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Staten Island, NY - After playing five games in the Garden State, Wagner (13-20; 6-6 NEC) returns home for a pivotal conference series with Central Connecticut (15-16; 8-8 NEC).

Schedule
* Friday, April 19 - Wagner vs. Central Connecticut (3:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Jr. RHP Ryan Casey (2-4, 4.25 ERA; 53.0 IP / 26 K / 10 BB) vs. So. LHP Casey Brown (1-3; 3.82 ERA; 35.1 IP / 11 K / 11 BB)

* Saturday, April 20 - Wagner vs. Central Connecticut (1:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Jr. LHP Matt Morris (2-2, 3.26 ERA; 19.1 IP / 16 K / 9 BB) vs. Jr. RHP Nick Neumann (2-3; 4.74 ERA; 38.0 IP / 24 K / 10 BB)

* Saturday, April 20 - Wagner vs. Central Connecticut (3:30 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Fr. RHP Mike Adams (1-4, 6.61 ERA; 31.1 IP / 19 K / 31 BB) vs. So. RHP Cody Brown (3-4; 3.66 ERA; 46.2 IP / 21 K / 7 BB)

* Sunday, April 21 - Wagner vs. Central Connecticut (1:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Fr. LHP Paul Mammino (4-0, 2.81 ERA; 41.2 IP / 19 K / 17 BB) vs. So. RHP Dominic Severino (2-1; 3.32 ERA; 19.0 IP / 18 K / 4 BB)

Notes:
What's At Stake
Both teams along with LIU Brooklyn are tied for the fourth place in the NEC with the top four teams from the league qualifying for the conference tournament in Lakewood, NJ.

Last Weekend
The Seahawks dropped three-of-four to perennial league power Monmouth with all four games being decided by four runs or less.

Magic Number 4
Wagner is 6-1 when scoring more then four runs in a game and 6-3 when limiting the opposition to four runs or less during NEC play.

Casey Crushing It
Junior RHP Ryan Casey has been outstanding of late, recording three-straight complete games while going 2-1 during that time with a 1.13 ERA over his last 24.0 innings of work.

All Good Things Must Come To An End
Dan Shea's sixth-inning home run off Casey last Friday snapped the righty's 25.1 inning scoreless streak. Spanning his last four starts, the Garden State native has lowered his ERA by over two full runs.

He's Going The Distance
Casey is second in the NEC with 53.0 innings of work while his three complete games are third in the league.

The Great Mammino
After dropping the first three games of last weekend's series and in desperate need of a win series finale at MU, the Seahawks turned to freshman LHP Paul Mammino and the rookie did not disappoint. Mammino struck out six over 8.0 innings of action, both of which were career-highs, in becoming the first Green & White hurler to open his collegiate career with four-straight wins since Jack Rice in 2008.

Play Of The Game
Mammino turned in arguably the play of the aforementioned game with the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. With runners on first-and-third and just one out, Mammino got Jake Gronsky at the plate when he scooped Owen Stewart's bunt to sophomore Jason Gordon at the plate as Wagner snuffed out the Hawks' safety squeeze attempt.

Closing It Out
Over his last seven games, sophomore RHP Anthony Battaglia is a perfect 4-for-4 in save situations while posting a 1.59 ERA with nine strikeouts over 13.1 innings of work. On the year, the Seahawk closer is 1-2 with four saves and 17 strikeouts over 20.2 innings. Battaglia is now fourth in school history with eight career saves and is just two behind former All-NEC performer David Rees.

Did You Know????
Wagner is the last NEC team to defeat league leader Bryant as well as the last squad to win at Conaty Park in Smithfield, doing so by a 3-2 score on May 11, 2012. Since that game, the Bulldogs have won 15-straight conference games and 16 in a row at home.

Midweek Action
Despite losing to Saint Peter's by a 12-8 count on Tuesday, the Seahawks claimed the season series by a 3-1 count while batting .374. and posting a 2.73 ERA.

Gray Gets It Going
As the weather has gotten warmer so has graduate student's Chase Gray's bat. Over his last eight games, the Seton Hall graduate is batting .458 (11-of-24) with six runs, five RBI, three doubles and two stolen bases while posting a .563 OBP and hitting safely each time out. Gray's hot streak has increased his average 102 points to its current .237 ledger.

Murderers' Row
Wagner's 1-3 hitters: junior Ian Miller, classmate Chris Smith and sophomore Nick Dini all rank among the NEC's top-10 in both RBI and stolen bases. Each member of the trio has 23 RBI while Miller leads the league ranks third nationally with 31 stolen bases. Smith is seventh with 11 stolen bases and Dini ninth with eight.

Multi-Hit Magic
Dini has recorded multiple hits in seven of his last 13 games while raising his average 75 points to its current .280 ledger and has notched 12 of his 21 runs and 15 of his 23 RBI during that time. 

Dini Does It Twice ...
In arguably the most bizarre play of the year, Dini laced what appeared to be a run-scoring triple down the right field line in game one at Monmouth. However, on the play the umpire was forced to jump away from the ball, before signaling it fair. After the umpires met and ruled the ball foul, Dini delivered another triple, this one a no-doubter to left center to score Smith.

Going The Distance
Despite being saddled with the loss in a 3-1 setback to the Hawks in game two of last weekend's series, junior Matt Morris fired his first collegiate career game. The hard-throwing lefty allowed just one earned run over 6.0 strong innings.

Major League Quality
Morris and fellow starting pitcher freshman RHP Mike Adams both share names with Major League pitchers. The MLB version of Morris won over 120 games during an esteemed 12-year career with the Cardinals, Giants and Padres while Adams is in his ninth big league season and currently pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Miller Back At It
After failing to reach base for just the third time this season against Seton Hall, Miller has reached base safely in each of his last five games and has done so in 30-of-33 in 2013. The Keystone State native paces the circuit with 49 hits to go along with his aforementioned NEC-leading 31 steals while ranking 10th with a .345 average.

Scouting CCSU
Central Connecticut enters this weekend's play with a 15-16 record, including posting an 8-8 mark during conference play. The Blue Devils have had a tough go of it recently during NEC action, dropping eight-of-12 - including four by just one run. CCSU is paced on offense by Dylan DelaCruz (.358, 12 XBH, 10 RBI), Tyler McIntyre (.350, 9 2B, 4 HR, 24 RBI) and J.P. Sportman (.305, 15 R, 13 XBH, 19 RBI).

Pitching Not The Problem
The Blue Devils have had a very solid season on the mound, posting an impressive 4.03 ERA while striking out 145, against just 76 walks.

Last Year Against CCSU
Central Connecticut took three-of-four a year ago with each game being decided by four runs or less. Senior Jayson Keel led the way on offense, hitting .667 (6-of-9) with three runs and two doubles while Miller batted .438 (7-of-16) with four walks and four stolen bases. DelaCruz was outstanding for the Blue Devils, batting a team-best .533 (8-of-15) with five runs and three extra base hits. Meanwhile, Josh Ingham earned NEC Player of the Week accolades after batting .333 at the plate while going 1-0 with a save and seven strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless frames on the mound.

The All-Time Series
CCSU leads the all-time series by a decisive 35-17 count since the Blue Devils joined the NEC for the 1999 season. 14th year Central Connecticut head coach Charlie Hickey is also an outstanding 34-16 against Wagner since taking over the program in 2000 and has not lost a conference weekend to the Seahawks since the 2005 season.

Carone Against The Blue Devils
Head Coach Jim Carone went 8-6 as a Monmouth player against Hickey from 2000-2003. Additionally, assistant coach Chris Collazo was 10-8 as a player for the Hawks against Hickey.

Pirate Reunion
Gray and CCSU designated hitter Bobby Migliazza were teammates along with Seahawks' director of operations Eddie Brown for Seton Hall.

Steal City
Wagner has 389 stolen bases over the last four years while leading the conference each season and this season has been no different. The Seahawks are again at the top of the league rankings with 74 stolen bases (17th NCAA) in just 33 games. At its current rate of 2.24 steals per game (14th NCAA), Wagner would finish with 123 steals while bettering the previous record of 98 set in 2010. All told, since the start of the 2009 campaign the Seahawks are 432-for-547 on stolen base attempts.

At The Ballpark
Wagner holds an all-time record of 79-41 (.658) at R.C.B.B. since the program began calling the stadium home for the 2008 campaign. Additionally, the Seahawks are 52-29 (.642) during NEC games and 24-12 (.667) in non-conference match-ups.

Bailey On The Bump
2006 Wagner College graduate Andrew Bailey earned his first win and save of the year earlier this week for the Boston Red Sox. After notching a victory on Jackie Robinson Day on Monday, the flamethrower picked up save number one with a 1-2-3, two-strikeout outing against Cleveland on Wednesday night. He was recently profiled in this article entitled:
Bailey Makes Most Of Chance To Close.

NEC In The Major Leagues
Bailey (Red Sox) and former CCSU pitcher Evan Scribner (A's) are two of the three former NEC players (Brad Brach (Padres)) in the Major Leagues. Both pitchers have been stellar this season as Bailey has a 1.42 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 6.1 dominating innings while Scribner has posted a 1.86 ERA with five strikeouts in 9.2 innings of work.

Did You Know?
Bailey and Scribner squared off on April 22, 2006 in New Britain, CT. With a bevy of scouts on hand, Bailey made his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery. However, it was Scribner who stole the show, striking out four in recording complete game victory.

Bailey vs. Carone
Bailey and Carone squared off during the 2003 season and it was Bailey that got the better of Carone, leading Wagner to an 8-3 victory over Monmouth (4/23/03). The Red Sox reliever struck out six over 5.2 innings of one-run ball while the Seahawk coach was tagged for four earned runs over four frames.

Up Next
Wagner heads to Rutgers for a mid-week tilt on Wednesday, April 24.

Follow Wagner Athletics on Twitter (@wagnerathletics) for all the latest news and updates on the athletic department and @WagBaseball for news and updates on the baseball program.

Photography by Dave Saffran