FORT MYERS, Fla – As Eastern Connecticut State University Baseball's week of fun in the sun down in Fort Myers, Florida comes to a close, there is still one more game to be played as part of spring break week for the Warriors (8-0). Before making the trek back to Connecticut in the evening, Eastern will square off against a tough opponent in Bethel University at Terry Park Sports Complex at 9:00 AM.

This will be the first time in program history in which the Warriors take on the Royals (9-2) who come into the game on a five-game winning streak, a 6-1 record on their Florida trip, and toting a high-powered offense that has scored 10-plus runs in five games of their last seven games.

As a team, the Royals come into the game hitting .331 and have outscored their opponents 92-38 in the young season. Sophomore outfielder Matthew Carlsen has had a large part in making that possible during his 10-game hitting streak. Carlsen has started all 11 games for Bethel and boasts a .452 batting average with a team-leading two triples, two home runs, 15 RBIs, a .762 slugging percentage, and 1.326 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Senior outfielder Ty Koehn leads the way with a .500 batting average for the Royals having driven in 14 runs this year while accumulating four extra-base hits while junior outfielder Justin Winterfeldt lurks close behind with a .412 batting average to go along with his team-leading eight doubles while bringing across eight runners in the nine games he has seen action in.

The Warriors may have met their match on the pitching side of things as well heading into this game. The Royals come into this game with a team earned run average of 3.58 which is the first time this season in which Eastern has faced an opponent with a lower team ERA than them as the Warriors enter the game with a 3.99 team ERA after letting up nine runs against UW-Stout on Friday.

A mixture of seven starters and relievers for Bethel have an ERA of 3.00 or lower heading into this game spearheaded by sophomore Jordan Krupke. Krupke has made two appearances and one start for a total of 11 innings pitched giving up four runs (none earned) on eight hits while striking out 12 and walking none. The sophomore pitched five innings against St. Michael's on Thursday morning.

First-year pitcher Max Sutter is a potential candidate to start against Eastern on Saturday having last pitched on March 14^th against Wisconsin-Lutheran going seven innings giving up one run on seven hits with eight hits and one walk to earn his second victory of the year. Sutter carries a 1.29 ERA after two starts this season, giving up three runs (two earned) on 14 hits to go along with his 14 strikeouts and one walk in 14 innings of work.
 

But time and time again in Florida this season, we have seen the Warriors succeed against number one starters from other teams. The Eastern lineup is power-heavy from top to bottom with six of their starting nine players hitting above .300 to start the season. Still leading the team in batting average is senior outfielder Ryan Bagdasarian (Glastonbury) with a .462 average and an 11-game hitting streak dating back to last season.

Recording an RBI in six of the seven games he has played in this year, Bagdasarian has been the man at the top of Brian Hamm's lineup that keeps the order moving for the batters behind him to get him home. One of the players who has been doing just that is senior catcher Matt Malcom (East Lyme) who after having what some would call a down year compared to his numbers as a first-year player, is beginning to remerge as a power threat.

Hitting in the bottom third of the order, Malcom has been on a tear in the three games he has played during the trip to Florida. The East Lyme native is riding a four-game hitting streak while hitting a home run in three straight games and recording eight RBIs which ranks second behind only graduate outfielder John Mesagno (Tappan, NY) on the trip who has nine RBIs heading into Saturday's game.

Speaking of Mesagno, after starting the season 0-for-8 at the plate, the outfielder has pieced together a five-game hitting streak while driving in at least one run in each of his last four games. Following Friday's 2-for-3 performance, Mesagno is now hitting .267 for the year and .352 (6-for-17) during the four games he has played in Florida.

The Warrior bullpen will look to find their groove again on Saturday after giving up eight runs down the stretch against UW-Stout on Friday and allowing 11 hits against the Blue Devils. Senior right-hander Bryan Albee (Killingly) continues to shine in the sun after another impressive 2 1/3 innings of relief against UW-Stout to give him five innings of shutout ball on the trip with eight total strikeouts. Albee has yet to yield a run in five appearances that have spanned a total of 10 innings this season.

After starting on Wednesday against U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, senior left-hander Aidan Dunn (Westfield, MA) found himself on the mound again Friday. Dunn spun 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief while giving up no runs on six hits while striking out four. In 9 2/3 innings, the left-hander has struck out 10 batters while walking just three and giving up four runs (three earned).

First pitch is scheduled for 9:00 AM at Terry Park Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida. To follow all the action live, click on the link below to view the real-time statistics for the game or follow @ecsuathletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for game updates.

Live Stats: https://gowarriorathletics.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary