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Brooklyn, NY - Winners of eight-of-nine, Wagner (23-24; 15-9 NEC) will be looking to clinch a conference tournament berth this weekend at LIU Brooklyn (16-29; 12-12 NEC). All four games will be broadcast live through NEC Front Row.

NOTE - There has been a schedule change to this weekend's series as the four games will now be comprised as doubleheaders. Friday's doubleheader (9 innings / 7 innings) will begin at 2:00 pm with Sunday's doubleheader (7 innings / 9 innings) tabbed for 1:00 pm.

Schedule
* Friday, May 10 - Wagner at LIU Brooklyn (2:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Jr. RHP Ryan Casey (5-4, 4.21 ERA; 77.0 IP / 32 K / 16 BB) vs. Jr. RHP Justin Topa (6-5, 3.97 ERA; 77.0 IP / 73 K / 26 BB)

* Friday, May 10 - Wagner at LIU Brooklyn (5:30 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Jr. LHP Matt Morris (3-3, 1.98 ERA; 36.1 IP / 34 K / 13 BB) vs. So. RHP Jordan Wilcox (4-4, 5.17 ERA; 62.2 IP / 51 K / 15 BB)

* Sunday, May 12 - Wagner at LIU Brooklyn (1:00 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Fr. RHP Mike Adams (2-6, 6.52 ERA; 48.1 IP / 30 K / 40 BB) vs. Jr. RHP Kevin Needham (2-2, 3.69 ERA; 31.2 IP / 29 K / 7 BB)

* Sunday, May 12 - Wagner at LIU Brooklyn (3:30 pm)
* Pitching Match-Up: Fr. LHP Paul Mammino (6-0, 2.63 ERA; 61.2 IP / 37 K / 24 BB) vs. TBA

Notes:
Playoffs!
The Seahawks would wrap up their first NEC Tournament berth since the 2010 season if they take three-of-four from the Blackbirds.

Last Year Against LIU Brooklyn
Highlighted by a pair of walk-off victories, the Green & White won last year's series against its borough rival. Senior Nick Alfano led the way on offense, hitting .667 (6-for-9) with three doubles while reigning NEC Player of the Week junior Ian Miller hit .429 (6-for-14).

The Recent Series
Wagner has not lost the season series to LIU Brooklyn since the 2003 season, going 26-6 during that time with four sweeps. Additionally, the Seahwaks are 13-4 when playing in Brooklyn.

Miller Named NEC Player Of The Week
Miller became the first member of the Green & White to earn NEC Player of the Week honors since Jon Lucas in 2011 as the Keystone State native batted .520 (13-for-25) with eight runs, six stolen bases and four multi-hit games out of the leadoff spot. Against The Mount, Miller, who also notched College Sports Madness Player of the Week honors, logged nine hits, six runs and four RBI. His walk-off single was the difference in Game 2 as Wagner overcame an early five-run deficit to win in their final at-bat. He managed only one hit in the series finale, but reached base twice via error and made the Mountaineers pay. With the help of four stolen bases, Miller came around to score all three times he was on base during the Seahawks' 9-5 win.

Record Breaking Miller
Miller's four-steal performance in the series finale against The Mount gave him an NEC-leading 41 for the season while matching Damian Csakai's school-record total set in 2010. With his next stolen base, he will match Monmouth's Kyle Messineo for the most in NEC history.

At The Top Of The Charts
Miller also leads the NEC with 72 hits while ranking second in runs (40), fifth in average (.358) and tied for ninth in RBI (29). His 72 hits are also the second-most in school history and just 10 behind Mike Cerminaro's school-record total of 82. Additionally, Miller has a team-best 21 multi-hit games, including four four-hit outings.

Among The Nation's Best
Miller ranks second nationally with 41 stolen bases and is 15th with 72 hits.

Up To The Challenge
Mount St. Mary's outfielder Jay Knight notched a NEC season-high four stolen bases in the first game of this past Saturday's doubleheader. On Sunday, Miller matched Knight with a career-high four steals.

Pretty Impressive
Boasting four of the top-10 thieves in the NEC, the Seahawks enter this weekend's series with a school-record 107 stolen bases and are just six off of FDU's league-record total of 113, which was set back in 1988.

Walk-Off Magic
Miller's game-winning RBI single in the first game of this past Saturday's doubleheader was the first walk-off victory for the Green & White this season.

Four-Peat
Freshman LHP Paul Mammino earned his school-record fourth NEC Rookie of the Week citation on Monday. The southpaw, who has still yet to lose at the collegiate level, hurled 7.0 strong innings while helping clinch Wagner's series victory by limiting the Mount to four hits and an unearned run. The rookie lefty, who is now 6-0, struck out a career-high eight batters and issued only two walks in the process.

The Great Mammino
Mammino (6-0) has been a revelation in his first year on Grymes Hill, ranking among the league leaders in wins (6) (4th NEC), innings (61.2) (8th NEC), opposing average (.217) (4th NEC) and ERA (2.63) (4th NEC).

With Two More Wins ...
Wagner would match its school record for NEC wins (17), set in 2009 and 2010.

On The Road Again
The Seahawks have won each their last five road games.

Magic Number 3
When the Green & White is 13-2 when scoring more than three runs in a game during conference play.

Close Games
Wagner is 10-5 in NEC games decided by three runs or less, including going 5-3 in one-run outings.

Dini Domination
Sophomore Nick Dini, like Miller, is one of the top offensive forces in the NEC this season. Dini ranks among the top-five in the league in four different categories while manning the third spot in a potent lineup. He is tied for second with 38 RBI while also ranking fourth in hits (59), fifth in runs (35) and 10th in stolen bases (13). Dini has also hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games, notching team-highs during that time with a .406 average, 18 runs, 28 hits, 21 RBI, six extra-base hits, 10 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI performances.

Keel Against The Mount
Senior Jayson Keel batted a blistering .500 (7-for-14) agianst the Mount last week and has now hit safely in all eight games in his career against the Mountaineers. During that time, the Mississippi product is batting .452 (14-for-31) with 10 RBI. On the year, Keel is hitting an even .300, including a team-best .388 during league play, with 22 runs, 19 RBI and 17 stolen bases (t-5th NEC).

Tough Luck Matty Mo
While junior Matt Morris has had a solid bounce-back season after missing most of the last two seasons due to injury, it could be better as the hard-throwing lefty has had arguably the worst luck of any starting pitcher in the league. Morris is a respectable 3-3 with a 1.98 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 36.1 innings of work. Unfortunately, 14 of the 22 runs Morris has allowed have been of the unearned variety, including 12 of the last 13 he has allowed.

Impressive
Over his five NEC starts, Morris has struck out 28 with a 0.96 ERA over 28.0 innings of action.

Casey Killing It
Junior RHP Ryan Casey has turned it up a notch on the mound over his last six starts, going 5-1 while posting a 2.62 ERA with four complete games over 48.0 innings of work. Thanks to his impressive performance, Casey has lowered his ERA by almost three runs to its current 4.21 mark in 77.0 innings (2nd NEC) of work.

Complete Game Casey
Casey (5-4) 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.

Game One Match-Up
Casey will square off with LIU Brooklyn ace and 2012 MLB Draft Pick Justin Topa in Friday's series opener. Topa is the reigning NEC Pitcher of the Week after striking out 13 over 8.0 innings in a 2-1 win over Quinnipiac. Ironically, both Casey and Topa have each recorded 11 starts and 77.0 innings pitched.

Pitching Wins Championships
A big reason Wagner has dominated during conference play has been its starting pitching as the foursome of Casey, Morris, freshman RHP Mike Adams and Mammino is a combined 10-8 with 92 strikeouts, against just 53 walks, with a 3.16 ERA during league play.

Flynn Heating Up
Junior Shaun Flynn hit a team-best .600 (9-for-15) this past weekend against The Mount, highlighted by his first-career four-hit game in Saturday's doubleheader opener. Over his last 11 games, he is batting a team-best .475 (19-for-40) while raising his average 58 points to its current mark of .294.

Solid
Graduate student Chase Gray has reached base safely in each of his last 22 games.

Ruta Rolling
Freshman Ben Ruta is hitting .409 (9-for-22) with six RBI and three runs over his last seven games.

Alfano Doing It ... On The Mound
Alfano recorded his second save of the year and has been outstanding over his last five appearances. During that time, the Sunshine State native has two saves with eight strikeouts and a 1.23 ERA over 7.1 innings of work. He notched his second save in the series finale against the Mount, striking out two while recording the final four outs after entering to a bases-loaded situation.

Bloodworth Picks Up First Career Win
Sophomore RHP Steven Bloodworth could not have picked a more opportune time to collect his first career win then this past Saturday against the Mount. With the Seahawks fighting for a NEC playoff berth, the relief specialist fired 2.0 innings of one-hit ball and was the beneficiary of a Miller walk-off RBI single. Over his last three outings he has allowed just five hits over 4.2 scoreless frames.

Steal City
Wagner has 422 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 107 stolen bases (ninth NCAA) in 47 games. At its current rate of 2.27 steals per game (eighth NCAA), Wagner would finish with 125 steals while bettering FDU's NEC record of 113 set in 2008. All told, since the start of the 2009 campaign the Seahawks are 465-for-587 on stolen base attempts.

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.

April Musings
Gray, a 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.

Smith Continues Solid Season
If there was a Most Improved Player Award 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 .301 average (46-for-153) with 33 runs, 11 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 29 RBI (t-9th NEC), 15 stolen bases (t-7th NEC) and 32 walks (2nd NEC). All those totals represent an increase from last year as Smith also ranks fifth in the league with a .434 OBP.

Captain Clutch
Sophomore Jason Gordon is hitting a blistering .407 (11-for-27) with runners in scoring position, compared to just .098 (5-for-51) in all other at-bats. During conference play, those splits are .571 (8-for-14) and .125 (3-for-24).

Coach Carone & Collazo Against The Blackbirds
Wagner head coach Jim Carone was 8-3 as a player against LIU Brooklyn while assistant coach Chris Collazo was 9-2.

The Best Around
Mammino's four career NEC Rookie of the Week citation is the most by any Green & White player in school history.
At The Ballpark - Wagner holds an all-time record of 84-44 (.656) at R.C.B.B. since the program began calling the stadium home for the 2008 campaign. Additionally, the Seahawks are 57-32 (.640) during NEC games and 24-12 (.667) in non-conference match-ups.

NEC Weekly Awards
Mammino has captured four NEC Rookie of the Week citations and one NEC Pitcher of the Week accolade. Joining Mammino with a Pitcher of the Week award was Morris while Ruta also collected a Rookie of the Week citation. Rounding out the winners was Miller, who earned NEC Player of the Week plaudits on Monday.

Bailey Honored
Boston Red Sox reliever Andrew 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.

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 host defending NEC Regular Season Champion Bryant on Thursday, May 16 in the first of a four-game series.

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