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Bridgeport, CT – The Wagner baseball team will look to remain in the top spot of the Northeast Conference (NEC) standings as they gear up for its final road contest of the regular season, a four-game set against the Sacred Heart University Pioneers, beginning tonight in Bridgeport, CT.
ALL-TIME SERIES: - This weekend's series will be the 52nd all-time between the two schools.
- Wagner trails in the head-to-head series 21-30.
- Last year, these two teams split their four-game series on Staten Island. The Seahawks took the opener 4-1 and the first game of the doubleheader, 6-2. Sacred Heart took the final two games, including a 3-1 triumph in 12 innings in the series finale.
WHO'S HOT AGAINST SACRED HEART:- Senior CF Trey Nicosia (State College, PA/State College Area) along with junior LF Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ/West-Windsor Plainsboro South) are batting .400 against Sacred Heart in their careers as Nicosia is 4-for-10 with 3 RBIs while Ruta is 4-for-10.
- Senior C Jason Gordon (Baltimore, MD/Archbishop Curley) and sophomore SS Nick Mascelli (Clifton, NJ/Seton Hall Prep) have also fared well against the Pioneers as Gordon is batting .355 with a home run, 7 RBIs and five runs scored while Mascelli is at an even .300 with three runs scored.
ABOUT THE PIONEERS: - Sacred Heart is currently tied for third along with Fairleigh Dickinson at 8-8, three games behind leaders Wagner and Bryant.
- The Pioneers are 3-7 in their last ten games, picking up its last victory, 5-4, in 12 innings against the Bulldogs in game 2 of the doubleheader on May 2.
- Juniors Jayson Sullivan and Jesus Medina are the team's leading hitters, batting .290 and .287, respectively. Sophomore Zack Short owns the team's highest on-base and slugging percentage at .413 and .490
- On the bump, Medina anchors the rotation with a 3-1 record in five starts with an ERA of 3.53.
DINI'S QUEST TO REWRITE THE RECORD BOOKS:- Senior C/INF Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) is enjoying one of his greatest season as a Seahawk and in the process is rewriting the history books.
- Entering the season with 164 games consecutive games played, Dini has started in all 41 games for Wagner, which bumps his total to 205 career games, good for fourth all-time in program history.
- In his most recent game at Mount St. Mary's, Dini is now Wagner's all-time leader in career at-bats with 764, surpassing former Seahawk, Damian Csakai (07-10) mark of 761.
- The Garden State native, already a two-time Johnny Bench Award nominee, can eclipse Csakai in another category, the all-time hits. Entering the series with Sacred Heart, Dini needs just three hits to become the standard bearer as Csakai finished his career with 235 hits.
SEASON-HIGHS AT THE MOUNT: - Against the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers last Sunday, Wagner belted numerous season-high stats.
- The Seahawks recorded a total of 50 at-bats, scored 20 runs, belted 24 hits and drove in 17 RBIs. The team also racked up 37 total bases and smashed two home runs in the game.
- Individually, Nicosia and Ruta each had seven plate appearances, Gordon scored a season-high 4 runs while Nicosia recorded five hits in the 20-6 victory.
RACE FOR THE NEC BATTING CROWN:- As of games played through May 3, two Seahawks are atop of the league best in the race for the batting crown as Dini leads the circuit with a .391 average. Teammate Anthony Godino (Thornwood, NY/Pleasantville) is next at .379.
- The last time a Seahawk led the league for the entire season in batting was in 1993 as Jack Scholz claimed the batting title with a .418 average.
ODDS & ENDS:- Wagner is 7-3 in its last 10 contests.
- The squad is batting .354 during this stretch while the opposition is held to just a .241 average
- Sophomore RHP Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/Waterford [South Kent Prep]) is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA during the last ten games. In 13.0 innings pitched, the towering right-hander has allowed just two runs, while walking three and striking out 22 batters while holding the opponents to a .156 batting average.
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