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Emmitsburg, MD - Wagner (9-15; 5-3) heads to Mount St. Mary's (7-19; 0-8) for its first conference road series of the season.
The teams will play four games starting on Friday at 1:00 pm. Seahawks fans can receive live updates through the Wagner Twitter Page, which can be accessed by clicking on the above link.
Wagner Baseball Capsule:
Roster /
Schedule /
Notes
Mount St. Mary's Baseball Capsule:
Roster /
Schedule /
Preview
Schedule and Probable Starters
3/30 - Mount St. Mary's - 1:00 pm
Sr. RHP Ryan Van Spronsen (3-1) / Mount: Jr. LHP Karl Lamont (1-3)
3/30 - Mount St. Mary's - 4:00 pm (approximate)
So. RHP Ryan Casey (2-1) / Mount: Fr. RHP Scott Nickerson (0-3)
3/31 - Mount St. Mary's - 1:00 pm
Jr. RHP Dakota Dvorak (1-4) / Mount: Jr. LHP Brady Feigl (0-2)
3/31 - Mount St. Mary's - 3:30 pm (approximate)
Fr. RHP Dan Watson (1-2) / Mount: Fr. RHP Thomas Williams (1-1)
Game Time
Wagner (9-15; 5-3 NEC) heads to Mount St. Mary's (7-19; 0-8 NEC) in its first conference road series of the season.
Series Breakdown
This weekend's series will now be played over Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 30 and consist of a pair of doubleheaders due to the threat of rain. Game one will be a nine-inning affair and start at 1:00 pm before being followed by a seven-inning game. On Saturday, March 31 the first game will be a seven-inning contest and start at 1:00 pm before being followed by a nine-inning game.
Last Weekend's Recap
Wagner welcomed preseason NEC pick Monmouth to Richmond County Bank Ballpark last weekend and split its series against the Hawks. After dropping a 2-0 decision to MU in the first game, the Seahawks posted 9-2 and 7-4 victories in the second and third games, respectively. The Green & White then jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth game before watching Monmouth rally for a 7-4 win.
Murphy Greets Former Team
Graduate student
Bill Murphy, who played three years for Rutgers from 2008-2010, raised his team-leading average to .351 after going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI against his former team on Wednesday. Wagner also squared off with former head coach Joe Litterio, who returned to his alma mater in early February.
Faces In The Crowd
Among the attendees at the midweek game at RU were 2007 Seahawk graduate and Baltimore Oriole draft pick
Joey DiGeronimo, 2010 graduate and all-time hit leader
Damian Csakai and 2011 graduate
Jack Rice.
Away From The Diamond ...
Both Wagner and Mount St. Mary's named new head men's basketball coaches this past week.
Bashir Mason was ushered in at 12:00 pm on Tuesday while the Mount introduced Jamion Christian later that day at 3:00 pm.
All-Time Series
The Seahawks hold a 38-30 lead in the all-time series since the Mount moved to Division I in 1989. However, since the 2006 season the Green & White are 9-15 against the Mountaineers, including just 4-7 in Emmitsburg.
Did You Know?
That with a series victory this weekend, Wagner would match last year's road win total of seven. The Seahawks have four road victories, with three coming against NCAA Regional participants from a year ago (2x Jacksonville, 1x Charlotte).
First Inning Blues No More
Since opening conference play against Quinnipiac, Wagner has outscored the opposition by a 5-1 count in the first inning of its last 10 games. In the team's first 14 games, the Seahawks were outscored 31-3.
Last Year
The teams split four meetings with Wagner winning the first two games and the Mount the final two. Senior
Tommy Higgins hit .400 (6-for-15) with two doubles, three RBI and two runs.
Leading The Way
Senior RHP
Ryan Van Spronsen's three complete games are tied for the national lead while his 1.58 ERA is 59th and his 6.53 hits allowed per nine innings is 98th.
Additionally ...
Van Spronsen has gone the distance in each of the last three games, during which time the Canadian native has struck out 21 while posting a 1.00 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP.
Same Situation ... Same Result?
Heading into last weekend's game against Monmouth (3/23), Van Spronsen had struggled against the Hawks in posting a career 10.29 ERA over 14.0 innings. All the Canadian native did was limit MU to just two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in a complete game effort. In his career against the Mount, Van Spronsen is 1-2 with 9.45 ERA over 13.1 innings.
Picture Me Rollin
Van Spronsen is 3-1 this season with a 1.58 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 40.0 innings. The Canadian native has gone at least eight innings in each of his last four starts while collecting wins over Charlotte (3/3), Jacksonville (3/10) and Quinnipiac (3/16).
Higgins, Van Spronsen Ascend All-Time Seahawk Record Books
Higgins has 147 career hits and is just one of matching
Ed Sudol and
Ken Arnold for 18th on the all-time Wagner hit list. Van Spronsen, meanwhile, is 10th with 202.2 innings and is just 10 behind
Steve Mineo for ninth place. His 134 strikeouts are also just 13 off of 10th place.
Not To Be Overlooked ...
Is sophomore RHP
Ryan Casey, who has spun complete game victories in each of the last two games, both wins, with 10 strikeouts, against just one walk, and a 1.93 ERA.
No Free Passes ...
In his last four games, Casey has allowed just one walk over 23.0 innings and ranks 35th in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings (1.03).
Long Time Coming
Casey, Van Spronsen and Monmouth RHP Pat Light became the first NEC pitchers in the last five years to spin back-to-back complete games to open up league play.
Dvorak Breaks Out
Junior RHP
Dakota Dvorak picked up his first win of the year with a solid performance against Monmouth (3/24), striking out two over a career-best 5.1 innings of work.
Brown On A Tear
Over the last 10 games since returning from injury, senior
Eddie Brown is hitting a team-best .412 (14-for-34) with nine runs, seven RBI, five stolen bases and four doubles while posting a .475 OBP. Additionally, Brown, who is 7-for-13 over his last four games, is hitting .339 on the year with team-highs in doubles (7), home runs (1), RBI (15), slugging (.500) and stolen bases (9).
Murphy Leading The Way
Arguably the most interesting storyline in the NEC this season may be that of Murphy. After seeing spot time on the mound over his first three years at Rutgers and not playing his senior year, Murphy is batting a team-leading .351 in his final season of eligibility as a graduate student at Wagner. The Garden State native saw his 11-game hitting streak end in the opener against Monmouth before rebounding to finish a home run short of the cycle in the series finale against MU.
Dini Dominating
On the strength of his 2-for-4 performance against Rutgers (3/28), freshman
Nick Dini has hit safely in 10-of-11, batting .389 (14-for-36) with eight RBI, six runs and two triples while seeing his average rise from .196 to .280.
Speed Demons
Brown and sophomore
Ian Miller have each recorded a NEC-leading nine stolen bases, powering the Seahawks to the league lead with 30.
Setting The Table
Despite batting just .235, Miller has posted an outstanding .347 OBP thanks to drawing a team-best 14 walks.
Sacrificing For Others
Sophomore
Chris Smith is 44th in the nation with six sacrifice bunts.
Solid Start
Wagner has jumped out to an impressive 5-3 start during conference play thanks to posting a 2.94 ERA over the season's first two weeks while hitting a blistering .349 with runners in scoring position - led by Dini (.556) and junior
Jayson Keel (.500).
Clamping Down
Also during league play, the Seahawk pitching unit has limited the opposition to a .244 average with runners in scoring position.
Richmond County Bank Ballpark
On the Strength of last weekend's series split against Monmouth, The Seahawks have posted a 63-31 (43-23 NEC) record at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
Yard Work
Brown crushed the first Wagner home run of the year in the fifth while helping the Seahawks to an 11-4 win over Charlotte (3/3).
Yard Work (x2)
Smith hit his first career home run and the second of the year by a Green & White player at Virginia Tech (3/14).
Yard Work (x3)
With Wagner hitless over the first three frames Quinnipiac (3/18) and in dire need of a spark, Miller crushed the first pitch of the fourth inning deep over the right field wall for his first collegiate home run. The solo shot sparked a four-run frame en route to 10 Seahawk runs.
Yard Work (x4)
Junior
Nick Alfano crushed the fourth Green & White home run of the year and the first at home this season in a 7-4 win over Monmouth while helping Seahawks finish off the Hawks in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Follow On Twitter
For those looking for updates or wanting to chime in on this weekend's action may do so using the twitter hash tag (#WAGMSM).
On The Horizon
Former Green & White standout and 2006 graduate
Andrew Bailey makes his Boston Red Sox debut on Thursday, April 5 at Detroit.
Up Next
Wagner hosts St. John's on Tuesday, April 3 at 3:30 pm.
