Hamden, CT – Wagner returns to Northeast Conference (NEC) action at Quinnipiac this weekend. The Seahawks (11-11; 2-2 NEC) split four conference games with Central Connecticut State last weekend while the Bobcats (7-17; 0-4 NEC) dropped all four games to Mount St. Mary's. The teams will play a doubleheader on Thursday, April 9 (9 innings / 7 innings) starting at 1:00 pm and on Friday, April 10 (7 innings / 9 innings) beginning at 12:00 pm.

Wagner swept Quinnipiac last year, winning all four games by a total of seven runs after being swept the previous year by the Bobcats by a total of 10 runs.

After ranking among the worst hitting teams in the NCAA a year ago, the Green & White are at the top of the weekly NEC rankings this year, checking in with a .320-clip as seven players are hitting above .300. Sophomore Jared Gruccio (Landisville, NJ / Buena Regional) leads the charge with a NEC-best .489 average (23-47) with 12 runs, five doubles and 11 RBI. During his current eight-game hitting streak, Gruccio is batting .560 (14-25). Junior Damian Csakai (Freehold, NJ / Freehold) is next with a.369 average while also recording 17 runs, 15 stolen bases and five outfield assists. Classmate Joe Conforti (Staten Island, NY / Farrell) is third on the squad with a .345 average with 14 runs and five stolen bases.

Senior Chris Drechsel (Cranford, NJ / Cranford) (.333; 19 runs; 2 HR), sophomore Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon) (.329; 6 doubles; 19 RBI), sophomore Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) (.317; 13 runs), and junior Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) (.308; 7 HR; 22 RBI; .438 OBP) round out the student-athletes hitting above .300.

Last weekend, the squad hit .377 against Central Connecticut led by Gruccio (.643), Boyd (.600) and Csakai (.529).

Quinnipiac ranks last in the league in hitting with a.250 average. Freshman Chris Migani leads the way, batting .322 with 11 runs while Junior Brian Monack is hitting .308 with three doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI and one ESPN Top-10 Highlight. Senior Bryn Doyle is next at .289 but was 6-14 (.429) against the Green & White a year ago.

After dominating the NEC pitching scene a year ago, the Seahawks had a solid opening weekend against the Blue Devils. Junior RHP Kyle Morrison (Middlesex, NJ / Immaculata) was absolutely nasty against CCSU in the series-opener last Friday, striking out six while not walking a batter and yielding just one run on three hits over 7.0 innings of Wagner's 10-1 win. Since taking a loss in the season-opener, the hard-throwing Morrison has gone 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA over 30.1 innings. He has also fanned 29 while walking just five during that time. On the year, he ranks among the NEC-leaders in wins (5) (1st), ERA (3.12) (3rd), strikeouts (36) (4th), innings (34.2) (7th) and opposing average (.280) (9th).

Junior RHP Matt Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) picked up the other NEC victory last weekend against CCSU, striking out two over 5.0 innings of two-run ball in the Green & White's 11-4 game-four win. On the year, he is 3-1 with one save and nine strikeouts over 21.1 innings of work.

The Bobcats have registered a 8.29 ERA but are led by the hard-throwing senior LHP Chris Gloor, who was a Cape Cod League All Star last summer after being selected by the Detroit Tigers in the Major League Draft. Gloor is just 2-3 with a 5.54 ERA but has struck out 49 over 39.0 innings while limiting hitters to a .273 average. Senior RHP Andy Mayer has also struggled, posting a 2-2 record with a 7.18 ERA and 23 strikeouts over 31.1 innings. Senior RHP Joe Duffy (1-5; 30 K; 33.1 IP; 7.83 ERA) and classmate RHP Michael Oskandy (1-4; 19 K; 28.2 IP; 5.65 ERA) round out the top-four starters for the Bobcats.

Live stats can be accessed for all four games through Quinnipiac.bobcats.com

NOTES:
• Head coach Joe Litterio is 15-12 all-time against Quinnipiac as a coach, including 5-6 in Hamden.
• The teams have met twice in the NEC playoffs with Quinnipiac winning in 2005 and Wagner in 2006.
• The Bobcats saw their four-year run of qualifying for the NEC Tournament end in 2008.
• Morrison has owned Quinnipiac over his career, yielding just one earned run over 14.0 innings.
• Andrew Huebner (Sr., Hatfield, PA / North Penn) earned Akadema NEC Pitcher of the Week honors a year ago after notching three saves with three strikeouts over 4.1 innings of one-hit ball against Quinnipiac while limiting Bobcat batters to a .067 average.
• Sophomore Joe Jamison (West Caldwell, NJ / James Caldwell) (.500), Conforti (.400), Csakai (.389) and Martutartus (.300) had solid weekends against the Bobcats a year ago.
• 2006 Wagner graduate Andrew Bailey pitched a scoreless inning of relief in his Major League debut against the Los Angeles Angels on Opening Day while Joe Testa begins his second professional season with the Minnesota Twins' Low A affiliate Beloit Snappers.
• Quinnipiac, like Wagner, has littered the professional ranks with players over the past few years. Tim Binkoski (Philadelphia Phillies), John Delaney (Milwaukee Brewers), Pat Egan (Baltimore Orioles), Randy Gress (Atlanta Braves), Ari Kafka (Seattle Mariners) and Bryan Sabatella (Seattle Mariners) have all played affiliated baseball.
• Egan and former Baltimore Orioles farmhand Joey DiGeronimo were professional teammates in 2007 while Kafka and Mike McTamney were teammates for the independent Brockton Rox.
• Quinnipiac has faced solid competition this year, squaring off with No. 10 Georgia (4 games), Maryland (3 games), Michigan State (2 games), Charleston, Duke and Xavier.