MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University baseball team is set for their weekend Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division series with Lock Haven University, beginning Friday, April 15 on the road before returning home on Saturday to host Senior Day at Shaute Field.

The number of games played, and their times have flipped on the weekend. Friday will feature a seven and nine-inning twinbill hosted by the Bald Eagles, while Saturday will be a single nine-inning contest at Shaute Field, both days starting at noon.

The Mountaineer baseball program and Athletic Department will honor its eight graduating seniors: Samuel Freedman, Assaf Lowengart, Hunter DePrimo, Brady Mengel, Cole Shomper, Ben Osborne, Will Romano and Jake Haas prior to game one on Saturday.

Links to the weekend coverage can be found here.

SENIOR DAY
#17 Hunter DePrimo
Hunter has made 37 appearances with 30 starts on the mound as the Mountaineer ace over his five-year career. DePrimo has appeared in 40 games, while making 33 starts on the mound, tossing 186.2 innings and winning 10 games.

DePrimo, who currently ranks third all-time in career strikeouts in program history, is just seven Ks from tying Steve Micknich's program record 262 career strikeouts. Prior to the season, DePrimo was tabbed 1^st-Team NCBWA Preseason All-Atlantic Region.

As a junior DePrimo's postseason was filled with honors, bringing home 1st-Team All-PSAC East Starting Pitcher to go with three All-Region honors, while being named Co-Male Athlete and Iron Mountie of the Year.

As a senior, DePrimo leads the team in innings (38.2), starts (seven) and strikeouts (48).

DePrimo will graduate with a degree in accounting.

#45 Samuel Freedman
A transfer from Division I Binghamton University, Freedman has appeared in 29 games, making 26 starts in the outfield and at designated hitter.

 In his first season with the Mounties, Freedman leads the team in home runs with five and is second with 20 RBIs and 19 runs. Freedman has stolen nine bases, while only being caught once and has racked up 23 hits with six doubles. Freedman led the Mountaineers to a win over Gannon, driving in five runs, while blasting the only grand slam for MU on the season. Sam also drove in four runs against Salem earlier in the season.

Sam will graduate with a degree in psychology.

#8 Jake Haas
Native of New Tripoli, Pa., Haas has appeared in 82 games, making two starts in the outfield. Haas has 23 hits in his career, notching a career-high 13 as a junior, while hitting two home runs and driving in eight runs. Haas started a career-high 33 of 35 games as a freshman, where he drove in seven runs and finished with a .980 fielding percentage. As a senior, Haas has appeared in eight games primarily as a defensive specialist in the outfield.

Jake will graduate with a degree in business administration. 

#7 Assaf Lowengart
Native of Timorium, Isreal, Lowengart has started all 66 games he has appeared in over two seasons with the Mounties. Lowengart has developed into one of the most feared sluggers in the conference and is a career .300 hitter with 15 home runs, while driving in 50 runs.

Fresh off his summer playing for Team Israel at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Assaf is currently leading the Mounties with a .318 batting average, while also topping the club with 35 hits, 21 runs, 10 doubles, and 24 RBI, while coming in second behind Freedman with four homers.

Assaf will graduate with a degree in business administration.

#19 Ben Osborne
Native of Westhampton Beach, N.Y., Osborne has started all 77 games he has appeared in over his three-year Mountaineer career as an infielder and designated hitter.

Osbrone started all 13 games during the COVID-19 shortened season, collecting ten hits, two doubles and nine RBI.

Osborne came onto the scene in a dominate way during his junior campaign, finishing first on the team in hits with 38, second in batting average at .339 and doubles with six, while scoring 19 runs in 36 games.

As a senior, Osborne continues to produce at the top of the Mountaineer lineup, carrying a .31 batting average (second on the team), with 29 hits, 14 runs, 16 RBIs, two doubles and 15 walks heading into the weekend.

Ben will graduate with a degree in mass communication.

#10 Brady Mengel
Like DePrimo, Mengel is a returning five-year member of the baseball team, where he has been a starter in the infield during every season.

Mengel, who ended the 2020 season with 100 career hits, sits just outside the top-10 for career games played in program history with 169. Mengel has hit a home run in four seasons, while leaving the yard multiple times in three seasons.

As a senior, Mengel has started all 29 games he has appeared in and has made a seamless transition from second to third base, making countless big plays in big moments for the Mountaineer defense. Mengel is hitting .257 with 28 hits, including two home runs, eight doubles and a triple, while driving in 12 runs. Mengel has 11 multi-hit games this season, while driving in multiple runs twice.

Brady will graduate with a degree in history with a minor in political science.

#13 Will Romano
Native of East Patchogue, N.Y., Romano has appeared in 20 games, making eight starts in the outfield. Romano has collected multiple hits during every year of his career, while carrying a 1.000 fielding percentage into his final season. As a senior, Romano has appeared in four games, making one start as an outfielder, notching a hit in each of his last two appearances.

Romano will graduate with a degree in motion graphics.

#30 Cole Shomper
Native of Millersburg, Pa., Shomper has played in 19 games, making seven starts at catcher in his career. As a senior, Shomper has appeared in eight games, while making a career-high six starts behind the plate. Shomper had a career game earlier this season, finishing with three hits, including two doubles, while scoring twice and driving in two runs against Salem University. Cole is batting .238 this season, with five hits, two runs and two RBIs.

Shomper will graduate with a degree in criminal justice with a minor in psychology. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Mounties are coming off their first PSAC East series victory last weekend, taking the three-game set with Kutztown University 2-1. The Mounties split on the road, dropping a nail-biter in the opener, 2-0, before winning game two (7-3) and the rubber match 11-3 at Corning Community College.

The Mountaineers followed the series over KU with a split with PSAC Western Division affiliate Slippery Rock University, winning game one 8-5 and dropping game two 3-1 on Tuesday.

Senior Assaf Lowengart and junior Josh Farina combined for four hits and five RBI to lead the Mounties to the game one victory. Sophomore Bobby Curry (2-2) earned the victory on the mound, entering in relief to toss 3.1 scoreless innings, while junior Josh Colon allowed one run in 1.2 innings before shutting the door to earn his second save.

AROUND THE MOUNTAIN
Record: 7^th (13-18, 5-7 PSAC East)
Last Time Out: L, 1-3 at Slippery Rock
Last Five: 3-2
At Home: 4-2
On The Road: 9-14
All-Time vs. LHU: 39-28-1
Top Slugger: Assaf Lowengart (.318: 35-for-110, 21 R, 10 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, .536 SLG%)
Top Arm: Hunter DePrimo (2.79 ERA, 38.2 IP, 48 Ks, .234 B/AVG)
DePrimo is seven strikeouts from tying Steve Micknich's program record 262 career strikeouts. DePrimo is averaging 6.86 strikeouts per game.

MEET THE BALD EAGLES
Record: 9^th (8-20, 1-11 PSAC East)
Last Time Out: W, 12-1 vs. IUP
Last Five: 1-4
At Home: 2-6
On The Road: 4-13
All-Time vs. MU: 28-39-1
Head Coach: Heath Stover (5^th season, LHU '97)
Top Slugger: Joe Shannon (.364: 39-for-107, 17 R, 8 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 24 RBI, .561 SLG%)
Top Arm: Garrett Starr (1.63 WHIP, 4.70 ERA, 0-0 W/L, 15.1 IP, 9 Ks)

ON THIS DATE IN MOUNTAINEER HISTORY
4/15/2016: Pepper Fans 10 in Nightcap Win to Split with West Chester

MANSFIELD – Chase Pepper struck out 10 batters while Tanner Klein and Zephan Kash drilled home runs to lead Mansfield past West Chester 9-5 in game two of a PSAC East doubleheader at Shaute Field on Friday. The Mountaineers fell in game one 20-9.

The Mountaineers have won five of their last six games including three of four PSAC East contests. Despite being tied for seventh in the PSAC East with a 6-12 divisional record, Mansfield is just two games out of the fourth and final playoff spot.

NEXT UP
The Mounties host a non-conference doubleheader starting at noon on Tuesday, April 19 when D'Youville College visits Shaute Field.