LIVE STATS

NEC STANDINGS

Staten Island, NY - Wagner (18-23; 11-9 NEC) welcomes Sacred Heart (21-21; 12-8 NEC) to Richmond County Bank Ballpark for a four-game series, beginning on Friday at 3:00 pm. The Seahawks will be looking for a measure of revenge after losing the last three meetings against the Pioneers via walk-off fashion.

The teams have developed a solid rivalry over the last few years with the home team winning the annual series each year since 2003.

While Wagner has specialized in winning close games, Sacred Heart relies on its potent offense. The Pioneers, who have scored double-digits in five of their last eight NEC games, are second in the league with a .313 team average, including a league-high .330 during conference-play.The Pioneers, who are in second place one game ahead of the Seahawks, have also had enjoyed a pitching rebirth with one of the most consistent staffs in the league.

Leading the way is graduate student LHP Jared Balbach, a Second Team All-NEC selection in 2009. He is 6-3 with a 4.11 ERA and 51 strikeouts, against 22 walks, over 61.1 innings. Balbach, who will start game two, has posted four complete-game victories during NEC-play while striking out 27 over 32.2 innings with a 3.58 ERA during that time.

The surprise of the pitching staff has been senior RHP Chris Zaccherio, who is 5-3 with a team-best 60 strikeouts, against just 14 walks, over a team-high 63.2 innings while posting a 3.96 ERA. After being a mainstay in the bullpen over his first three years, Zaccherio has established himself as arguably the top game-one pitcher in the league, going 4-1 in NEC-play with three complete games, a 3.20 ERA and 36 strikeouts, against just five walks, over 39.1 innings.

Senior Corey Corcoran will be the game-three starter. Despite having a 1-5 record, the crafty lefty has struck out 24 while waking just 12 and limiting hitters to a .275 average over 41.2 innings of work. A victim of poor run support, the Pioneers have plated just seven runs over his 30.0 NEC-innings of work. Corcoran has struck out 18 and walked just six during that time.

Rounding out the starters for Sacred Heart is a name that will resonate with NEC baseball fans as well as those of the San Diego Padres. Freshman RHP Troy Scribner, younger brother former CCSU standout and current Padre farmhand, is the game-four starter. Scribner is 3-3 with two saves, a 4.63 ERA, and 40 strikeouts, against 14 walks, over 50.2 innings of work. During league-play, he is 3-1 while posting a 30-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 35.2 innings and has  pitched into at least the seventh inning in all five of his NEC-games.

On offense, the Nutmeg State school is led by 2009 First Team NEC catcher senior Jeff Heppner, who is hitting .347 with a league-best 12 home runs while also ranking among the top-five with 45 runs, 45 RBI and a .673 slugging percentage. Sophomore Robert Griffith has been a diligent replacement for departed NEC First Team selection Jeff Hanson at first base, hitting .414 with nine doubles, one triple, four home runs and 34 RBI while posting a .622 slugging percentage. Freshman John Murphy has been a surprise in the middle of the order, batting .391 with eight doubles, one triple, three home runs and 31 RBI.

Standing out at the top of the line-up is Mike Drowne, who is second in the NEC with 27 stolen bases while batting .320 with nine doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 27 RBI.. Rounding out the .300 hitters are Hunter Phillips (.321, 14 doubles) and senior Steve Tedesco (.310, 41 runs, 11 stolen bases).

The Pioneers the only team in the NEC with a winning record in conference road games, going 5-3 while the rest of the league has gone a collective 33-55 in road match-ups as home teams are 58-38. Something has to give this weekend as the Seahawks own a remarkable 10-1 record in home games, having outscored the opposition 67-30 while going 7-1 in games decided by three runs or less, including 6-1 during NEC-games.

On offense, Wagner continues to be led by the senior duo of Damian Csakai (Freehold Township, NJ / Freehold Township) and Vin Avella (Matawan, NJ / CBA). Csakai is batting .315 with a NEC-high 32 stolen bases, 31 runs, 24 walks, 14 hit-by-pitches and a .team-best 456 on-base percentage. With one more hit and one more at-bat he will tie former teammate Joey DiGeronimo's school-record totals of 219 hits in 707 at-bats. He already holds school-records for games played, runs, stolen bases and being hit by pitches. Additionally, he was honored at the College's 26th Annual Senior Awards Banquet as the male recipient of the ECAC Merit Award, presented to the graduating Wagner student-athletes with the highest cumulative GPA as Csakai owns a 3.86 GPA in Computer Science. He also was named the Con Edison Male Student-Athlete of the Year, which is given to the senior who demonstrates the values of courtesy, concern, teamwork, honesty and respect.

Avella meanwhile recently broke the school's RBI record with his eighth-inning RBI double against NJIT and now has 148 for his career to go along with his school-record 44 home runs while ranking fourth with 207 hits. On the year, he is batting .305 with 11 home runs, 12 doubles, 43 RBI and a .603 slugging percentage.

Sophomore Tommy Higgins (Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) is the team's top hitter at .331 with eight doubles, two home runs and 28 RBI while establishing himself as an All-NEC candidate. Junior Seth Boyd (Perth Amboy, NJ / Perth Amboy) is next at .328 with eight doubles, two triples, four home runs, 24 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

Junior Kevin McDonnell (Bristol, CT / Avon Old Farms) continues to lead the nation in outfield assists after recording No. 11 at Bryant and is batting .315 with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs and 24 RBI. Over the last 11 games, he is batting a team-best .350 with four doubles and two home runs while reaching base at a .435-clip.

Classmate Jon Lucas (Hackettstown, NJ / Hackettstown) rounds out the top hitters at .310 with five doubles, one triple, two home runs and 22 RBI. Despite falling just short of the .300 mark at .296, junior Brian Martutartus (Carlsbad, CA / La Costa Canyon) is hitting .356 during league-play, trailing just Boyd, who leads all hitters during NEC-play with a .462 average.

This weekend's rotation will have a different look to it as fifth-year senior RHP Andy Wells (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter's) (1-1; 7.63 ERA; 18 K; 13 BB) will get the nod on Friday. In Saturday's doubleheader, classmate RHP Matt Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) (3-3; 7.52 ERA; 28 K; 29 BB) and freshman RHP Christian Rautenstrauch (Charlotte, NC / Providence Day) (3-1; 5.34 ERA; 18 K; 13 BB) will start with Lucas (2-3; 8.04 ERA; 29 K; 12 BB) expected to go on Sunday.

NOTES:
• Head coach Joe Litterio is 14-18 against Sacred Heart since taking over in 2000, but is 8-7 in Staten Island having won seven of the last 10 match-ups at home.

• Sacred Heart is led by 22nd-year coach Nick Giaquinto, who played football at UConn and won a Super Bowl Championship as a running back for the Washington Redskins in 1983.

• The senior class is just 5-7 against the Pioneers.

• Zaccherio, Balbach and Scribner have each won Akadema NEC Pitcher of the Week accolades this season.

• Former Seahawk hurlers Joe Testa (Twins) and Kyle Morrison (Nationals) each won their first games of the year at the professional level within the last week. Testa snapped Double-A New Britain's 10-game losing streak, striking out three over 2.0 scoreless innings in last night's 9-3 win over New Hampshire. Morrison picked up Low-A Hagerstown's 2000th franchise victory, a 5-4 win over Augusta on May 1, striking out five over 3.0 scoreless frames.

• At the Major League level, 2006 graduate Andrew Bailey continues to impress with the Oakland A's. He has converted all five save opportunities, striking out six, against just one walk, while limiting hitters to a .179 average over 10.2 innings. Additionally a bobblehead doll with his likeness will be given out in prior to Oakland's game Tampa Bay on Saturday, March 8.

• Scribner's brother Evan is 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA, 19 strikeouts, against just one walk, over 14.0 innings with the San Antonio Missions (Padres) of the Double A Texas League. He was 1-1 with two saves over 14.0 career innings against the Green & White.

• In 2008, the teams split a pair of games at Richmond County Bank Ballpark after Wagner swept a doubleheader at Rutgers' Bainton Field.

• This weekend's clash could go a long way towards determining the top seed for the NEC Tournament as Bryant is not eligible for postseason-play despite owning a league-best 15-5 mark.

• Junior Jared Gruccio (Landisville, NJ / Buena Regional) hit .389 (7-18) against SHU pitching a year ago while Watson fanned six over 6.0 innings of one-run ball. With one more win, Watson will match the school record of 19 wins, held by Bill Willetts, Don Finley and Testa.

• Drowne battered Seahawk pitching to the tune of .421 with five runs, two doubles and two home runs. Zaccherio also struck out seven over 7.0 innings of relief.

• Sacred Heart defeated No. 28 Florida Gulf Coast 6-3 in its season-opener, denying Chris Sale, who is a consensus First Round pick for the upcoming 2010 MLB Draft, the victory. The Pioneers also have defeated UConn, who is currently ranked among the Top-30.

• Next weekend Sacred Heart hosts Monmouth (13-11 NEC) while Wagner travels to CCSU (10-10 NEC).