins (19-14, 8-3 NE10) have won six of seven games, including three wins over New Haven and American International. The Golden Knights (13-19, 6-6 NE10) are coming off a four-game split with Pace, which included a doubleheader sweep last Saturday.
Le Moyne's Michael Smith and Jacob Marshall won both NE10 and NCBWA distinction this past week, as Smith was named NE10 Player of the Week and East Region Hitter of the Week; Marshall earned NE10 Pitcher and East Region Pitcher of the Week. As a team, Le Moyne ranks fourth in the league with a .301 batting average. Saint Rose is led by Zephaniah Vaughn, who is hitting .370 in 22 games for the Golden Knights.
Adelphi at Assumption: Saturday, Apr. 23 – 12:00 p.m. (DH) (Live Stats – Video)
Adelphi at Assumption: Sunday, Apr. 24 – 12:00 p.m. (Live Stats – Video)
Adelphi and Assumption – two teams fighting for NE10 regular season titles in the final two weeks of play – will meet in non-conference action this weekend in Worcester. Adelphi (21-9-1, 11-4 NE10) has won four-straight contests, while Assumption (18-14, 10-6 NE10) recently lost three of four to Northeast Division rival Bentley and looks to get back on track.
Hitting continues to be the strength of the Panthers, as three sluggers rank in the top five of all NE10 players when it comes to batting average – including league-leader Matt Alifano and his .439 average. Assumption's pitching staff is led by the duo of Patrick Harrington and Jack Choate, who have a combined 8-3 record and an average ERA of 3.44.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
No. 2 Adelphi at No. 14 Stonehill: Saturday, Apr. 23 – 1:00 p.m. (Live Stats – Video)
First place in the NE10 standings will be on the line when No. 2 Adelphi visits No. 14 Stonehill in a crucial matchup that has seeding implications for the NE10 Women's Lacrosse Championship. The Panthers (13-0, 10-0 NE10) have not lost a game all season, as they remain the only NE10 team to be undefeated. The Skyhawks (11-2, 9-1 NE10) are looking to replicate a performance from earlier this season when it knocked off No. 2 Le Moyne.
Adelphi – which is recently coming off wins over No. 9 Le Moyne and defending NE10 champion Bentley – sports one of the top defenses in all of Division II. The Panthers are allowing only 5.31 goals per game this season. Adelphi will get a difficult task on Saturday, however, as Stonehill ranks first in the NE10 in scoring (17.85 goals per game) this season. Lydia Rudden, the Skyhawks' top scorer, ranks fourth in the nation in points per game (6.31).
No. 24 SNHU at No. 18 Assumption: Saturday, Apr. 23 – 1:00 p.m. (Live Stats – Video)
No. 24 Southern New Hampshire, one of the hottest teams in the NE10, will take a five-game winning streak into a tough road game against No. 18 Assumption on Saturday. The Penmen (9-3, 7-3 NE10) recently earned a spot in the ILWomen/IWLCA rankings this week after their latest winning streak, but the Greyhounds (8-6, 6-4 NE10) will look to avenge a narrow loss at No. 23 New Haven on Tuesday.
SNHU is led by Shelby Cole, who ranks fifth in the NE10 in points (55) this season, while Assumption's Jenna Joseph is second in points scored (61). Both teams rank in the upper half of the NE10 when it comes to goals per game – with Assumption sitting in fourth (14.57 goals per game) and SNHU at sixth (13.75 goals per game).
MEN'S LACROSSE
SNHU at Saint Michael's: April 23 – 11:00 a.m. (Live Stats – Video)
The Penmen are one of the hottest teams in the conference, with five straight wins to push their record to 6-4 overall and 4-4 in the NE10. Their 12-11 overtime victory over Franklin Pierce earlier this week put them firmly in the playoff picture. Saint Michael's is coming off a tough loss to Saint Anselm and is just 2-11 this season but took down the Ravens 10-4 less than two weeks ago.
The Purple Knights are 10th in the NE10 averaging 8.5 goals per game, while SNHU is scoring 12.4 per contest. The Penmen have a balanced attack with three players between 36-32 points, while Saint Michael's Max Katavolos leads his team with 41 points. Spencer Scardino leads the NE10 in saves with 209, but still is ranked seventh in save percentage (56%).
Adelphi at Bentley: April 23 – 3:00 p.m. (Live Stats – Video)
The Panthers are coming off their first loss of the season to fall to 11-1 but are still unbeaten in conference play (8-0) as they look to capture the regular season crown. The team was held under ten goals for just the second time this season in their 10-6 loss to No. 5 Mercy. Bentley has dropped three of four to fall to 5-3 in conference play, including a tough 16-15 defeat at the hands of Pace last weekend.
The Falcons rank fourth in the league in scoring at 13.5 goals per game, while Adelphi is fifth at 12.8 per contest. On the flip side, the Panthers have the top scoring defense, giving up just 7.5 goals per game, while Bentley is fourth (9.1). This matchup also features two of the best face-off men in the NE10, with Cam Bartolomeo at 69.9% and Edward Perlstein at 67.1%. The two rank fourth and seventh nationally in face-off win percentage.
SOFTBALL
New Haven at Stonehill: April 23 – 2:00 p.m. (DH) (Live Stats – Video)
The Skyhawks (9-9 NE10) look to continue their late season surge, as they've won four of their last five games and held each of their last five opponents to fewer than three runs. New Haven enters the weekend at 8-8 in the NE10 having lost six of their past seven games, including four straight. Both teams are fighting for one of the last two playoff spots and a sweep by either would give them a much needed tiebreaker.
The Chargers are batting .223 as a team this year though they rank fifth in the NE10 with a 3.15 ERA. Mya Case leads the offense with a .308 average, 19 runs and 12 RBI. Stonehill is hitting .242 with a 3.30 ERA, led by Skylar Brandemarte who has won her last five starts and has allowed more than two runs once during that span.
Assumption at Saint Anselm: April 24 – 12:00 p.m. (DH) (Live Stats – Video)
The Hawks have won 13 of their past 15 games overall to improve to 20-13 overall and 13-5 in the NE10. The Greyhounds, meanwhile, has won five straight and seven of nine to improve to 10-6 in the NE10. Six of those nine games have been decided by a single run.
Assumption ranks seventh in the NE10 in hitting at .261 while St. Anselm is eighth at .259. Conversely, the Hawks own a 2.76 ERA which is fourth in the NE10 and Assumption is 12th with a 4.26 ERA. Haile Hicks owns a 16-3 record with a 1.35 ERA to lead the Hawks, while Corin Mahan leads the Assumption bats with a .352 average.
