Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College baseball team will conclude the regular season this week with a Northeast Conference series against Central Connecticut State University at Dick Rockwell Field. The Dolphins and the Blue Devils will play a trio of 12:00 p.m. contests on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All three games will be streamed on NEC Front Row.

Le Moyne and CCSU met for the first time in baseball during the 2024 season, with the Blue Devils claiming a conference sweep against the Dolphins in New Britain.

Central Connecticut State is currently tied for first place in the Northeast Conference standings alongside LIU with a 22-5 conference record, while Le Moyne sits in fifth place with a 15-12 resume against NEC competition.

Le Moyne will celebrate 'Senior Day' on Dick Rockwell Field prior to Friday's game.

DOLPHIN RUNDOWN:
The Dolphins have earned a pair of midweek non-conference wins over the last two weeks, with a 9-3 victory at Niagara on May 6, and a 16-6 victory at home against UAlbany on Tuesday. In their most recent conference series, Le Moyne suffered a sweep at Mercyhurst last weekend.

With a 15-12 conference record in 2025, the Dolphins have already matched their conference win total from 2024, their inaugural season in the NEC, when they compiled a 15-17 conference record.

Sophomore infielder Mike Whelehan (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) had a career day during the 16-6 win over UAlbany. Whelehan launched his first career home run during a seven-run inning for the Dolphins in the bottom of the first and finished the game with a career-high five RBIs via three hits.

Senior infielder Benji Ries (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and sophomore infielder Ethan Farina (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa/Saint Rose) also homered against the Great Danes, while junior infielder Adam Sullivan (Syracuse, N.Y./Marcellus) provided three hits, three runs and two RBIs, and graduate right-handed pitcher Joel Connors (Brampton, Ontario/Heart Lake/Lakeland C.C./St. Andrew's/St. Bonaventure) collected his fourth win of the season after tossing 2.0 scoreless innings in relief with four strikeouts.

Ries currently leads Le Moyne's qualified hitters in batting average (.333), on-base percentage (.485), slugging percentage (.532), OPS (1.017), hits (42), walks (29), total bases (67) and is tied for the team lead in home runs (6) to go along with 25 runs, seven doubles and 30 runs batted in.

Ries' .485 on-base percentage ranks fifth among all NEC players, while his 1.017 OPS ranks eighth in the league.

Ries (.378), sophomore outfielder Jack Cannon (.333), sophomore catcher Cooper Romich (.329), and junior outfielder Paulie Goodness (.322) are each hitting above .300 during conference play. Ries is one of just six players in the NEC with an on-base percentage above .500 during conference play.

Goodness and Cannon rank second and third among NEC players in stolen bases during conference play with 22 and 20, respectively. They have been caught stealing just three times each.

Goodness' team-high 27 runs scored during conference play ranks 12^th among all NEC players, while Romich is tied for fifth in doubles during conference play with nine.

Freshman infielder Tim Denet (West Harrison, N.Y./Iona Prep), who has been named NEC Rookie of the Week twice so far this season, has tallied 24 runs, 29 hits, 20 walks, five doubles and 20 RBIs through 27 conference starts.

Senior outfielder Wyatt Patchett (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva) is tied for the team lead in home runs with six, including four during conference play. Patchett, who smashed 12 home runs during both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, is up to 31 long balls for his Le Moyne career, which ranks 4^th all-time in program history.

Graduate left-hander Max Parker (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) has recorded a team-high 75.1 innings pitched this season, and currently ranks second in program history in career innings pitched (344.2), games started (54), strikeouts (282), and is tied for seventh in career wins (20).

Parker and redshirt-sophomore right-hander AJ Petraitis (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) have both collected three wins and one complete game through 13 appearances and 12 starts on the mound this season.

Parker has gone at least six innings in each of his last seven appearances.

Petraitis has completed 70.0 innings of work and holds a .269 opponent batting average.

Fifth-year senior right-hander Bobby McBride (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster/UConn/Coastal Carolina) is third on the team in innings pitched at 40.2 through 11 appearances and 10 starts. McBride ranks first on the team in ERA (4.20), WHIP (1.35) and opponent batting average (189) and is second in strikeouts with 52.

Joel Connors leads the Dolphins in wins with four through 16 relief appearances, while redshirt-senior right-hander Billy Hoffacker (Erial, N.J./Timber Creek/Rowan College of South Jersey) has registered three wins with one save in 12 relief appearances and 32.0 innings pitched.

Through eight relief appearances during conference play, junior left-hander Colin Skermont (Yorkville, N.Y./Whitesboro/Herkimer) holds a team-best 2.49 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP, .205 opponent batting average and a 2-0 record with 23 strikeouts in 21.2 innings of work.

As a team, Le Moyne is second among all NEC squads in stolen bases (72) and fielding percentage (.978) during conference play.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS:
The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils will travel to Syracuse with a 27-12 overall record, including 22-5 in NEC play.

As a team during conference play, Central Connecticut State leads all Northeast Conference sides in batting average (.356), on-base percentage (.472), slugging percentage (.534), hits (326), walks (187), doubles (80), triples (15), RBIs (256) and total bases (490).

The Blue Devils have recorded conference sweeps against FDU, Mercyhurst, Coppin State, Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore this season.

Senior infielder Aidan Redahan is slashing .495/.568/.648 with 52 hits, 40 runs, 11 doubles and 42 RBIs in 27 conference starts, while senior infielder Chris Brown holds a .424/.581/.696 slash line with 45 runs, 39 hits, 14 doubles, 28 walks and 37 RBIs in 27 conference starts.

Senior infielder Brady Short, a 2024 All-NEC Second Team selection, holds the third-best on-base percentage among NEC players during conference play at .511 to go along with a .337 batting average and 40 runs scored.

On the year, Redahan leads all NEC players in batting average (.447), runs (53), hits (71) and RBIs (58).

Senior infielder Bo Yaworski ranks second on the team in RBIs with 43 in addition to 47 hits, including 12 doubles and six triples, 27 runs and 21 walks.

Sophomore outfielder Antonio Ducatelli has driven in 40 runs through 32 games played this season for the Blue Devils via 37 hits, including 10 doubles, two triples and three home runs.

Senior outfielder Gianno Merlonghi, a 2024 All-NEC Second Team honoree, is slashing .313/.369/.467 through 36 games played with 32 runs and 30 RBIs.

CCSU junior right-handed starting pitcher Vincent Borghese holds a 9-1 record for the Blue Devils this season in 11 starts and 67.2 innings pitched. Borghese has tallied a team-high 76 strikeouts, and holds a 3.46 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP.

Junior right-hander Drew Munn holds a 6-2 record through 11 starts and 61.1 innings pitched, while graduate right-hander Wyatt Cameron has been a reliable option out of the bullpen for CCSU, compiling a 2.08 ERA with four saves and 34 strikeouts in 16 relief appearances and 26.0 innings of work.

CCSU is led by head coach Charlie Hickey, who has been at the helm of the program since 2000.

The Blue Devils have won four conference regular season titles and nine NEC Tournament titles during Hickey's tenure. The Blue Devils narrowly missed out on the NEC postseason in 2024, but claimed both the regular season and tournament championships in 2023.

The NEC Baseball Championship will be played from May 22-25 at Heritage Financial Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., with the top four teams in the NEC Standings earning a spot in the tournament field. CCSU, LIU and Wagner have each clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament, while Stonehill is currently two games ahead of Le Moyne for fourth place.