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Dave Saffran

Baseball

Wagner Set To Host The Mount

Game Notes / Live Stats / Live Twitter Updates

Staten Island, NY -
Winners of five in a row, Wagner (20-23; 12-8 NEC) will be looking for its second-straight series victory against Mount St. Mary's (9-27; 4-16 NEC).

Schedule
* Friday, May 3 - Wagner vs. Mount St. Mary's (3:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Jr. RHP Ryan Casey (4-4, 4.11 ERA; 70.0 IP / 31 K / 13 BB) vs. Jr. RHP Nick Riley (0-1, 11.48 ERA; 13.1 IP / 11 K / 9 BB)

* Saturday, May 4 - Wagner vs. Mount St. Mary's (1:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Jr. LHP Matt Morris (3-3, 2.01 ERA; 31.1 IP / 28 K / 11 BB) vs. Sr. RHP Vincent Molesky (1-2, 3.27 ERA; 22.0 IP / 19 K / 10 BB)

* Saturday, May 4 - Wagner vs. Mount St. Mary's (3:30 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Fr. RHP Mike Adams (2-5, 5.89 ERA; 44.1 IP / 25 K / 36 BB) vs. So. RHP Scott Nickerson (2-5, 4.70 ERA; 30.2 IP / 22 K / 16 BB)

* Sunday, May 5 - Wagner vs. Mount St. Mary's (1:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Fr. LHP Paul Mammino (5-0, 2.96 ERA; 54.2 IP / 29 K / 22 BB) vs. Fr. RHP Kevin Myers (2-0, 6.16 ERA; 19.0 IP / 9 K / 8 BB)

Notes:
Last Weekend
Since the NEC went to a four-game series on conference weekends, the Seahawks had never swept a series on the road ... Until last weekend against Quinnipiac.

Did You Know?
The Green & White won three of the games with QU by just one run and the other game by two runs. The +5 run differential is tied for the lowest margin of victory in a four-game series sweep in NEC history, matching the mark previously set by Monmouth (2012 vs. Mount) and LIU Brooklyn (2007 vs. CCSU).

Domination
Since Quinnipiac swept four games from Wagner in 2007, it has literally been all Seahawks with the Green & White winning 20 of the teams' last 24 match-ups, including 9-of-10 in Hamden, CT.

Sweep You Very Much
Since the NEC went to a four-game series for conference play in 2007, Wagner have seven sweeps with three coming against QU.

On The Road Again
The Seahawks, which had won just four true road games this year, has now won each of their last five games away Staten Island.

Close Games
Thanks to their performance last weekend, the Green & White is 9-5 in NEC games decided by three runs or less, including going 4-3 in one-run outings.

Magic Number 3
When Wagner scores more then three runs in a game, the Seahawks are 10-1 during conference play ... When limiting opposing offenses to three runs or less, the Green & White is 8-3.

Pitching Wins Championships
A big reason Wagner has dominated during conference play has been its starting pitching as the foursome of junior RHP Ryan Casey, junior LHP Matt Morris, freshman RHP Mike Adams and freshman LHP Paul Mammino is a combined 10-7 with 72 strikeouts, against just 42 walks, with a 2.94 ERA.

The Big Four
Each member of the Seahawks' weekend rotation is ranked among the top-10 during NEC-only games in opposing batting average. Adams (.200) is second, Morris (.213) fifth, Mammino (.217) sixth and Casey (.234) 10th.

Morris Named NEC Pitcher Of The Week
While all four weekend starters have been solid this year, a point can be made that Morris is having the most dominating season to this point. Last weekend, Morris was nearly unhittable in picking up his first career conference Pitcher of the Week accolade. In the complete-game victory, Morris struck out seven and didn't walk a batter in leading Wagner to a 3-1 victory in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader vs. Quinnipiac. Morris (3-3) posted the lowest WHIP (0.43) of any conference starter last week and retired the first six Bobcats to step to the plate. After allowing an unearned run in the third frame, he came back to strike out the side in the fourth. Morris then capped his career-high 7.0 innings of work by striking out the final two batters he faced.

Of Late ...
Morris has not allowed an earned run over his last 17.2 innings and has 22 strikeouts with a 1.14 ERA over 23.2 innings during league play. On the year, he is 3-3 with 28 strikeouts and a 2.01 ERA over 31.1 innings.

Steal City
Wagner has 412 stolen bases over the last four years while leading the conference each year and this season has been no different. The Seahawks are again at the top of the league rankings with 97 stolen bases (13th NCAA) in just 43 games. At its current rate of 2.25 steals per game (ninth NCAA), Wagner would finish with 124 steals while bettering FDU's NEC record of 113 set in 1988. All told, since the start of the 2009 campaign the Seahawks are 455-for-575 on stolen base attempts.

Miller Close To Stolen Base Records
Junior Ian Miller is third nationally with 36 stolen bases and with just six more swipes will have the Seahawk single-season stolen base record. With seven more steals, Miller would break Kyle Messineo's (Monmouth) NEC-record of 42 set in 2007.

Speed Kills
Miller notched his team-leading third four-hit game of the year against NJIT, despite not hitting the ball out of the infield. In part to his blazing speed, the Keystone State native is among the league leaders in stolen bases (36) (1st NEC), hits (63) (2nd NEC), runs (34) (t-3rd NEC) and batting average (.346) (9th NEC).

Casey Killing It
Over his last five games, Casey has turned it up a notch on the mound, going 4-1 while posting a 2.20 ERA with four complete games over 41.0 innings of work. Thanks to his impressive performance, Casey has lowered his ERA by almost three runs to its current 4.11 mark over 70.0 innings (2nd NEC) of work.

Complete Game Casey
Casey (4-4) is also third in the NEC with four complete games and recently matched 2006 graduate Andrew Bailey for 10th in the school annals with nine career complete games.

The Great Mammino
Mammino (5-0) has been a revelation in his first year on Grymes Hill, ranking among the league leaders in wins (5) (t-4th NEC), innings (54.2) (6th NEC), opposing average (.222) (6th NEC) and ERA (2.96) (8th NEC).

Closing It Out
Sophomore RHP Anthony Battaglia has solidified the bullpen for the second-straight season and is currently second in the NEC with six saves.

Dini Domination
Sophomore Nick Dini has put the team on his back over the last 16 games, batting a team-best .379 while pacing the squad with 25 hits, 14 runs, five extra-base hits and 18 RBI. For the year, the Garden State native ranks among the league leaders with 34 RBI (3rd NEC), 53 hits (t-9th NEC), 30 runs (t-9th NEC) and 11 stolen bases (t-10th NEC).

April Musings
Graduate student Chase Gray is probably sad to see the month of April end. The Seton Hall transfer hit safely in the first 17 games he played in the month, before going hitless against NJIT. During the month, Gray batted .362 (21-for-38) with nine RBI, six doubles and four stolen bases while raising his average 120 points to its current mark of .255.

Ruta Rolling
Freshman Ben Ruta also heated up along with the temperatures in the month of April, batting .375 (18-for-48) with 11 RBI and 10 runs, after hitting just .200 (8-for-40) in February and March. His two-out, RBI single was the difference in Wagner's 10-9 victory over Quinnipiac in the series finale, before capping the month by going 2-for-5 with two RBI against NJIT. On the year, he is hitting .295 (26-for-88).

Smith Continues Solid Season
If there was a Most Improved Player in the NEC this season there is a good chance that junior Chris Smith would win the award. After batting just .262 with 44 strikeouts a year ago, Smith has righted the ship to the tune of a .321 average (45-for-140) (13th NEC) with 30 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 26 RBI, 14 stolen bases (9th NEC) and 29 walks (2nd NEC). All those totals represent an increase from last year as Smith also ranks fifth in the league with a .449 OBP and ninth with a .471 slugging percentage.

Alfano At The Bat
Senior Nick Alfano snapped his 1-for-27 slump, which included 17-straight hitless at-bats, in a big way last weekend at Quinnipiac. Alfano went 2-for-4 with the game-winning RBI off projected draft pick Derek Lamacchia in the opener en route to batting a team-best .385 (5-for-13) with three RBI. For his career, Alfano is hitting .366 (15-for-41) against Bobcat pitching.

Alfano On The Mound
Alfano closed out his first career save with 2.0 scoreless inning of three-strikeout ball in the Seahawks' 12-9 mid-week win at NJIT. Over his last three outings, Alfano has six strikeouts over 5.0 scoreless frames.

Captain Clutch
Sophomore Jason Gordon is hitting a blistering .400 (10-for-25) with runners in scoring position, compared to just .086 (4-for-46) in all other at-bats. During conference play, those splits are .583 (7-for-12) and .105 (2-for-19).

All-Time Series
Since Mount St. Mary's joined the NEC in 1990, Wagner holds a 41-31 advantage in the all-time series, including posting a 25-11 mark in Staten Island. However, the Mountaineers have won seven of the last 12 meetings between the teams in New York.

Close Calls
Dating back to the 2008 season, 12 of the teams' last 18 meetings have been decided by three runs or less with the Seahawks going 7-5 in those games.

Coach Carone & Collazo Against The Mountaineers
Wagner head coach Jim Carone was 9-2 as a player against the Mount while assistant coach Chris Collazo was 11-6.

Last Year Against The Mount
Senior Jayson Keel hit a team-best .412 (7-for-17) with seven RBI, two stolen bases and one double. Battaglia also notched a win and a save while striking out two over 3.0 scoreless innings.

Pacing The Mount ...
Is reigning National Player of the Week Tom Healy, who is batting .402 (47-for-117) with 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 20 RBI. Last week, Healy went 13-for-16 (.813) with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, eight RBIs and eight runs scored over four games against FDU.

Interesting
The Mount's lone true road victory this year is against Maryland. That being said, the Mountaineers have only played nine true road games - lowest in the NEC.

Speed Demons
This weekend's series matches the top two thieves in the NEC in Mlller (36 steals) and Jay Knight (24 steals) of Mount St. Mary's. A year ago, Knight hit .467 (7-for-15) with four runs, four RBI and four stolen bases against the Seahawks.

Notts Landing
Despite hitting just .226 (28-for-128), Sam Nott has a NEC-leading eight home runs, as an astounding 28.6 percent of his hits have gone for home runs.

At The Ballpark
Wagner holds an all-time record of 81-43 (.653) at R.C.B.B. since the program began calling the stadium home for the 2008 campaign. Additionally, the Seahawks are 54-31 (.635) during NEC games and 24-12 (.667) in non-conference match-ups. This year, Miller is hitting a team-best .397 (27-for-68) as the Green & White is 10-6 at R.C.B.B.

Bailey Honored
Bailey was honored by the American League as its Co-Player of the Week for the period of April 15-21 after going 1-0 with three saves and eight strikeouts, against just one walk, over 5.0 innings. Bailey has a 1.46 ERA in with 20 strikeouts over 12.1 innings.

NEC In The Major Leagues
Bailey (Red Sox), former CCSU pitcher Evan Scribner (A's) and former Monmouth hurler Brad Brach (Padres)) are all in the Major Leagues.

2013 NEC Poll
Bryant was tabbed first with CCSU second, Monmouth third, Sacred Heart fourth, LIU Brooklyn fifth, Wagner sixth, FDU seventh, Quinnipiac eighth and the Mount ninth.

Up Next
The Seahawks travel to LIU Brooklyn for four games starting on Friday, May 10.

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
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