LAST GAME | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | NEWS | STATISTICS
NJIT (8-15) at SAINT PETER'S (4-13)
Tue, March 29, 2016, 3:30 p.m.
Jaroschak Field, Jersey City, N.J.
LIVE STATS
SAINT PETER'S (4-13) at LEHIGH (7-14)
Wednesday, March 30, 2026, 3:30 p.m.
Legacy Park, Bethlehem, Pa.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
opening pitch… Saint Peter's makes its 2016 Jaroschak Field debut against neighboring-town rival NJIT on Tuesday before traveling to Lehigh on Wednesday. The Highlanders beat the Peacocks in Newark while the two teams tied in Jersey City. The two teams will play three times this season with the final two games being played in Newark. Saint Peter's split its season series with the Mountain Hawks with each team winning on the road.
the word on the highlanders… NJIT comes into the contest 8-15 after Fordham swept a doubleheader against the Highlanders on Saturday. Evan Pietronico leads the team with a .291 batting average with 23 hits, five runs scored, six doubles, a triple and 14 RBIs. Jesse Uttendorfer is batting .282 with 24 hits, 15 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, a homer and nine RBIs while Johnny Malatesta has 16 hits, 11 runs scored, a double, a triple and three RBIs.
last time we met… NJIT defeated Saint Peter's 8-3 on Apr. 28, 2015. Kyle Grimes paced the Peacocks with a hit and an RBI while Chris Hugg, Nick Cardamone and Nick Henriquez each had a hit and a run scored in the loss. Ed Charlton powered the Highlanders with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored and Cody Kramer added a hit, two runs scored and two RBIs in the winning effort.
the word on the mountain hawks… Lehigh, who will face Delaware on Tuesday, comes into the week 7-14 after splitting a doubleheader with Manhattan on Saturday. Jacen Nailesnik leads the team with a .357 batting average with 30 hits, 20 runs scored, three doubles, two triples, four homers and 15 RBIs. Connor Donovan is batting .311 with 23 hits, 14 runs scored, five doubles, two homers and 15 RBIs while Patrick Donnelly is hitting .310 with 26 hits, 13 runs scored, four doubles, two homers and 13 RBIs.
last time we met… Jon Kristoffersen knocked in four runs to power Saint Peter's past Lehigh 16-9 on Apr. 8, 2015. Kristoffersen also went 3-for-4 on the day with a run scored. The junior recorded a sacrifice fly in the third, an RBI single in the fourth and a two-run triple in the seventh. Nick Ciocco added two hits, four runs scored and two RBIs for the Peacocks while Chris Hugg went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs in the winning effort. Patrick Walshe paced the Mountain Hawks with three hits and three RBIs while Mackey Price added two hits, three RBIs and a run scored while Mike Garzillo posted a hit, two RBIs and a run scored in the loss.
last time out… Canisius defeated Saint Peter's 11-7 to complete a three-game sweep on Sunday. Rob Moore paced the Peacocks with two hits, two runs scored, two RBIs and his first home run of the season. Angel Perez added two hits and two runs scored while Jon Kristoffersen posted a hit, two runs scored and an RBI and Jason Midkiff recorded two hits and an RBI.
next on tap… The Peacocks will host Niagara on Saturday and Sunday for the squad's first conference home weekend.
just the stats… Sophomore Mike Ionta leads the team with a .346 batting average with 18 hits, seven runs scored, three doubles and five RBIs. Senior Jon Kristoffersen is hitting .333 with 22 hits, 14 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, five homers and 11 RBIs Senior John Leiter leads the team in strikeouts (33) and innings pitched (30.1).
leiter honored… Senior John Leiter was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for the week of Mar. 8-14. It was the senior's first conference honor. Leiter tossed his first career nine-inning complete-game shutout after allowing only two hits and one walk with eight strikeouts in a 2-0 victory at Fordham on Saturday. Leiter retired the first 10 batters he faced and then the senior retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced in his second career complete-game shutout. The senior had a complete-game seven-inning shutout against Iona on Apr. 18, 2015 for his first collegiate shutout.
hitters on the all-time list… Seniors Jon Kristoffersen and Rob Moore are starting to etch their names on the program's all-time career lists. Kristoffersen already left his mark as a sophomore when he had a team-record 67 hits in 2014. The senior ranks third in career triples with 11, needing two to tie the program record in the category. Kristoffersen also sits ninth in runs scored with 97 with eighth place (102), seventh place (103), sixth place (104) and fifth place (109) in his sights and also is 12th in hits with 165 with 11th place (174) and 10th place (176) on his arisen. The senior also sits in 17th place with 28 doubles, needing four two baggers to reach the Top-10 while ranking 15th in homers with nine round trippers needing one to join the Top-10 and has 67 RBIs to sit four away from the program's Top-20. Moore currently sits in eighth place with 11 career homers and needs one homer (12) to reach seventh, three homers for sixth (13) and five for fifth (15). The senior is also 11th in RBIs with 83 with 10th place (86) in his sights. Moore also sits in 16th place in doubles with 28 two baggers needing four two baggers to reach the Top-10. Moore has 75 runs scored and needs four runs to join the Top-20 and has 135 hits and can crack the Top-20 with four base hits.
leiter on the all-time lists… Senior John Leiter tossed his second career shutout in a 2-0 win against Fordham on Mar. 12 to become the fifth player in program history to register at least two shutouts in his career. Leiter ranks fifth in games started with 34 and can move into third place with one start. The senior has tossed 199.0 innings in his career to rank 10th in team history with ninth place (201.0), eighth place (204.0), seventh place (214.0) and sixth place (216.0) on the horizon. He has 142 strikeouts to sit in 11th place, needing six strikeouts to join the Top-10. Leiter also sits just outside the Top-20 in games and wins. The senior has appeared in 42 games and needs two games pitched to move into the Top-20 while his seven wins helped him join the Top-20, needing four to join the Top-10.
preseason poll… The defending MAAC Tournament champion Canisius has been tabbed as the preseason favorite after garnering six of the 11 first-place votes. Quinnipiac received three first-place nods to finish second in the poll while the regular season defending champion Siena nabbed a first-place selection to place third. Monmouth finish fourth and Marist notched the final first-place nod to place fifth while Manhattan, Rider, Fairfield, Iona, Niagara and Saint Peter's rounded out the poll.
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welcome to the flock… Saint Peter's head coach T.J. Baxter has added junior college transfer Jake Regina and freshmen Griffin Arnott, Nicholas Arre, Nicholas Camilleri, Stephen Epstein, Adam Hernandez and Gary Puente to the team in 2016. In addition, Michael Ammerman is set for action for the first time in a Saint Peter's uniform after missing last season due to an injury.
keep the light alive… Senior John Leiter comes from a great baseball family. Both of his uncles (Al and Mark) pitched in Major League Baseball. Al Leiter spent 19 years in the big leagues, posting a 162-132 record with 1,974 strikeouts in 2391.0 innings of work. Drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 1984 draft, the southpaw spent parts of 11 of his 19 seasons in either a Yankees or Mets uniform. Mark Leiter, a fourth-round selection in the 1983 draft by the Baltimore Orioles, played 11 seasons in the big leagues, recording a 65-73 record with 892 strikeouts in 1184.1 innings of work. John's cousin, Mark Leiter, Jr., who went to nearby NJIT, was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 22nd round in 2013 and is playing for the Clearwater Threshers in the minor league system.
hall of fame… Former baseball standouts Conor Mullee and Rob Tandy were inducted into the Saint Peter's Athletics Hall of Fame on Feb. 6, 2016. Mullee, who was drafted by the New York Yankees, made his way through the Yankees farm system last year and advanced to Triple-A by the end of the 2015 campaign. Mullee recorded a save against Toronto in spring training for the Yankees. Tandy was a member of the only MAAC Championship team in 1994 for the Peacocks.
about the coach… T.J. Baxter begins his second season as the head coach after serving as acting head coach for the 2014 season. Baxter played in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system after a successful collegiate playing career at New Orleans. Baxter picked up his first win as a head coach against Quinnipiac on Mar. 22, 2015.
