Game 33 
Wagner College Seahawks
(10-22; 5-11 NEC)
vs. Rutgers University Scarlet Knights
(17-19; 3-6 BIG Ten)April 20, 2016 |
| Game Details | April 20, 2016 | Staten Island, NY | 3:00 p.m.
Richmond County Bank Ballpark (7,171) |
| Game Coverage | Twitter: @WagBaseball
Twitter Hashtag: #CHAOSonthehill |
| Wagner Links | Roster | Schedule | Game Notes |
| Rutgers Links | Roster | Schedule |
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP: | Date/Gm No. | Team | Pitcher | ERA | W-L | G-GS | IP | BB | SO |
| April 20, 2016 | RUTGERS | RHP Serafino Brito | 4.06 | 4-2 | 12-6 | 37.2 | 4 | 28 |
| WAGNER | RHP Danny Marsh | 0.00 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
LAST TIME OUT FOR WAGNER:
- The Wagner baseball team dropped its Northeast Conference (NEC) series finale at first-place Bryant 5-1 on Sunday afternoon at Conaty Park.
- With the loss, the Seahawks fell to 10-22, 5-11 in league play while the Bulldogs improved to 24-7 overall and 13-1 in conference action.
- Sophomore 3B Sean Mazzio (West Chester, PA/Salesianum School [DE]) went 2-for-4 on the afternoon.
- Senior RF Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ/West-Windsor Plainsboro South) went 1-for-4 and connected on his first home run of the season.
- Junior SS Nick Mascelli (Clifton, NJ/Seton Hall Prep), sophomore 2B Kyle Brey (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) and freshman 1B Anthony Harrold (Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) each added a hit on the afternoon.
- Senior left-hander starter Matt Morris (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) pitched well in his seven innings of work, allowing just two runs on six hits and while striking out four despite taking the loss (2-4).
BACK AT THE BANK:
- Wagner returns home to Richmond County Bank Ballpark to begin a season-high ten game homestand, starting this afternoon against Big Ten and local rival, the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights.
HOME SWEET HOME:
- The Seahawks embark on a season-high ten game homestand, starting with Rutgers this afternoon. After Wednesday's contest, the Green & White will renew its series with the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers in Northeast Conference action, beginning on April 22 through April 24.
- The following weekend, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights come to Staten Island for four games, starting on April 29 through May 1.
- The homestand concludes on May 4 under the lights as Wagner welcomes Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) foe, Manhattan, for a 6:00 p.m. start.
WAGNER PLAYERS TO WATCH AGAINST THE SCARLET KNIGHTS:Junior Brendan Benecke (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Liberty): - In two games, Benecke is batting .400 (2-for-5), with a run scored, a double and 2 RBIs. Anthony Godino: In two games, Godino is hitting .333 with an RBI.
- In three career games against the Scarlet Knights, Mascelli is batting .600 (9-for-15).
Sophomore Sean Mazzio (West Chester, PA/Salesianum School [DE]): - In two games against Rutgers, Mazzio is batting .333 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.
SERIES HISTORY:
- Wagner and Rutgers will meet for the seventh consecutive season with the teams splitting the six matchups over the last five years.
- Overall, the Scarlet Knights lead the all-time series, 20-4-2.
- In last season's contest, the Scarlet Knights led 4-1 until the top of the eighth inning when the Seahawks erupted for ten runs in the top of the frame to come from behind and defeat Rutgers, 11-4, at Bainton Field in Piscataway, NJ.
WAGNER-RUTGERS CONNECTION:
- It will be a homecoming of sorts for one individual that has ties to both programs.
- Joe Litterio, a 1994 graduate of Rutgers, is the winningest coach in Wagner Seahawk history, with 240 wins over 12 season on Grymes Hill.
- Litterio went back to Rutgers for the 2012 season.
SIBLING RIVALRY:
- Wagner sophomore infielder Kyle Brey (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) will take on his older brother's team as Howie Brey, a left-handed pitcher.
- Kyle is currently batting .282 in 30 games with 9 RBIs and two stolen bases.
- His brother, Howie, is 4-3 with 2.98 ERA in nine games.In 63.1 innings, Howie has allowed 22 runs (21 earned) while surrendering 59 hits, walking 12 and striking out 54 batters on the season.
- Today's contest marks the second time this season that a pair of brothers will meet as Wagner senior LHP Matt Morris (Matawan, NJ/St. John Vianney) took on his younger brother, Chris when the Seahawks and Pirates met back on April 6.
SCOUTING RUTGERS:
- The Scarlet Knights scored five times in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 6-6 tie and held on to defeat the Delaware State University Hornets, 12-8, at home.
- Mike Carter and Gaby Rosa each had two hits, two walks and three runs scored while on the mound, Reed Shuttle picked up his second win of the season in relief as he struck out five.
- Rutgers is 6-4 over its last ten games and 3-2 over the last five.
- Carter and R.J. Devish are the lone batters hitting above .300 as Carter is batting .385 in 18 games while Devish is producing at .376 clip
- Tom Marcinczyk leads the squad with four home runs and 29 RBIs.
- Collectively, the Scarlet Knights are hitting at a .261 clip in 36 games
- On the hill, Rutgers sports a team ERA of 4.26 while striking out 256 batters and walking 153 batters.
LEADING OFF:
- Out of the leadoff spot, collectively, Wagner is hitting .384
- Four players have occupied the top spot, with Mascelli seeing the majority of the time, as the third-year Seahawk is batting .384 as the team's leadoff hitter in 27 games.
- In five games, sophomore Anthony Godino batted .438 (7-for-16).
BOMBS AWAY:
- As a team, Wagner has hit 14 home runs, ranking third in the Northeast Conference (NEC).
DOUBLE TROUBLE:
- Senior Ben Ruta ranks second in the NEC with 11 doubles on the season, trailing league-leader Robby Rinn of Bryant by only two doubles.
HIT MACHINES:
- The Seahawks lead the Northeast Conference (NEC) with 311 hits.
SACRIFICING FOR THE GREATER GOOD:
- Senior outfielder Trey Nicosia (State College, PA/State College Area) enters Wednesday with 17 career sacrifice hits, which is good for third all-time in Wagner history.
- The veteran outfielder needs just four more sacrifice hits to tie Chris Smith ('14) for second with 21 and 11 more to tie the all-time leader, Damian Csakai ('10), who finished his career with 27.
MASCELLI & RUTA CLIMBING CAREER HITS LIST:
- Senior outfielder Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ/West-Windsor Plainsboro South) and junior SS Nick Mascelli are racking up the hits and rapidly approaching the 200-hit milestone.
- As of 4/19/2016, Mascelli is tied with Brian Martutartus for 16th place with 161 career hits while Ruta has entered the top-25 with 143 hits.
Wagner Baseball All-Time Hits List (Players Ranking 10-through-25)| Place | Player | Hits |
| 10 | Gil Barkman | 188 |
| 11 | Tommy Higgins | 175 |
| 12 | Joseph DiGeronimo | 173 |
| 13 | Ian Miller | 171 |
| T-14 | Chris Dreschsel | 166 |
| T-14 | Joe Francisco | 166 |
| T-16 | Brian Martutartus | 161 |
| T-16 | Nick Mascelli | 161 |
| 18 | Jon Lucas | 158 |
| 19 | Peter DiStefano | 157 |
| T-20 | Kan Furst | 152 |
| T-20 | Bryan DiStefano | 152 |
| T-22. | Ed Sudol | 148 |
| T-22 | Ken Arnold | 148 |
| 24 | John Von Ahnen | 144 |
| 25 | Ben Ruta | 143 |
SEAHAWKS IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL:Nick Dini- Finished his first season of professional baseball as a member of the Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie | Pioneer League| Kansas City Royals organization).
- The 2015 NEC Player of the Year batted .316 with four home runs, 29 RBIs to go along with 11 doubles, 16 walks and a OPS (On-base + Slugging Percentage) of .847.
- The Chukars open their season on June 15.
Nolan Long- The towering 6-10 righty is 1-1, with 2.08 ERA for the Great Lakes Loons.
- Back on April 15, 2016, Long made his first start of the season, tossing three innings of one-hit ball, allowing a run, walking two and striking out three batters against the Lake County Captains (Class A Affiliate of the Cleveland Indians).
- For the season, Long has six strikeouts to three walks (2:1 Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio).
Ian Miller- Through seven games this season for Double-A Jackson Generals (Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners), is batting .346 (9-for-26), with six runs scored and four RBIs.
- Miller currently sports a seven-game hit streak and has driven in an RBI in three straight games played.
Andrew Bailey- Bailey, who is pitching for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies), is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four innings pitched out of the bullpen.
- Back on April 14, the former Seahawk standout tossed 1.1 innings of two-hit ball while striking out four Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) in relief.
- In his most recent outing, back on April 16 at home against the Rochester Red Wings (Triple A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins), Bailey tossed 1.2 innings, allowed a hit, an earned run and a walk while striking out two batters for his first win of the season as Lehigh Valley beat Rochester, 8-5.
