LIVE STATS

Staten Island, NY – After stunting a two-game losing skid with a 5-3 win over Lafayette on Wednesday, Wagner returns to action this weekend with four games against perennial America East power Maine at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. The Seahawks hold a 7-6 record while the Black Bears enter with a 12-9 mark.

Last year, the teams split four meetings with Maine claiming games one and four by scores of 6-2 and 3-2 with Wagner taking games two and three by identical 2-1 scores. Junior Joe Conforti (Staten Island, NY / Farrell) led the Green & White, hitting .375 (3-8) while classmate Damian Csakai (Freehold, NJ / Freehold) checked in at .286 (4-14). Sophomore Jack Rice (Middlesex, NJ / Immaculata) and junior Matt Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) were impressive on the mound in the Wagner wins. Rice yielded just one run on four hits over 5.0 innings in the Seahawks' game-two win while Watson scattered one unearned run on five hits over 6.0 innings in the game-three victory. The big hit eluded both teams as Wagner hit .174 (4-23) with runners in scoring position while Maine batted .172 (5-29).

Maine enters this weekend with a 12-9 record and has wins over No. 25 Ohio State, UNLV and Georgetown to its credit. Last weekend, the Black Bears split with Sacred Heart, losing both ends of Saturday's doubleheader by scores of 4-1 and 7-4, before sweeping Sunday's doubleheader, 11-2 and 5-3. Maine, like Wagner, has been hitting well this year and sports a .321 average led by freshman Ian Leisenheimer (.410, 16 runs, 19 RBI). Senior Billy Cather, a 33rd-round pick in the 2008 Major League draft by Washington, is next with a .397 mark, a team-best 19 runs and a .495 OBP. Classmate Kevin McAvoy (.386, 5 HR, .657 slugging percentage), sophomore Jarrett Lukas (.354, 10 HBP, 5 doubles), junior Myckie Lugbauer (.320, 2 HR, 16 RBI), senior Danny Menedez (.304) and junior Tony Patane (.303, 2 HR) round out the Black Bears hitting above .300.

On the mound, Maine is paced by sophomore RHP Matt Jebb, who is 3-0 in five starts with 16 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA over a team-best 30.0 innings. Last year, he struck out eight while yielding two runs over 7.0 innings in the Black Bears' game-three loss to Wagner. Freshman RHP Keith Bilodeau has also started five games, posting a 1-3 record with 17 strikeouts over 28.1 innings while freshman RHP AJ Bazdanes is 1-0 with a team-best 2.14 ERA and a team-high 18 strikeouts in just 21.0 innings. As a team, Maine has posted a 5.02 team ERA despite playing a solid non-conference slate.

Wagner enters this weekend's series with the NEC's highest team average (.315) and the best ERA (3.87) while posting the second-best fielding percentage (.969). Conforti is second in the league with a .438 average and has a blistering .600 OBP (12-20) over the last five games. Csakai also ranks among the league leaders with a .380 average (13th NEC), seven stolen bases (1st NEC) and two triples (2nd NEC). Senior Chris Drechsel (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) is having a solid start to his final campaign, batting .341 with a team-best 11 runs and a .429 OBP. Sophomore Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon) is next with a .326 average, one home run and 12 RBI. Junior Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) is the team's top power source with six home runs (2nd NEC), 19 RBI (2nd) and a .755 slugging percentage (3rd NEC) to go along with a .306 average.

On the mound, Junior Kyle Morrison (Middlesex, NJ / Immaculata) ranks second in the NEC with a 3.32 ERA and is tied for the league lead with three wins. The hard-throwing righty is also third in the league with 26 strikeouts. Senior RHP Andy Wells (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) is fourth with a 3.86 ERA while posting a 1-1 record with 14 strikeouts over 14.0 innings. Rice has a 2.00 ERA, fanning eight over 9.0 innings while yielding just two earned runs.

Friday's game will start at 3:30 pm with Saturday's doubleheader slated to begin at 12:00 pm and the series finale on tap for 1:00 pm on Sunday. Live Stats can be accessed for all games while Maine Radio will be broadcasting the entire series.

NOTES:
• Wagner is 2-3 all-time against Maine
• Head coach Joe Litterio is 3-3 all-time against the Black Bears as a coach. In 2000, Wagner defeated Maine 9-8 in Bradenton, Florida and in 2004 the Black Bears returned the favor with a 10-9 victory in Staten Island before the teams split four games a year ago.
• Litterio is also 2-0 all-time as a player against Maine. His Rutgers squad knocked the Black Bears out of the 1990 NCAA Northeast Regional with a 5-4 win before blowing out Maine 17-3 in 1993.
• Litterio and Maine coach Steve Trimper have met seven times with trimper holding a 4-3 advantage. Trimper's Manhattan teams defeated Wagner in 2002 and 2004 with Litterio winning the first meeting in 2001.
• Avella and Lugbauer were named their respective conference's preseason Player of the Year by Baseball America. Lugbauer was also named the American East's Top Pro-Prospect.
• Last year's American East Player of the Year, Maine's Curt Smith, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 39th round and hit .378 with 14 doubles and eight home runs for Johnson City and was named the Appalachian League Player of the Year. Wagner pitching limited him to a .250 average (2-8), a year ago.
• Wagner has not lost this year when leading after a completed inning.
• Former Wagner standout Andrew Bailey has not given up a run this spring as he attempts to make the Oakland A's roster as a non-roster invitee.
• The Green & White took both games from American East foe UMBC earlier this year.
• Maine has made seven College World Series appearances, including four-straight from 1981-1984, while appearing in 15 NCAA Regionals.
• Mike Bordick, the shortstop on the Mets' 2000 World Series team, helped the Black Bears to two College World Series appearances. Other notable alums include Mark Sweeney and Bill Swift, who led the NL in wins in 1993.
• Both teams faced Delaware State with Maine going 1-1 and Wagner 1-3.
• Former Wagner football assistant coach Andre Fontenette is currently an assistant with Maine's football program.