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Staten Island, NY - Wagner (19-28; 12-12) returns to action with a crucial four-game Northeast Conference (NEC) series against Sacred Heart (17-27; 14-10) this weekend at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. Prior to Saturday's doubleheader, seniors Eddie Brown, Tommy Higgins, Hayden Hunter, Bill Murphy and Ryan Van Spronsen will be honored in a pregame ceremony at the Stadium for their contributions to the Seahawk program.

Wagner Baseball Capsule:
Roster / Schedule / Notes

Sacred Heart Baseball Capsule:
Roster / Schedule

Schedule and Probable Starters
5/4 - vs. Sacred Heart - 3:00 pm
Sr. RHP Ryan Van Spronsen (6-1) /  SHU: So. LHP Nick Leiningen (4-4)
5/5 - vs. Sacred Heart - 1:00 pm 
So. RHP Ryan Casey (4-3) / SHU: Jr. RHP Troy Scribner (4-5)
5/5 - vs. Sacred Heart - 3:30 pm 
TBA / SHU: So. RHP Robbie Maguire (1-3)
5/6 - vs. Sacred Heart - 1:00 pm
Fr. RHP Dan Watson (1-4) / SHU: So. RHP Kody Kerski (2-4)

2012 Media Guide
The 2012 Wagner Baseball Media Guide is available for viewing by clicking HERE

Series Breakdown
The teams will begin their series with on Friday, May 4 with a single nine-inning at 3:00 pm, before playing a doubleheader consisting of two seven-inning games on Saturday, May 5 at 1:00 pm. The series will conclude with a single nine-inning affair on Sunday, May 6 at 1:00 pm.

Playoff Periscope
With two weeks to play, the Seahawks are in sixth place and would be on the outside looking if the NEC Tournament were start today. SHU enters with a 14-10 conference record and would be the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. For Wagner to control its playoff destiny, the Seahawks would need to win three-of-four this weekend.

Rolling At Richmond County
Since moving to Richmond County Bank Ballpark in 2008, the Green & White have won 13 series against just three losses while splitting six. All told, Wagner is 69-35 (46-24 NEC) at the R.C.B. Ballpark.

However ...
One of those three series losses came to the Pioneers in 2010 by a 3-1 count after the teams split a pair of games in 2008.

Splits
This season, Wagner is 8-4 at home during NEC play while Sacred Heart is an anemic 5-7 on the road during conference play.

Last Weekend
The Seahawks ran into a hot CCSU squad and dropped three-of-four to the Blue Devils in New Britain, CT.

The Series
Since SHU joined the NEC in 2000, Wagner is just 15-25 against the Pioneers, including going just 2-10 over the last three seasons against the Nutmeg State institution.

Last Year
Sacred Heart swept four games from the Seahawks, before sweeping the 2011 NEC Championship en route to the program's second conference title.

Tough Luck
Over the last three years the Pioneers have gone 5-0 in one-run games against the Green & White.

Last Meeting In Staten Island
Sacred Heart took three-of-four from Wagner in 2010 while seeing all four starting pitchers go the distance.

Seniors To Be Honored
Higgins, Hunter and Van Spronsen have played all four years for the Green & White and are the only remaining members of the program's 2009 NEC Regular Season Championship squad. Brown has played two years for Wagner after transferring from Seton Hall while Murphy joined the Seahawks this year after graduating from Rutgers.

Van Spronsen Tough At Home
Van Spronsen has posted a 3-1 record with four complete games, 27 strikeouts and a miniscule 0.79 ERA over four home starts this season. However, in those four games Wagner has scored just four runs for the Canadian native, while he has surrendered only three.

Van Spronsen Honored
Van Spronsen missed the Seahawks' most recent game against NJIT (5/1), but had a good excuse. The Canadian native was honored at the annual Senior Awards banquet for having the highest Male GPA (3.86) as well as earning Male Student-Athlete of the Year honors.

Getting The Call On Friday
Van Spronsen will again get the ball in game one against the Pioneers and will be opposed by last year's NEC Rookie of the Year LHP Nick Leiningen. Fans should expect a well-played, low-scoring game in which each pitcher will most likely go the distance. During conference play, Van Spronsen is 3-1 with 33 strikeouts, a 1.83 ERA and four complete games over 54.0 innings. Leiningen, meanwhile, has gone the distance in all six of his league starts while posting a 4-2 record with a 1.96 ERA over 46.0 innings and has limited opposing hitters to a .172 average.

Did You Know ?
That each of Van Spronsen's last eight starts have been decided by three runs or less, including four by just one run.

Van Spronsen Has Also ...
Gone the distance in four of his six NEC starts but has pitched an average of 9.0 innings per game conference start thanks to hurling a personal-best 10.0 innings of two-run ball in garnering a no-decision at CCSU (4/27). The 10 frames are the most by a Wagner pitcher since Mike Windstein went 10 innings in a 12-inning loss to St. John's on March 25, 2003 and the second-most by a NEC hurler this season.

Casey Clips CCSU
Sophomore RHP Ryan Casey notched the lone Seahawk win last weekend at CCSU (4/28) with a complete game effort in leading the Green & White to a 5-2 victory in the first game of a DH. This season, Casey is an impressive 4-1 with four complete games, 23 strikeouts and just four walks over 39.1 innings in six NEC starts.

Miller Makes It Happen In April
Sophomore Ian Miller hit a blistering .435 in April while notching 12 multi-hit games and 14 stolen bases. On the year, the Keystone State native leads the team in averages (.320), runs (33), hits (55), stolen bases (28), walks (26) and OBP (.415).

Ten In A Row
Miller has also batted safely in 10-straight games, hitting .488 (21-for-43) with 12 runs, nine stolen bases and six walks during that time.

Additionally ...
Miller has a team-best 20 multi-hit games, which are the most by a Green & White player since Damian Csakai, Jared Gruccio and Brian Martutartus all notched 20 in 2009. Miller's 28 swipes are also seventh in the school's single-season record books.

What Freshman Slump?
While most freshmen tend to tail off at the end of the season, Nick Dini and Jason Gordon are bucking that trend in a big way as rookies. Dini has steadily seen his average rise throughout the year and most recently went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and two runs against NJIT (5/1). For the season, he is second on the squad in hitting (.315) while adding 53 hits, eight doubles, five triples and 25 RBI. Gordon, meanwhile, has been one of the toughest outs on the team of late, going 5-for-7 with two walks over his last nine plate appearances (.779 OBP). He has batted safely in five-of-seven while elevating his average to its current .295 clip.

Rolling
Junior Jayson Keel is 7-for-13 over his last four games, after going hitless in 25-straight at-bats. On the year, the Mississippi native is hitting .257 with 27 RBI, 22 runs, six doubles and seven stolen bases.

Higgins En Fuego
Since seeing his average dip to a season-low .186 in the second game of a doubleheader with LIU Brooklyn (4/14), Higgins has been on fire to the tune of a .459 (17-for-37) average of his last 10 games while adding nine RBI, six runs and four doubles over his last 10 games. During that time, his average has risen to its current .247 clip.

Brown Hits 20
Brown stole his 20th base of the year in Wagner's game at CCSU (4/27), before extending his hitting streak to a personal-best 13 games in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Blue Devils (4/28). On the year, Brown is hitting .308 while pacing the Seahawks with 13 doubles, three home runs and 31 RBI.

Miller, Brown Running Wild
Miller (28) and Brown (20) have combined for 48 of the Green & White's NEC-leading 69 stolen bases. The 48 swipes are more than the combined total of every NEC team besides Sacred Heart. Miller, who ranks 12th nationally in the category, also has more stolen bases than the team-totals of Quinnipiac, Bryant and CCSU.

Brown Against Sacred Heart
Last season, Brown hit .400 against SHU pitching.

Lucky Number 4
When Wagner scores more than four runs during NEC play, the Seahawks are a perfect 8-0 and are also 8-1 when allowing less than four runs.

Close To The Vest
Sixteen of the Seahawks' 24 NEC games have been decided by three runs or less, including seven by just one run.

Close To The Vest (x2)
Fifteen of Sacred Heart's 24 NEC games have been decided by three runs or less, including seven by just one run.

Leading The Way ...
For the Pioneers on offense is junior John Murphy, who checks in with a team-best .349 average. The reigning First Team All-NEC shortstop has also recorded team-highs in hits (44), runs (30), doubles (8), triples (4) and stolen bases (16). Over his career, Murphy is hitting .424 (14-for-33) with seven runs, six extra-base hits and five RBI over eight games agianst Wagner pitching.

Also Standing Out Against Wagner ...
Has been senior Hunter Phillips, who is a lifetime .359 hitter vs. the Seahawks. Last year, Phillips hit .600 (9-for-15) over four games against the Green & White with seven RBI and three extra-base hits en route to earning NEC Player of the Week accolades. 

Pioneer Pitching Tough
Besides the stellar pitching of Leiningen (1.96 ERA), the Sacred Heart also boasts two other pitchers with ERAs under 3.00 in in righties Troy Scribner (2.23 ERA) and Kody Kerski (2.76 ERA).  Scribner (4-1) will get the call in game one on Saturday with Kerski (2-1) getting the ball in Sunday's series finale.

Rounding Out The SHU Rotation is ...
Righthander Robbie Maguire (1-3), who has a respectable 3.09 ERA over six league starts. However, in those six outings  the SHU defense has committed 18 errors, compared to 18 combined in its other 18 combined league games.

Staggering Outputs
After scoring as many as 18 runs just once in their first 99 games at the Stadium, Wagner notched 18 against Saint Peter's (4/17), before recording 19 vs. Iona (4/21).

NJIT Take Two
Despite suffering a tough 4-3 loss to NJIT (5/1), the Seahawks will get their chance at revenge against the Highlanders on Tuesday, May 8 in Newark, NJ.

Home Sweet Home
Wagner has gone 6-3 over its last nine home games, including 6-2 over a recent eight-game homestand, and will need to replicate that success this weekend against Sacred Heart.

Some Van Spronsen Noise
Van Spronsen collected his third-straight complete game victory and his second complete game shutout of the season in leading the Seahawks to a 1-0 win over Iona (4/20 in the first game of a doubleheader, while improving to 6-1. The most impressive part of Van Spronsen's performance this year has not been his team-leading six victories, his NEC-best six complete game or his league-leading 1.73 ERA, but rather the fact that three of his wins have come by one run and five of the six by three runs or less.

Van Spronsen Lauded In Eric Sorensen's National Blog ... For Third Time
Van Spronsen was recently cited by National College Baseball Writer Eric Sorenson in his national College Baseball Today blog for the third time this year, which encompasses all of NCAA Division I baseball.

Relief
Freshman RHP Anthony Battaglia has stepped up in a big way in his first year on Grymes Hill, recording a 0.67 ERA over 25.0 innings out of the bullpen while posting three wins and four saves. The righty has been unscored upon in 17 of his team-leading 19 appearances and has not allowed an earned run over his last 10.1 innings of work.

Non-Conference Notes
Wagner is 23-11, all-time, in non-conference games at R.C.B.B. following a 4-3 loss to NJIT (5/1).

Second Little League Day On The Horizon
Wagner's second Little League day will be held on Saturday, May 5 against Sacred Heart.

During His Playing Career ...
Head coach Jim Carone went 6-4 against Sacred Heart while playing at Monmouth, while assistant coach Chris Collazo was 12-5 against the Pioneers as a member of the Hawks.

Hurting
Two-time American League (AL) All Star and current Boston Red Sox reliever Andrew Bailey and current Washington National farmhand Joe Testa are each on the disabled list.

Higgins, Van Spronsen Ascend All-Time Seahawk Record Books
Higgins has 169 career hits and is currently 11th on the all-time Seahawk hit list, 19 back of Gil Barkman for 10th.  His 35 doubles are tied for eighth while his 184 career games also rank eighth. Van Spronsen is tied for fourth in the single-season annals with six complete games and tied for 10th with six wins while his 1.73 ERA would rank ninth if the season were to end today. He is also on the verge of cracking the top-10 list for innings pitched. For his career, Van Spronsen is tied for 10th in wins (12), fifth in innnigs (245.2) and tied for eighth in strikeouts (161).

2012 NEC Poll
Wagner was slated to finish seventh out of nine teams in the annual NEC Preseason Poll. The Seahawks will be looking to return to conference tournament after missing the four-team playoff last year for the first time since the 2007 campaign, and just the second time in the last eight years. Monmouth was tabbed first with defending champion Sacred Heart second, CCSU third, Bryant fourth, LIU Brooklyn fifth, Mount St. Mary's sixth, Wagner seventh, Quinnipiac eighth and FDU ninth.