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Southern New Hampshire University

Southern New Hampshire University Penmen
Christian Cepin yelling in celebration with his teammates in the dugout in the background
Maddie Murphy
5
Southern N.H. SOUTHERN 35-10
14
Winner Pace PACE 22-22
Southern N.H. SOUTHERN
35-10
5
Final
14
Pace PACE
22-22
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Southern N.H. SOUTHERN 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 5 7 1
Pace PACE 3 4 0 2 0 4 1 0 X 14 12 2

W: Joe O'Toole (2-1) L: Lapham, Jake (5-1)

3
Winner Southern N.H. SOUTHERN 36-10
2
Pace PACE 22-23
Winner
Southern N.H. SOUTHERN
36-10
3
Final
2
Pace PACE
22-23
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Southern N.H. SOUTHERN 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 6 0
Pace PACE 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 2

W: Davis, Jack (8-3) L: Brian Espinal (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

#17 Baseball Reduces Magic Number to One with Split at Pace

Penmen salvage doubleheader with extra-inning win in nightcap

When and Where: May 1, 2026 — Pleasantville, N.Y. (Peter X. Finnerty Field)
Game 1 Score: Pace University 14, #17 Southern New Hampshire University 5
Game 2 Score: #17 Southern New Hampshire University 3, Pace University 2 (9 inn.)
Records: SNHU 36-10 (28-6 NE10), Pace 22-23 (17-17 NE10)

Freshman Christian Cepin (Woodside, N.Y.) knocked in all three runs in game two, as the 17th-ranked Southern New Hampshire University baseball team won an extra-innings affair to salvage Friday's doubleheader with Pace University at Finnerty Field. Pace posted a 14-5 victory in the opener, before SNHU bounced back with a 3-2 win in nine innings in the nightcap.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS
  • Pace scored three in the first inning and then smacked a grand slam in the second to jump out to a 7-0 lead. 
  • It was 9-0 when Southern New Hampshire finally jumped on the board with a four-run sixth. An RBI single from senior Jake Pisano (Hamden, Conn.) started the scoring, before a three-run double by redshirt-junior Brody Keneston (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) trimmed the deficit to 9-4.
  • Pace answered with its own four-run sixth, however, to make it 13-4.
  • After the Setters added another run in the seventh, junior River Hart (Nashua, N.H.) hit a solo home run to left in the ninth.
  • Keneston went 2-for-4 with the double and three RBI.
  • Pisano was 1-for-3 with a walk, RBI and run scored.
  • Senior Jake Lapham (Lansingburgh, N.Y.) suffered his first loss of the season, as he allowed nine runs – seven earned – on 10 hits over five innings. He struck out six, walked two and hit a pair of batter, falling to 5-1 on the year.
  • The next three relievers relinquished five runs on one hit and seven walks over an inning-plus of work.
  • Seniors Steven Kienzle (Holbrook, N.Y.) and Ruben Fernandez (Providence, R.I.), and sophomore Alex Primeau (Sainte Julie, Quebec) followed and combined for two scoreless frames, allowing just one hit, but walking four.
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS
  • Scoring was at a premium in the second game, but Southern New Hampshire struck first in the second on a two-run single by Cepin.
  • Pace tied it with a two-run single of its own and the score would remain deadlocked at 2-2 into extra innings.
  • After both teams threatened in the eighth inning, but did not score, Cepin came through again in the top of the ninth. With Pisano on second after drawing a leadoff walk, Cepin hit a two-out single back up the middle that deflected off the pitcher and allowed Pisano to score.
  • The Setters put a pair on in the bottom of the ninth, but junior Jack Davis (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) was able to get out of it.
  • Cepin finished 2-for-4 with three RBI.
  • Pisano (walk, run), junior Joel Valera (Boston, Mass.; walk, double, run), senior Kyle Lavigne (Bedford, N.H.; walk, double) and junior Casey Cumiskey (Milltown, N.J.; run) were all 1-for-3.
  • Freshman Zak Whitney (Keene, N.H.) turned in a stellar start, allowing two runs on four hits over seven innings, while striking out 11 and walking a pair.
  • Davis (8-3) fired a pair of scoreless frames, giving up a hit and three walks, while punching out a pair.
NOTES
  • Southern New Hampshire, ranked 17th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Top 25, 30th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II Baseball Coaches Poll and receiving votes in the D2 Baseball Top 25, has won 24 of the last 26, but had its eight-game winning streak halted with the game-one loss.
  • The Penmen magic number to clinch the NE10 Regular-Season Championship, the No. 1 seed and hosting duties for the NE10 Championship is now one with two games to play in the regular season. SNHU will clinch with either a win or a Bentley University loss Saturday.
  • Pace leads all-time series, 19-18, though the Penmen have won 13 of the last 20 meetings. The Setters have also won five of the last seven at home.
  • Whitney is on a run of five consecutive starts in which he has not allowed more than two runs. During the stretch he is 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA, giving up 26 hits, striking out 49 and walking only five over 33-and-a-third innings.
  • This marked Whitney's fourth double-digit strikeout game of the season. He is tied for the lead league with 87 strikeouts this season.
  • Hart's fourth home run of the season is the 14th of his career. All four of his long-balls this season have come in his last eight games. During that stretch he is 5-for-14 (.357) with the four homers.
  • Senior Dakota Britt (Rockwall, Texas) extended his team-best hitting streak to nine games, but lost the streak when he went hitless in the nightcap. He also saw his team-high 28-game reached base streak come to an end in game two.
  • Cumiskey now has both the longest hitting streak (8) and reached base streak (25) on the team.
UP NEXT
  • The Penmen wrap up the regular season with a noon doubleheader at Pace on Saturday (May 2).

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