Box Score GAMES 12, 13, and 14
Saint Peter's (0-11, 0-3) vs. Rider (10-15, 2-4)
Date: Sat., April 8, 3:00 p.m. and Sun., April 9, 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Location: Joseph J. Jaroschak Field, Jersey City, NJ
Saint Peter's Projected Starters
Game 1 - RHP Willie Krajnik
Game 2 - RHP Anthony Assante
Game 3 - RHP Mike Ammerman
First Pitch
The Peacocks return home for the first time since the season opener back on March 8 against LIU Brooklyn. Saint Peter's will welcome MAAC hOURglass rival Rider to Jersey City for a three-game series beginning on Saturday with a 3pm start. The teams will conclude the series on Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
The Word on Rider
The Rider Broncs enter the weekend series with a 10-15 overall record and a 2-4 MAAC tally. Rider comes into the game on a two-game winning streak with a 10-8 win in the final of a three-game series with Iona and most recently an 8-1 victory over NJIT on Wednesday. The Broncs have four players hitting over .400 this season and their top pitcher, Nick Margevicius boast a 2-1 record and a 2.58 ERA in his six starts.
Last Time We Met the Broncs
Saint Peter's and Rider closed out 2016 with a three-game series in Lawrenceville, NJ last season. Rider took the series 2-1, with the Peacocks winning game two of the series. Rider won game one 4-3 in 10 innings, Saint Peter's took game two 8-7 in eight innings of a scheduled seven inning game, and Rider beat Saint Peter's in the finale 13-11 to close the regular season.
Last Time Out
The Saint Peter's University baseball team dropped a two-game road series at Fordham on Wednesday. The Peacocks fell 5-2 and 7-5 in the two games.
On Deck
Saint Peter's will stay at home for a nonconference meeting with Wagner on Tuesday, April 11 at 3pm.
10-Run Opener
For the second straight season, the Peacock baseball team scored double figure runs in the season opener after putting up a 10 run game on LIU Brooklyn Wednesday despite the loss. Last season the Peacocks scored 10 runs against Maryland Eastern Shore in a 10-8 victory to begin their year.
MAAC Preseason Polls
The defending MAAC Baseball Champions, Fairfield University, was voted by the leagues 11 head coaches to repeat as MAAC Baseball Champions in 2017, receiving seven out of 11 first-place votes, totaling 116 points. Coming in second place was Canisius College, followed by Monmouth University who received two first-place votes and Manhattan College took the other first-place vote and to come in fourth place in the preseason poll. Rounding out the top five was Marist College. Siena College finished came in sixth place, while Quinnipiac came in seventh. Rider University, Niagara University, Iona College and Saint Peter's University finished eighth through eleventh in the preseason poll, respectively.
About the Coach
Danny Ramirez begins his first season at the helm of the Peacocks. Ramirez joins Saint Peter's with over 25 years of experience as a player, coach, and scout in the Northeast. As a player at Bronx Community College he was a member of the 1994 CUNY City Championship team and the 1995 team that played in the Junior College World Series. Ramirez has coached and managed at many levels beginning his career with the Boys Club of New York and Major League Baseballs RBI program where he led several teams to city championships while working with inner city youth of all ages. Ramirez then coached at Lasalle Academy High School for two years before accepting the Head Men's Baseball Coach position at Globe Institute of Technology. At Globe, he led the Knights to the school's first district tournament win before moving on to Monroe College in 2007. At Monroe College, Ramirez was part of the coaching staff as the program transitioned from a Division III program in 2006, into one of the top NJCAA Division I programs in the Northeast. He served as the Infield/Outfield Coach, Strength Training and Agility development, and most recently as Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach. Throughout the past nine years, Monroe has produced over 60 NCAA signees and several players that were either drafted by Major League Organizations or signed free agent contracts to play professional baseball.
