The New Haven Chargers baseball team is on fire this year. Currently with a record of 25-6, the Chargers are ranked #16 nationally according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), and are #9 in the Collegiate Baseball rankings. New Haven is also #5 in the East region. The team did not lose until a month after their first scheduled exhibition.

The team is led by their own Babe, Joe Caico. Caico leads the team in batting, with a staggering .410 average. Caico is second in the NE-10 In batting average. He emulates the likes of Babe Ruth with his average, his modest .648 slugging percentage, and his ability to pitch! The senior has yet to pitch this season but with his undefeated season last year, and holding a 1.07 ERA that same year, it’s unlikely his prowess won’t be leveraged.

There are two other Chargers batting over .300 so far: Tom Walraven and James Myers. Walraven, an infielder and graduate student, has 19 RBIs on 40 hits so far this season, averaging .360. He has hit 2 home runs on the year, one behind Caico. His raw hitting success is enough to keep pitchers up at night. Myers, an infielder and junior, is hitting .342 on the year, with 0 home runs. What does that mean? That even without going yard yet, his 28 total hits this year are plenty to make the opposition think twice.

The power of New Haven’s bats isn’t it all, though. The team’s pitching itself is incredible. Ace Pitcher David Palmer has been magnificent this season, with a record of 6-1, two complete games, and only allowing 4 earned runs. As such, his ERA is at a .61, leading the team, the NE-10 and good enough for #1 in all of Division II. His partner in crime is Tim Kennedy, also at 6-1. Kennedy’s 2.05 ERA is plenty enough to keep the Chargers afloat. The two are among the best in the nation.

New Haven only has 8 games left, and only three are at home. The remaining games are April 25 v. Southern Connecticut State University at 3:30 p.m., April 28 v. Saint Rose, and April 29 v Saint Rose, the doubleheaders both at 12:00 p.m. From there, the NE10 tournament begins, and following that is the NCAA tournament.