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Rock Hill, SC – Arguably the most anticipated season-opener for the Wagner Seahawks in recent memory comes to fruition when the Green & White take on No. 18 Kent State at 10:00 am tomorrow in Rock Hill, SC on the campus of Winthrop University. The Seahawks will then square off with the host Eagles for two games before concluding the four-game series against the nationally-ranked Golden Flashes.

Wagner enters 2009 ripe with expectations as the Seahawks return 23 student-athletes, including eight starters in the field and three starting pitchers, from a squad that set school-records for wins (27) and Northeast Conference (NEC) wins (17). Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) leads the team on offense after batting .316 with 12 doubles, 10 home runs, 35 RBI and a .534 slugging percentage. His breakout sophomore campaign has earned him numerous preseason accolades, including Avella's inclusion on the prestigious Wallace Watch List and being named Baseball America's NEC Preseason Player of the Year. Junior Damian Csakai (Freehold, NJ / Freehold), who like Avella garnered Second Team All-NEC honors as a sophomore, will again man center field after starting all 55 games there a year ago. The speedy Csakai tied a school-record with 33 stolen bases in just 35 attempts while hitting .292 with 40 runs, eight doubles and a .348 OBP. Rounding out the All-NEC returners is captain Chris Drechsel (Cranford, NJ / Cranford). A senior and four-year starter, Drechsel started all 55 games behind the plate in 2008 and threw out 29 percent of would-be-base stealers. A three-time All-NEC honoree, he enters this year with the possibility of becoming the first Seahawk student-athlete to earn all-conference accolades four times.

On the mound, junior RHP Kyle Morrison (Middlesex, NJ / Immaculata) and senior RHP Andy Wells (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) lead the pitching staff. Morrison moves into the No. 1 spot after going 5-5 with a 3.99 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 67.2 frames in 2008. Wells, who transferred from Siena prior to last year, went 2-4 with a 4.86 ERA and 40 strikeouts over 50.0 innings. During NEC play, he picked it up and was 2-0 with a 20 strikeouts and a miniscule 1.17 ERA over 23.0 innings. The pair had outstanding summers and were named among the Top-5 Pro Prospects in the NEC by Baseball America in its annual college preview.

The competition this weekend will be stiff as the Green & White open with No. 18 and reigning MAC Regular Season Champs Kent State. The Golden Flashes are 3-0 and are loaded on offense and on the mound. They are led by reigning conference Player of the Year and Louisville Slugger All-American Greg Rohan. The fifth-year senior hit .355 with 18 doubles, 20 home runs and 61 RBI last year and showed no signs of slowing down last weekend, going 10-17 with two home runs and nine RBI over Kent State's three-game sweep of UNC Greensboro. On the mound, the Flashes return two of its three weekend starters in juniors Brad Stillings and Kyle Smith. The right-handed duo combined to win 13 games a year ago.

Winthrop, like Kent State, enters with an undefeated record having posted a 5-0 mark. The Eagles, who struggled a year ago going 26-34, are led by senior Eddie Tisdale and junior John Murrian. Tisdale hit .340 last year with 15 doubles and five home runs and is batting .455 to start the year. Murrian hit .301 with nine doubles, seven home runs and 27 RBI in 2008 and is batting .588 (10-17) with two home runs and 10 RBI over the first five games. On the mound, Winthrop is led by a quartet of sophomores, all of whom have posted one win on the year.

Probable Pitching Match-Ups
Game 1 Kent State vs. Wagner (February 27 - 10:00 am)
So. LHP Kyle Hallock (6-1, 175) vs. Jr. RHP Kyle Morrison (6-1, 190)
(0-0; 0.00 ERA; 4.0 IP; 5K; 2BB; 4 hits - 1 save) - Hallock's numbers

Game 2 Wagner vs. Winthrop (February 27 -  pm) 1:00
Sr. RHP Andy Wells (6-2, 210) vs. So. RHP Matteo D'Angelo (6-1, 190)
(1-0; 3.60 ERA; 5.0 IP; 5K; 1BB; 4 hits; 2ER) - D'Angelo's numbers

Game 3 Wagner vs. Winthrop (February 28 - 3:30 pm)
So. LHP Jack Rice (6-1, 230) vs. So. RHP Robert Lake (6-2, 185)
(1-0; 1.08 ERA; 8.1 IP; 6K; 0BB; 5 hits; 1ER) - Lake's numbers

Game 4 Wagner vs. Kent State (March 1 - 11:00 am)
Jr. RHP Matt Watson (6-3, 195) vs. Jr. LHP Jon Pokorny (6-2, 220)
(0-0; 6.75 ERA; 4.0 IP; 4K; 2BB; 6 hits; 3ER) – Pokorny's numbers

NOTES:
• Head coach Joe Litterio is 1-1 all-time against Kent State and 2-11 vs. Winthrop.

• Every game that Wagner has played against the Golden Flashes and the Eagles has been played in Rock Hill, SC.

• The Seahawks defeated Kent State 8-5 in the two teams' last match-up on February 26, 2005. Eight of the nine starting regulars for the Golden Flashes and Kent State's starting pitcher in the game were drafted or signed professional contracts with Major League teams.

• Joey DiGeronimo led the Wagner offense going 3-5 as every starting regular got at least one hit.

• Emmanuel Burris, a 2006 First Round Pick, was the Golden Flashes' shortstop and is now a member of the San Francisco Giants. Starting pitcher Chris Carpenter, who was drafted in the third round in 2008 by the Chicago Cubs, took the loss yielding five runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings.

• Another member of the 2006 draft class former Seahawk Andrew Bailey is in Big League camp with the Oakland A's as a non-roster invitee. His Oakland player page can be accessed HERE.

• Kent State is coached by Scott Stricklin, who served as an assistant at Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. The Golden Flash Associate Head Coach is Mike Birkbeck, who pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets.

• Birkbeck is known as one of the top pitching coaches in the Midwest, having developed Major Leaguers Andy Sonnanstine, Matt Guerrier, Dirk Hayhurst and John Van Benschoten.

• The Golden Flashes also have other strong ties to Metropolitan Area as the late Thurman Munson, one of the most revered players in New York Yankee history, earned two letters at Kent State in 1967 and 1968. Former New York Yankee GM Gene Michael, who was the architect of the last four Yankee World Series Championship teams, played for Kent State in 1958.

• The last three Kent State head coaches currently coach at Ohio State, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.

• After losing his first seven games against Winthrop, Litterio's Wagner squads have now won two of the last six meetings.

• The Seahawks defeated the Eagles 5-2 last year as sophomore LHP Jack Rice (Middlesex, NJ / Immaculata) tossed 8.0 innings of two-run ball.

• Since losing their first seven games of the Litterio regime to Winthrop by at least seven runs and by an average of 12.2 runs, the Seahawks have two wins and lost the other four by no more than four runs while only being outscored 31-29.

• Sophomore Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) hit .455 with a home run against the Eagles a year ago to lead the Wagner offense. Senior Andrew Huebner (Hatfield, PA / North Penn) also had a solid series picking up the save in the Seahawks' 5-2 game-two win.

• Winthrop has also had success of late in the professional ranks as Kevin Slowly went 12-11 with a 3.99 ERA for the Minnesota Twins a year ago.