Teaneck, NJ - After dropping three-of-four at Mount St. Mary's the Wagner Baseball team will look to rebound when the Seahawks head to Fairleigh Dickinson for a four game series this weekend at the FDU Field.

The Green & White, fresh off an upset victory over St. John's sport a 9-12 record, including a 5-3 ledger in Northeast Conference (NEC) play. The Knights, like the Seahawks, dropped three of four last weekend and are 4-17 and 3-5 in the NEC.

Last year, Wagner swept all four games from FDU while clinching its first NEC Regular Season Championship with a 9-1 victory in the season-finale. Senior Damian Csakai (Freehold Township, NJ / Freehold Township) led an offense that hit .350, going 9-for-15 (.600) with six runs, five RBI and four stolen bases while reaching base at a .647 clip en route to earning Akadema NEC Co-Player of the Week accolades.

This year's version of the Knights are led by junior Steven LaForge, who is batting a team-best .375 (30-80), while posting team-highs in hits (30), runs (20), doubles (7), home runs (3), RBI (15), slugging percentage (.600) and on-base percentage (.447). Sophomore Mike Eliasen is second at .324 (23-71) with 12 runs, four doubles and 12 RBI. Classmate Ryan Kresky is also batting .324 (22-68) with 13 runs, four doubles, four triples, one home run, four stolen bases and 12 RBI. Sophomore Scott Morrison is next at .313 (15-48) while junior Brian Dillon checks in at an even .300 (24-80) with 18 runs, four doubles, two triples, one home run and 12 RBI.

FDU's pitching staff was supposed to be led by senior Nick Melchiorre, Baseball America's Top NEC Prospect, but the right-handed pitcher has been sidelined for most of the season. Senior RHP Michael Strachman (1-3) has been the Knights' most consistent pitcher, striking out a team-best 14, against five walks, with a 6.75 ERA over a team-high 29.1 innings. Over his first two NEC starts, he is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA, four strikeouts and just one walk in 13.1 innings.

Sophomore RHP Ray Courtney and freshman RHP Ashley Bulluck will most likely be the Saturday starters on the mound for the Knights. Courtney is 1-1 with 12 strikeouts, 21 walks and a 10.31 ERA over 18.1 innings while Bulluck, a 49th round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2009, has gone 1-3 with 13 strikeouts, 20 walks and a 11.41 ERA over 23.2 innings. However, during NEC-play the duo is 2-1 with 3.98 ERA, 15 strikeouts, 13 walks over 20.1 innings. Rounding out the rotation is freshman LHP Matt Cadigan, who is 0-2 with a 9.31 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 12 walks over 19.1 innings.

Wagner will again counter with the pitching rotation of sophomore Ryan Van Spronsen (Brantford, Ontario / Assumption College), fifth-year senior Matt Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell), junior Jon Lucas (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) and classmate Dale Hering (Belle Mead, NJ / Montgomery). Watson will be gunning for his 10th-straight victory during NEC-play in the first game on Saturday, but is just 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 14.2 innings in three careers starts against the Knights. Van Spronsen clinched the 2009 NEC Regular Season with his first save of the year against FDU in the series-finale last year, firing 4.0 innings of one-run ball.

Junior LHP David Rees (Staten Island, NY / Xavier) continued his outstanding season in the bullpen with his first save on Wednesday against St. John's. Over the last 12.1 innings, spanning nine games, the crafty left-hander is 2-1 with a 0.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts, against seven walks. On the year, he has a 1.98 ERA over 13.2 innings while striking out 17 and holding batters to a .232 average. Also pitching well in the back end of the bullpen has been junior Ian Karlsson (Brooklyn, NY / Xaverian). Over his last five appearances, the right-hander has two saves while striking out six and allowing just three runners over 5.0 shutout innings. For the season, Karlsson has posted a 4.32 ERA in nine games with eight strikeouts over 8.1 innings.

Despite being held hitless in back-to-back games for the first time all year, senior Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA) continues to lead the Green & White in hitting .351), runs (22), doubles (7), home runs (8) and RBI (30) while posting a .753 slugging percentage. He has also reached base safely in 20 of the 21 Wagner games with hits in 18.

Quietly turning in an outstanding season is Tommy Higgins (So., Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic). After seeing his average drop below .300 for the first time all year at Mount St. Mary's, the sophomore infielder recorded his team-leading third three-hit game of the year against Saint John's. On the year, he is batting .321 (19-61) with four doubles and eight RBI.

Senior Damian Csakai (Freehold Township, NJ / Freehold Township) is second at .333 (23-69) and needs just four hits to become the sixth member of the Wagner 200-hit club. He also has 15 runs, a team-leading 14 stolen bases and a team-best 15 walks while posting a .505 on-base percentage.
Rounding out the top hitters for the Green & White are Lucas and junior Kevin McDonnell (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms). Lucas is batting .311 (19-61) with 13 runs, three doubles, one triple, two home runs and nine RBI while McDonnell is next at .307 (23-75) with 13 runs, four doubles, seven RBI and four stolen bases.

Friday's game is slated for 3:00 pm with Saturday's doubleheader scheduled for 1:00 pm and the series finale on Sunday batted for 1:00 pm.

MATCH-UPS
Game 1:
Van Spronsen (1-3; 8.65 ERA; 17 K; 15 BB; 26.0 IP; .352 opp. Avg.) vs. Cadigan (0-2; 9.31 ERA; 10 K; 12 BB; 19.1 IP; .424 opp. Avg.)
Game 2:
Watson (2-2; 6.96 ERA; 18 K; 13 BB; 32.1 IP; .305 opp. Avg.) vs. Courtney (1-1; 10.31 ERA; 12 K; 21 BB; 18.1 IP; .337 opp. Avg.)
Game 3:
Lucas (1-3; 5.66 ERA; 24 K; 7 BB; 20.2 IP; .259 opp. Avg.) vs. Bulluck (1-3; 11.41 ERA; 13 K; 20 BB; 23.2 IP; .382 opp. Avg.)
Game 4:
Hering (1-1; 4.05 ERA; 10 K; 7 BB; 13.1 IP; .346 opp. Avg.) vs. Strachman (1-3; 6.75 ERA; 14 K; 5 BB; 29.1 IP; .356 opp. Avg.)

NOTES:
• Head Coach Joe Litterio is 19-14 all-time against Fairleigh Dickinson and 8-8 at the FDU Field.

• He is also 14-4 all-time against sixth-year Knight head coach Jerry DeFabbia.

• The Green & White have swept three of the last four weekend match-ups from the Knights, going 13-2 during that time, including 8-0 in games decided by three runs or less.

• The senior class is 10-2, all-time, against FDU.

• Former Seahawk Andrew Bailey made his 2010 debut for Oakalnd A's and has struck out one while not allowing a run over 1.1 innings of work.

• Looking to join Bailey in the Major League are Joe Testa and Kyle Morrison. Testa (Minnesota Twins) will play for the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League while Morrison (Washington Nationals) will start out with the Low-A Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League.

• During NEC-play, junior Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon) has been on fire, batting .333 (6-18) with two runs, a double and a triple while reaching base at a .455-clip with two sacrifice hits. Last year, he hit .538 (7-13) with four runs against the Knights.

• On the mound, Lucas is 1-1 with a 0.71 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 12.2 innings over two NEC starts.

• Watson has 17 career wins, just two off the school-record total of 19 held by Testa and legendary Wagner hurlers Bill Willetts and Don Finley.

• With four hits Csakai will reach 200 for his career. With five, he will match Nick Papa and Chris Dick for fourth place on the all-time list and with six he will tie former teammate Matt Mastrianni for third place.

• Csakai is batting .524 (22-42) in 11 games against Knight pitching with 15 runs, nine RBI and eight stolen bases while posting a .580 on-base percentage. He has hit safely in 10 of those games with seven multi-hit games.

• As a freshman, Csakai earned Akadema Rookie of the Week honors for his performance against the Knights, batting .692 (9-13) with six runs and a .765 OBP. He has earned co-Player of the Week honors last year, batting .600 (9-15).

• Avella is hitting .293 (12-41) against FDU pitching, but batted .462 (6-13) in Teaneck a year ago with three home runs, a double and eight RBI. He is also just 12 hits shy of 200 for his career.

• The Knights' Joe Martino batted a team-best .400 (6-15) against Seahawk pitching a year ago with three runs and two RBI

• Wagner has won 11-straight games at home, which is currently tied with Charlotte for the fourth-best current mark in the nation.

• The Green & White are 4-4 against the Big East in the last three years after defeating St. John's. Games at Seton Hall and Rutgers remain.

• Interestingly enough, in the five Seahawk home games there has not been one home run hit. The last home run hit at Richmond County Bank Ballpark was a solo shot off the bat of FDU's John Meadus. The Knights pitcher homered in the only at-bat of his collegiate career in the season-finale a year ago.

• FDU's starting rotation at LIU of Cadigan, Courtney, Bulluck and Strachman was the reverse over of the rotation from the first weekend against CCSU.