Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College baseball team will play its final home conference series this weekend against Merrimack College. Game one between the Dolphins and the Warriors is set for Friday at 3 p.m., then Le Moyne will celebrate 'Senior Day' prior to game two on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Seniors Jason Boule (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy), Zach Brush (New York Mills, N.Y./Utica Notre Dame), Brady Fureno (Canajoharie, N.Y./Fort Plain), Jordan Goldmann (Encinitas, Calif./Canyon Crest Academy/Palomar College/Grossmont College), Nick Nevins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) Kennen Smith (Poughquag, N.Y./Arlington) and Dewey Roden (Sherrill, N.Y./Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) will be recognized during a pregame ceremony on Dick Rockwell Field beginning at 12:40 a.m. on Saturday.

Le Moyne and Merrimack will conclude the three-game conference series on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Matchup History:
The Dolphins hold a 6-4 all-time record against the Warriors during their time together in the Northeast-10 Conference, with four of those contests taking place in the postseason.

During the 2013 NE10 Tournament, the Dolphins bested Merrimack 8-0 on the first day of Championship Weekend, but Merrimack bounced back with a 4-3 win over Le Moyne the next day in an elimination matchup and advanced to the title game where they fell to New Haven.

The two sides squared off four times during the 2018 campaign. They split a doubleheader in Massachusetts on April 8, then they both claimed a win in the first round the NE10 Championship to set up a matchup on the first day of Championship Weekend. Merrimack claimed a 9-6 win over the Dolphins to advance to the winner's bracket and eventually claimed the program's fourth NE10 title after the Dolphins were eliminated by Southern New Hampshire.

Le Moyne got its revenge in the 2018 NCAA Championships, claiming a 3-2 win in the first contest of the East Regional behind a strong outing from starting pitcher Josiah Gray.

Last Time Out:
The Dolphins have won four games in a row with a series sweep against Maryland Eastern Shore last weekend followed by a 17-10 win at Niagara University, which sits in first place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) standings with a 16-2 conference resume.

First baseman/right-handed pitcher Dewey Roden was named the NEC Player of the Week and a Prime Performer for the first time this season after slashing .636/.688/1.636 with five extra-base hits (two doubles and three home runs), six runs and nine RBIs during the UMES series.

Le Moyne scored a season-high 20 runs during game two against the Hawks, tied a program record with eight home runs, and set a new program record with 15 walks during the contest. Roden and center fielder Zach Brush each recorded their first career multi-home run game during the team's third double-digit victory of the campaign.

Following the series, Roden improved his season batting average to .319, which is first on the team ahead of shortstop Nick Nevins (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) who is hitting .311 through 42 starts in 2024 with a team-high 52 hits.

Against NEC competition, Roden holds a team-best .343 batting average. Freshman second baseman Mike Whelehan (.326 in 26 starts), Brush (.309 in 26 starts) and Fureno (.303 in 21 starts) are each also batting above .300 during league play.

Starting pitchers Jordan Goldmann, Max Parker (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) and Jacob Crystal (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) each collected a win during the series against Maryland Eastern Shore.

Goldmann currently holds a 5-2 record through eight conference starts, which is one victory behind the league leaders in wins against NEC opponents.

Parker limited the Hawks to three hits and one run in seven innings during game two last Friday to collect his third NEC win of the season, while Crystal has gone at least eight innings in each of his last two starts.

In game one of Le Moyne's series at Central Connecticut State on April 26, Crystal held the Blue Devils to six hits and one run with four strikeouts in nine innings of work, then he tallied eight strikeouts with three hits and two runs allowed in eight innings pitched during game one of the UMES series. Crystal is currently second among NEC pitchers in innings pitched during conference play with 58.2.

Sophomore infielder/outfielder Adam Sullivan (Syracuse, N.Y./Marcellus) is also coming off a strong week for the 'Phins.

Sullivan went 2-for-3 at the plate with his first home run of the season during a 4-3 loss at Canisius on April 30, then he went a combined 6-for-12 with a home run and four RBIs during the Maryland Eastern Shore series.

Most recently, Sullivan tossed two scoreless and hitless innings in relief during a 17-10 win for the 'Phins at Niagara on Tuesday.

The Dolphins tallied seven extra-base hits to best the MAAC leaders for the second time this season and score at least 17 runs in a single game for the third time this season.

Brush homered for the third time in as many games, junior right fielder Wyatt Patchett (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) went 3-for-4 with a season-high four RBIs, three runs scored, a career-high three extra-base hits and his team-leading ninth home run of the campaign, and sophomore left fielder Tyler Campbell (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill/Onondaga C.C.) smashed his first career home run in the ninth inning to provide some insurance runs after ripping a double and scoring the go-ahead run in the seventh.

Sophomore infielder Brody Keneston (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) drove in four runs against the Purple Eagles to increase his team-leading RBI tally to 36, while Whelehan registered season highs in hits (3) and runs scored (3).

Nevins and Roden currently lead all NEC players in doubles during conference play with 10 each.

Nevins, who is the current Le Moyne baseball all-time record holder in games played (231), games started (231), assists (575) and walks drawn (124), is climbing the rankings in a few other offensive categories. He is currently tied for fourth in runs scored (171), third in hits (235), second in doubles (56), tied for 11^th in home runs (23) and third in runs batted in (152).

Le Moyne (19-24, 12-14 NEC) currently sits in eighth place in the NEC Standings, directly behind seventh-place FDU (19-27, 13-13 NEC) and sixth-place Delaware State (16-23, 15-12 NEC).

Scouting the Warriors:
Merrimack is led by head coach Brian Murphy, who is in his fourth season as the program's leader. The Warriors put together a 14-16 conference record in 2023 and narrowly missed out on the final spot in the NEC Tournament.

So far this season, Merrimack is 16-11 against NEC competition and sits in fourth place in the league standings.

Merrimack took two of three games from second-place LIU last weekend, which led to freshman infielder Dawson Bryce being named NEC Rookie of the Week for the fifth time, and senior outfielder Christian Gemelli being placed on the NEC Prime Performer list.

Bryce is currently slashing .365/.414/.619 in 27 conference starts with 46 hits, nine doubles, seven home runs, 24 RBIs and a league-best 32 runs. On the year, the rookie has tallied an NEC-best 72 hits, including a league-best 16 doubles in addition to 11 home runs, a league-high 53 runs and 46 runs batted in.

Merrimack sophomore catcher Frankie Ferrentino leads all NEC hitters with 15 home runs on the year along with 10 doubles, 55 total hits, 37 runs and a team-high 54 runs batted in, which is the second-most in the conference.

Along with Bryce, Gemelli, sophomore outfielder Christian Scanlon and graduate infielder Alex Haba are each in the top five in runs scored during conference play. Scanlon's 31 runs scored during NEC play is second behind Bryce, and his nine home runs in 24 conference starts is tied for second behind Ferrentino's 10. Gemelli has tallied 29 runs, 43 hits, seven doubles, eight home runs and 29 runs batted in 26 conference starts.

As a team, Merrimack leads all NEC squads in hits (302), doubles (60), home runs (58), RBIs (226), runs (242), and batting average (.307) during conference play.

Redshirt-freshman starting right-handed pitcher Brayden Ryan currently holds a 5-1 record for the Warriors, including a 4-1 record against NEC competition with a team-high 60 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched.

Freshman right-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heffernan holds a 3-1 record in conference play and has tossed a team-high 64.1 innings on the year. Senior left-hander Tyghe Healy has started nine games for the Warriors this season and holds a 3-4 record with 46 strikeouts in 45.2 innings of work. Freshman left-hander Campbell Cassidy has logged 30.0 innings this season in 15 appearances, 12 of which have been out of the bullpen. Graduate left-hander Jack Collins has made 19 appearances out of the Warriors' bullpen this season and has a 2-1 record with a team-high two saves.

Up Next:
Following the series with Merrimack, Le Moyne will play its final home game on Tuesday against UAlbany. The Dolphins will conclude the regular season at Norfolk State University with a three-game NEC series against the Spartans beginning on Thursday, May 16 at 3 p.m.