Last Week’s Stats: 9 tackles (6 solo), 2.0 tackles-for-loss (9 yards)
Battaglia, a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree in 2024, takes home his first-ever NEC/Atlantic Tomorrow’s Office Defensive Player of the Week award after he anchored the most efficient defensive performances Stonehill has turned in since making the jump to Division I — and joining the NEC — in 2022. The junior posted nine tackles, including six solo stops, to lead Stonehill to a 10-3 win over visiting LIU in both teams’ NEC opener on Saturday. The three points marked the fewest that Stonehill has conceded to a Division I opponent in program history. In addition, Battaglia, a 6-1 linebacker, added 2.0 sacks for a combined loss of nine yards for a Skyhawks’ defense that limited the Sharks to just 241 yards of offense on 59 plays. His second sack of the afternoon came on an LIU 3rd-and-5 at Stonehill’s eight-yard line that forced the Sharks to settle for a field goal, their lone points of the contest. The Massapequa, NY native enters the week ranked among the NEC’s top 10 in a pair of defensive categories. He is tied for fifth in sacks per game (0.40), while his 6.6 tackles per game are good for sixth in the circuit.