The Mount hosts Sacred Heart to open NEC play.

March 24, 2005

Games 13-15: Mount St. Mary's (5-7, 0-0 NEC) vs. Sacred Heart (1-14, 0-0 NEC)

WHERE:  Golibart Field, Emmitsburg, Md.

WHEN: Thursday and Friday, March 23 and 24, Noon

MOUNT UPDATE: The Mount downed Georgetown, 9-5, on Tuesday afternoon to improve to 5-7 on the season.  Joe Kotula drove in five runs and Andrew Germuth picked up his first collegiate win to lead the Mount to the victory.  Eric Smith and a run-producing double in the first, and Kotula followed with a two-run double in the inning to stake the Mount to a 3-0 lead.  Adam Schlenoff had an RBI double and Kotula a two-run single to give the Mount a 6-0 lead in the third.  Germuth allowed five runs, four earned, in 5.2 innings of work to earn the win.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS: Sacred Heart lost to Army, 4-2, on Tuesday to fall to 1-14 on the season.  Sacred Heart's pitching staff has been strong this year, posting a team ERA of 5.09.  However, the Pioneers are hitting just .198 as a team on the season.  Curtis Lewsey leads the team with a .354 average.  Rob Tenzca is hitting .297 with a team-high four RBI.  Sacred Heart has been outscored 99-to-23 on the season.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES: Sacred Heart leads the all-time series, 7-3.  Last year, the Pioneers took two of three from the Mount.  The Mount is 1-1 all-time at home vs. the Pioneers and is 2-6 on the road.

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS:  Sacred Heart swept a doubleheader with the Mount, winning the first game 3-1 and taking the nightcap 6-0 at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.  The Mount was held to seven hits total in the two games.  In the third game of the series, the Mount rebounded to win, 9-1, behind three hits and four RBI from Stephan Fay.

PRESEASON PICKS: The Mount was picked to finish fifth in the Northeast Conference in a preseason poll of conference coaches. The Mount was sixth in the league last year after posting a 10-13 mark in league play. Three-time defending champion Central Connecticut State has been tabbed the preseason favorite to capture the 2005 Northeast Conference baseball championship. Quinnipiac was picked second and claimed a single first place vote, just ahead of third place Monmouth. Wagner, which was awarded the remaining first place vote, was chosen fourth, followed by Mount St. Mary's, Long Island, St. Francis (NY), Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson.

THIS AND THAT:  Catcher Adam Schlenoff has a four-game hit streak, going 7-for-16 (.438) in that stretch...Joe Kotula is 4-for-9 (.444) with three doubles over the past two games...Mount pitchers have posted a 4.79 ERA over the past 11 game

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Mount St. Mary's baseball players Eric Smith (Marlton, N.J./St. Joseph's Prep [Pa.]) and Dustin Pease (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Spalding) have been named the Northeast Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Smith had a hit in all five games he played during the week, going 7-for-18 over the five-game span. Smith went 3-for-5 and hit a walk-off two-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning in the Mount's 7-5 win over Maine. Smith was 1-for-2 with a run scored and a walk in the Mount's 3-2 win over Northeastern. On the year, he leads Mount St. Mary's with a .381 average and has posted a six-game hitting streak to start the season. Smith is the first Mount player to earn NEC Player of the Week honors since Jeff Koening in March of 2002. Pease was 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched during the Mount's trip to Florida. Pease allowed only one earned run in 6.2 innings pitched in his only start of the week, a no-decision vs. Northeastern. He recorded a victory in the Mount's 7-5 win over Maine, allowing one run in three innings. Pease held opponents to a .214 average on the week.

FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN: Sophomore Dustin Pease went 8-4 lastyear with a 3.19 ERA, earning First Team All-NEC and NEC Rookie of the Year honors. Pease also was named to the 2004Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American squad.

BASEBALL AMERICA PRESEASON HONORS: The Mount was picked to finish fifth in the annual Baseball America college preview. Sophomore Dustin Pease was named to the preseason All-Conference team at pitcher.

STRONG STAFF RETURNS: The Mount returns its top four starters from a year ago and eight of 10 pitchers overall. Junior Justin Davis (4-4, 2.61 ERA) will anchor the staff that includes junior lefthander Brian Perkins (3-3, 4.08 ERA) and junior righthander Steve Stone (4-4, 6.05 ERA). All-NEClefthander Dustin Pease (8-4, 3.19 ERA, School-record 88 K's) will be used in a variety of roles from starting to closing. Sophomores Bucky Kosyk (2-2, 4.31 ERA) and Ryan Millea (0-0, 8.44 ERA) also return along with senior Steve Stoner (1-0, 9.64 ERA).Righthander Lynn Fuller will miss the 2005 season with a rotator cuff injury.

HEAD COACH: Scott Thomson is entering his eighth season at the helm of the Mount baseball program. Last year, Thomson guided the Mount to a school-record 25 victories. It was the third time in seven seasons that Thomson's teams have bested the school mark for wins. He earned his 100th win last year and has a 111-213 mark all-time at the Mount.