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Norwich, CT – Wagner (19-33) returns to the NEC Tournament for the first time since the 2010 season and will open the four-team event on Thursday, May 22 against top-seeded Bryant (39-14) with first pitch slated for 12:00 pm.

Schedule
*  Thursday, May 22 - No. 4 Wagner vs. No. 1 Bryant - 12:00 pm
* Scheduled Starting Pitcher: Sr. RHP Ryan Casey (4-5, 3.74 ERA; 74.2 IP | 28 K | 17 BB)

*  Friday, May 23 - No. 4 Wagner vs. No. 2 CCSU/No. 3 Sacred Heart - TBD
* Scheduled Starting Pitcher: Sr. LHP Matt Morris (3-6, 3.86 ERA; 72.1 IP | 33 K | 20 BB)* Wagner returns to the NEC Tournament for the first time since the 2010 season
* This is the Seahawks' 10th tourney appearance and are 8-17, all-time
* Wagner will be the No. 4 seed for the fifth time in program history
* The Seahawks won their lone NEC Title against Monmouth as the No. 4 seed in 2000
* Head coach Jim Carone was a member of that MU team
* Five of Wagner's eight NEC Tournament wins have come as the No. 4 seed
* The Seahawks are one of four No. 4 seeds to win the NEC Championship
* The last time a No. 4 seed won the NEC Tournament was Monmouth in 2009
* Assistant coach Chris Collazo was the 2009 Tournament MVP for MU
* Wagner will be squaring off with Bryant in tournament play for the first time
* The Seahawks are 2-6 against CCSU & 0-2 vs. Sacred Heart during tournament play
* Wagner clinched a playoff berth on the final day of the year for first time since 2006
* This will be the first tournament appearance for every Seahawk student-athlete
* Carone went 9-8 as a student-athlete in the NEC Tournament while Collazo was 8-3

How The Seahawks Got Here
It wasn't easy and definitely wasn't the diagram but the Seahawks took the final two games against Bryant before finally clinching a playoff berth when Fairleigh Dickinson swept last Sunday's doubleheader from the Mount. Wagner finished tied with LIU Brooklyn for fourth in the league at 11-13 and won the tiebreaker thanks to its two wins over Bryant.

Ninth-Inning Magic
Down to their final three outs, the Seahawks batted around to score four runs in the top of the ninth in the regular season finale en route to posting a 6-4 win over the Bulldogs.

Halted Games
The Green & White completed the season with a victory in a game that was halted from the previous day due to inclement weather. It also marked the second-straight weekend that Wagner has had a halted game and the first time since the 2009 season. The Seahawks have won all three of those halted games.

Unsung Hero
Sophomore RHP Mike Adams fired 5.0 innings of one-run ball to earn the win for the Green & White in its 6-4 win over Bryant and has nine strikeouts, against no walks, and a 0.96 ERA over his last three outings.

Trey Saves The Season
Down to the final three outs of the season, junior Trey Nicosia led off Wagner's big ninth inning against the Bulldogs with a double to left field while starting a season-saving four-run rally. Prior to the at-bat, the Keystone State native was 0-for-7 in the series.

Long Earns NEC Rookie Of The Week Citation
Freshman RHP Nolan Long was named NEC Rookie of the Week after striking out five over 5.0 scoreless innings in helping the Seahawks to a thrilling 1-0 win over the Bulldogs in the first game of last Friday's doubleheader. Pitching in awful weather conditions, Long worked around seven walks while allowing just two hits.

Bloody, Mascelli Close It Out
Junior RHP Steven Bloodworth and freshman Nick Mascelli helped to close out Long's 1-0 win. With the tying run at third with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Bloodworth induced a grounder that Mascelli snared before starting an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. Then in the seventh with a runner on first, Mascelli somehow got to a grounder up the middle before starting another 6-4-3 twin killing. Bloodworth capped the win with a strikeout to help start Wagner's miraculous run to the NEC Tournament.

Did You Know???
Over 12 games against the three other teams in the NEC Tournament field, the Seahawks did not score a run over 31.1 combined innings against the teams' bullpens ... that is until plating four in the ninth in the regular season finale against the Bulldogs.

How To Get In
The key to making it to the NEC Tournament over the last two seasons is pretty easy ... beat Bryant. The Bulldogs have not lost a game to a NEC team that didn't qualify for the four-team event in the last two seasons, going a combined 32-0.

Here's Hoping History Repeats Itself ...
Last season, No. 4 seed LIU Brooklyn defeated No. 1 Bryant behind a dominating pitching performance from Justin Topa.

Magic Numbers
Wagner is a perfect 9-0 during league play when scoring four runs or more and is 9-2 when limiting the opposition to two runs or less.

Big Three Step Up
After going a combined 1-for-18 (.056) over first two games against Bryant, the trio of senior Shaun Flynn, classmate Chris Smith and junior Nick Dini combined to go 9-for-26 (.346) with five RBI over the final two games.

Against The Field
The Seahawks went 4-8 against the other three teams in this year's NEC Tournament, batting just .197 as a team while averaging 2.0 runs per game. Junior Tommy Mazurkiewicz led the way with a .270 average while Smith provided the power with a three home runs and five RBI. Long led the way on the mound, striking out 14 with a 1.69 ERA in 16.0 innings while Adams fanned 10 with a 1.69 ERA over 10.2 frames.

Against Bryant
The teams split four games as Mazurkiewicz hit .385 against the Bulldogs while Dini (.267), Flynn (.214) and Smith (.200) were the only other regulars to hit above .200.

Against CCSU
The Blue Devils took all four games as junior Dan Wasilick hit a team-best .333 with Flynn checking in with a .286 mark.

Against Sacred Heart
The teams split the four games with Smith hitting .444 with two home runs and three RBI. Mascelli (.353), Dini (.313) and Flynn (.308) all also hit .300 or better.

Chris Keeps On Crushing
Smith batted a team-leading .444 (4-for-9) with two solo home runs, a walk and two sacrifice hits to lead the way for the Green & White against SHU while extending his hitting streak to seven games. During the seven-game skeen, Smith batted .522 (12-for-23) with seven runs, four doubles, two home runs and seven RBI while slugging at a .957 clip.

Leading The Way
Smith paces Wagner and ranks among the NEC leaders in batting average (.309-13th), doubles (14-3rd), home runs (5-4th), slugging (.500-3rd), total bases (81-8th) and OBP (.399-9th). He has also hit safely in 16-of-23 NEC games with 10 multi-hit performances en route to batting a team-best .338 in NEC-only action.

Five-Spot
Smith's first career multi-homer game in the Seahawks' 6-2 win over Sacred Heart two weeks ago gives him five for the season, marking the most by a Green & White student-athlete since Vin Avella clouted a school-record 17 in 2010.

Yesko Goes Yard
Junior Zack Yesko preceded Smith's second blast against the Pioneers with his first career home run, a three-run shot. Yesko finished up 2-for-3 with a double, home run and a career-high four RBI.

Back-To-Back
Yesko and Smith became the first Wagner teammates to hit back-to-back home runs in a game since Avella and Jon Lucas did so against Bethune Cookman on March 13, 2010.

(Not So) Homer Happy
The three Seahawks home runs hit against Sacred Heart were the only Green & White long balls recorded in 18 games at R.C.B.B. in 2014.

Starting Pitching Comes Up Big
Wagner allowed two earned runs or less in 16 of their 24 conference starts en route to posting a 3.88 team ERA (3rd NEC) during that time.

Long Day
The Seahawks resumed its halted game with Sacred Heart at 12:04 pm before playing a doubleheader that ended at 6:42 pm. All told, the teams played 20 innings on Sunday, May 11, which also included the Senior Day program that honored Casey, Flynn, Morris, Nick Pavia and Smith.

Battle Of The Aces
In Wagner's 4-1 series-opening win against Sacred Heart, Casey allowed just one run over 8.0 innings in outdueling projected MLB Draft Pick Kody Kerski and finished up the season 4-1 during league play with 13 strikeouts and a 2.67 ERA over 33.2 innings. For the season, he is 4-5 with a 3.74 ERA (14th NEC) over 74.2 innings of action.

Matty Mo No Slouch
During NEC play, Morris finished up the year 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA over 40.0 innings. For the season, he is 3-6 with a 3.86 ERA (15th NEC) over 72.1 innings of action.

Long Fans Career-High Seven
Long struck out a career-high seven over 6.0 innings in the first game of a doubleheader with Sacred Heart. For the season, he is 3-3 with 33 strikeouts over 42.1 innings of action while limiting opposing hitters to a .180 average.

Tough-Luck Long
Long has received just four runs of support over his last four games while striking out 25 and recording a 1.57 ERA over 23.0 innings of work.

Flynn The Run Producer
On the season, Flynn is hitting .274 with a team-best matching 23 RBI, a team-high seven multi-RBI games and 15 multi-hit games.

Record Breaking Maz
Mazurkiewicz was hit by a pitch for the 18th time this season against Sacred Heart, breaking Damian Csakai's previous single-season school-record set in 2010. He has now been hit 19 times this season after being plunked once more and ranks 25th nationally.

Home Cooking
Wagner completed its longest homestand since the 2009 season with a 5-4 record while hitting .277 while pitching to a miniscule 1.54 ERA. Additionally, the bullpen recorded an impressive 1.06 ERA with 14 strikeouts, against just one walk, with three saves over 17.0 innings.

Bloody Paces The Pen
On the year, Bloodworth has a team-best five saves (6th NEC) with a 2.93 ERA and 18 strikeouts, against just two walks, over 27.2 innings spanning a team-best 22 appearances (7th NEC).

The Nicks
Mascelli and Dini capped fine regular seasons last weekend against Bryant. While Mascelli struggled at the plate, he helped lead a defensive effort that committed just two errors. On the year, the rookie shortstop is batting .293 with a team-best 58 hits (9th NEC), a team-leading 16 multi-hit games and 23 walks (5th NEC) to go along with 25 runs and a .384 OBP. Dini, meanwhile, has hit in nine-of-10 games and is batting .256 with seven doubles, one triple, four home runs, a team-leading 23 RBI and 18 stolen bases (2nd NEC).

Road Trippin'
While it is typically tougher to play a team on its home terrain, that may not be the case this weekend as Bryant recently became first NEC team to a record a perfect conference road slate at 12-0. The Bulldogs, who have a NCAA-leading 28 road/neutral victories, have not lost away from Smithfield since dropping an 8-5 setback to Stony Brook on April 5, 2014 - a span of 15 games.

Now That's Tight
19 of the 20 games games between the Green & White and Bryant have been decided by four runs or less, including nine by just one run. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series by a 15-5 count.

Gordon Heating Up
Over his last 21 games, Gordon is hitting .333 (27-of-81) with 13 RBI, six runs, four doubles and a triple while raising his average 81 points to its current .277 mark.

The Art Of The Stolen Base
Dini is second in the NEC with 18 stolen bases in an efficient 21 attempts. On defense, the Seahawk catcher has thrown out 40.6 percent (13-of-32) of runners on the bases.

Dini During NEC Play ...
The Garden State native reached base safely in 20-of-24 games and batted .303 with 27 hits, 10 runs, two homers, nine RBI and 11 steals.

Facing The Best
After an 8-4 setback at No. 28 Seton Hall, eight of Wagner's 33 losses have come to teams ranked among the top-30 nationally. In those games, Mascelli is batting a team-best .379 (11-for-29).

Impressive
The opposition from the Green & White's first five weekend series' (Elon, Texas State, Army, No. 8 Cal Poly, No. 15 UC Santa Barbara) have a combined 164-96 (.631) record.

In The Pros
2013 Seattle Mariner 14th round selection Ian Miller recently started his second pro season with the Clinton LumberKings of the Low A Midwest League and is hitting .265 (30-for-113) with 24 runs, nine walks, seven extra-base hits and 10 stolen bases over 30 games.

Miller On ESPN/Sports Illustrated
Miller also was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter and in the May 19th issue of Sports Illustrated after going 4-for-8 with three runs and a pair of RBI as Clinton rallied from a 16-run deficit to defeat Burlington 20-17 on Wednesday, May 7.

The Long & Short Of It
Long was tabbed as the preseason Rookie of the Year by Baseball America and was drafted by the S.F. Giants in the 38th round of the 2012 MLB Draft before attending prep school.

At The Ballpark
Wagner holds an all-time record of 95-55 (.613) at Richmond County Bank Ballpark since the program began calling the stadium home for the 2008 campaign. Additionally, the Seahawks are 64-41 (.610) during NEC games and 31-14 (.689) in non-conference match-ups.

Bailey On The Bump
Former Wagner standout and 2006 graduate Andrew Bailey earned his first World Series Championship as a member of the Boston Red Sox a year ago and recently signed a contract with the New York Yankees.

Home Openers
The Seahawks were victorious in their home opener for the seventh-straight year with a 3-2 win over Rider and is a combined 7-0, all-time, in openers at Richmond County Bank Ballpark and MCU Park. During that time, Wagner has outscored the opposition by a 38-17 count.

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). Bailey struck out six over 5.2 innings of one-run ball while the Seahawk coach was tagged for four earned runs over four frames.

2014 NEC Poll
Bryant was tabbed first with Sacred Heart second, CCSU third, LIU Brooklyn fourth, Wagner fifth, the Mount sixth and Fairleigh Dickinson seventh.

Carone In The Pros
Carone has helped 16 of his former players, including 12 pitchers, sign contracts with Major League teams since 2006. Last year, Miller was taken in the 14th round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

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

Photography by Dave Saffran