The Dolphins will continue their CUNYAC-slate of games today with a single contest at Lehman College. The game opens up a three-game set against the Lightning that will extend into tomorrow with a doubleheader played at the CSI Baseball Complex beginning at Noon. Both teams are near the bottom of the CUNYAC standings and so the games will be absolutely critical towards playoff positioning.
CSI vs. LEHMAN COLLEGE
Matchup: College of Staten Island (10-15, 2-4 CUNYAC) vs. Lehman College (7-16, 1-2 CUNYAC)
Where: CSI Baseball Complex – 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, NY
Live Stats: https://lehmanathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Live Video: https://lehmanathletics.com/watch/?Live=419&type=Live
All-Time Series: CSI leads, 78-28
Last Meeting: April 28, 2018 – CSI won G1: 20-5 / LC won G2: 7-1
Players to Watch (CSI): With each game the Dolphins are taking strides towards lifting their team batting average and it is now up to .315 as a team. Jett Nouvertne paces the squad with a .386 average and leads the squad with 21 runs scored and 20 RBI. Sean Becker is batting .379 with 10 extra-base hits while Domenick Castiglione is posting a .370 average with 13 RBI. With a huge game yesterday, freshman Nick Falcone upped his average to .314 with 15 runs scored. Look for Andrew Nathan to try and flash some power, as he is tied for the team lead with a pair of homers. After pitching a third of an inning yesterday, look for lefty Steven Collica to hurl a few innings. He along with Salvatore Trancucci and John Esposito could be earning starts in this series. Christian Capellan is also due for a start as well.
Players to Watch (LC): Anthony Riley is having a splendid 2019 with a .390 batting average, already up to 30 hits in 22 games and eight doubles. he stands second on the team with 18 RBI. The RBI-leader is Mark Vargas who has 21 to go with his .349 mark at the plate, and he leads the team with 11 doubles. Namir Garcia leads the Lightning with four home runs, and look for Jeremmy Santos to provide some pop, as he is hitting a robust .354 and sports the team lead with 17 runs scored. Look for Rich Frommelt (1-7, 6.46 ERA), Jarret Oehler (3-2, 2.96 ERA) and Jonathan Rogers (0-2, 8.85 ERA) to earn some innings toiday and into the weekend as Lehman’s three primary starters.
News & Notes: This is a seried that overall, strongly belongs to the Dolphins, as they have taken 78 of the 106 all-time meetings. Last year’s doubleheader, however, proves that anything can happen. CSI whalloped the Lightning, 20-5, in the opening game of last year’s DH, but then Lehman came right back and shut down the Dolphins, 7-1. Both teams right now sit in a tie for fourth place in the CUNYAC standings. Lehman, however, has the upper had as they control their own playoff destiny. They’ve played three less games than the Dolphins and are at 1-2 while the Dolphins are at 2-4, and no matter what, will need some help in order to finish in the top two spots in the standings. They can help themselves tremendously with wins today and tomorrow, as can the Lightning, who in their only other CUNYAC action this season, lost two of three games to Baruch College. Both teams share 1-2 records against Baruch. Both teams have also played Maritime College, SUNY-Poly, Purchase College and Yeshiva. Lehman is 4-2 against those respective teams, CSI is 4-3 against them. CSI is 37-12 all-time on the road against Lehman. Lehman has been strong at home, going 5-2 at home and just 2-14 either away or on neutral turf.
