For the Sacred Heart University baseball team, the math is simple, and the team holds its destiny in its own hands. Two wins in a three-game series at Maryland Eastern Shore – which is winless on the year – and the Pioneers will clinch the first Northeast Conference regular-season title in program history, along with the top seed in next week's NEC Championship. A sweep of the Hawks would guarantee SHU the outright title, regardless of what happens elsewhere in the league.
 
Trying to track down the Pios from behind, LIU is one game back and travels for three at Coppin State, while Wagner is two games back and is home against Fairleigh Dickinson. Sacred Heart needs just one win this weekend to assure itself a top-two seed and thus a bye on the first day of the conference tournament.
 
First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Thursday and 1 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday at Parker Athletic Complex in Salisbury, Md. UMES will provide live stats throughout the series.
 
THE LAST WEEK
SHU took care of business in its final home series of the year last weekend, taking two of three from in-state rival Central Connecticut State and dealing the defending champs' postseason hopes a blow in the process. Sacred Heart scored early and rolled to a 5-1 victory on Friday and erased a 4-1 deficit to claim a 7-5 win on Saturday. CCSU rebounded to claim a 6-4 victory on Sunday to salvage the series finale.
 
The Pioneers were victorious in their midweek contest this week, as Gavin Donohue provided a two-run, walk-off single to cap a wild, 18-17 triumph over Quinnipiac. SHU finished 4-1 against future MAAC opponents this spring.
 
A LOOK AT THE PIOS
Sacred Heart (30-21, 22-8) has reached the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2016 (30-28) and for the fifth time at the Division I level (2024, 2016, 2013, 2011, 2010). The Pios have won 11 of their last 13 overall and have dropped just one NEC series all season long. The program's previous high-water mark in NEC play is 23-9 (.719 winning percentage), which was achieved by both the 2011 and 2013 squads. A strong finish by the Pios at UMES could see them eclipse both the wins and winning percentage marks.
 
Zack Kovalchik is tied sixth in the NEC in doubles (13) and tied-eighth in hits (61). The junior center fielder boasts a .321/.410/.495 slash line and .905 OPS through 50 games.
 
The Pios' team ERA of 4.83 is now more than a full run clear of the rest of the league. The team ranks eighth in the NEC in on-base percentage (.379).
 
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
It has been a season to forget for Maryland Eastern Shore, which made the postseason in its inaugural season as an associate member of the NEC in 2023. The Hawks turned over their coaching staff over the offseason and saw a lot of roster turnover as well, and the spring of 2024 has been ugly. UMES heads into the final weekend of the season at 0-45 overall, including 0-27 in NEC play.
 
The Hawks do have one solid bat in the lineup. Catcher and pitcher dual threat Bronson Taylor has had a standout debut season at the plate, as he has put together a .374/.436/.606 slash line, good for a 1.042 OPS, through 38 games. He ranks third in the NEC in average, seventh in OPS and 10^th in slugging.
 
UMES is dead last in the 11-team NEC as a team in average (.225), slugging (.313), on-base percentage (.327), ERA (11.50) and batting average against (.342).
 
The Hawks have been outscored on the year, 531-193, a run differential of -338, or -7.5 runs per game. Of the 45 losses, just nine have been by three or fewer runs. The Hawks have lost by one run on three occasions.
 
ON THE MOUND
Sacred Heart projected starters:
Thursday: Jake Babuschak (RHP)
            2024 stats: 71.2 IP, 76 H, 39 R (38 ER), 21 BB, 64 K, 4.77 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
            Last start: 5/10 vs. CCSU (W), 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Friday: Elijah Foster (RHP)
            2024 stats: 51.0 IP, 35 H, 23 R (22 ER), 43 BB, 73 K, 3.88 ERA, 1.53 WHIP
            Last start: 5/11 vs. CCSU (ND), 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Saturday: Joe Trombley (RHP)
            2024 stats: 53.2 IP, 54 H, 30 R (23 ER), 22 BB, 34 K, 3.86 ERA, 1.42 WHIP
            Last start: 5/12 vs. CCSU (L), 6.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R (2 ER), 5 BB, 5 K
 
UMES projected starters:
Thursday: Cade Williams (RHP)
            2024 stats: 48.2 IP, 81 H, 63 R (52 ER), 32 BB, 30 K, 9.62 ERA, 2.32 WHIP
            Last start: 5/10 at DSU (L), 3.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 2 K
Friday: Raymond Smith (RHP)
            2024 stats: 27.1 P, 48 H, 44 R (40 ER), 24 BB, 25 K, 13.17 ERA, 2.63 WHIP
            Last start: 5/11 at DSU (L), 1.1 IP, 6 H 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Saturday: Brandon Gomez (RHP)
            2024 stats: 35.2 IP, 55 H, 53 R (52 ER), 27 BB, 25 K, 13.12 ERA, 2.30 WHIP
            Last start: 5/12 at DSU (L), 1.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 1 K
 
LAST MEETING
A year ago, the two teams met at SHU in late March, with the Pioneers taking two out of the three games. Sacred Heart swept a Friday doubleheader from the Hawks, 7-2 and 7-5, including a complete-game effort from Jake Babuschak in the opener. UMES responded on Sunday with a 4-1 victory, as SHU left 11 men, including the bases loaded in the seventh and the eighth.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Last season's three-game series was the first-ever meetings between the two baseball programs. This weekend marks SHU's first trip to UMES.
 
NEXT UP
SHU is already assured of its spot in the NEC Championship, it is only a matter of seeding. The double-elimination tournament will begin on Wednesday, May 22 and run through either Saturday or Sunday, May 25 or 26. The NEC Championship will be contested in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., at Heritage Financial Park, home of the Hudson Valley Renegades, the High-A, South Atlantic League affiliate of the New York Yankees.