Norwich, CT – The Wagner College baseball looks to add to its already historic season as the Seahawks turn their attention to the 2018 Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship after completing the regular season with a program-record 36 wins (36-16) and a league mark of 21-7 (also a program-best) while clinching their second-ever league regular season title.
 

 
The Green & White enter the postseason led by three players who boast batting averages over .300. Junior catcher Phil Capra and sophomore designated hitter Freddy Sabido lead the way at .312 and .311, respectively, while senior shortstop Sean Mazzio brings a .305 average into the tournament along with a nine-game hitting streak.

The Seahawks will also be buoyed by junior outfielder Joe Silvestrone, who has had the flair for the dramatic this season with four game-winning RBIs to his credit. Senior 2B Nick Mascelli will be playing in his third NEC Tournament and enters the weekend as the new Wagner all-time career hits leader at 247, after picking up three hits against Sacred Heart in the regular season finale.
 
On the mound, the Seahawks will have their big arms ready to go. Juniors Neil Abbatiello and Eric Ligda each finished the regular season with seven wins while Abbatiello enters with an unblemished record of 7-0 and is the team's leader in strikeouts with 73. Freshman right-hander, Pat Gallagher, who has thrived in his 11 starts, will look to make an impression in his first tournament.
 
Wagner's bullpen has been a strength for seventh-year head coach, Jim Carone throughout the 2018 campaign. Sophomore righty, Nick Robino emerged as the team's closer with seven saves, while also racking up a host of pivotal victories en route to a 7-3 overall record in 43.1 innings. Robino has also posted the third-highest strikeout total for the Seahawks this season, fanning 54 batters while limiting the opposition to just a .209 batting average.

In addition to Robino, Coach Carone will have a plethora of options out of the pen, including left-handers Koby Bishop, Keaton Freire and Brad Currao. All three have been tough on batters this season, with Currao earning a pair of saves in his final three appearances of the regular season. 

Right-handers Nick Zuppe, Nick LePre, Mike Pirrotta, and Kevin Wiseman are all up to the task when their numbers are called upon as each of them have been through several pressure situations throughout the year. 

---

LEADING OFF...

• Wagner (36-16; 21-7 NEC) makes its 13th appearance in the Northeast Conference Championship and fourth in the last five seasons under Carone. 

SEAHAWK TOURNAMENT NOTES...

• Wagner is 9-23 all-time in NEC Tournament play, with their last win coming a season ago, defeating No. 1 seed, Bryant, 6-5, in walk-off fashion.
• This victory marked the first tournament win for the Seahawks under coach Carone. 
• The Green & White won its only NEC title back in 2000, when they went 3-1 in tournament play, defeating then conference members, UMBC, 16-1, before taking two of three from Monmouth. 
• Wagner went on to the Coral Gables region of the NCAA Tournament, falling to the University of Miami (FL), 19-5, and Florida International University, 10-1. 
• In last season's NEC Tourney, Wagner batted a collective .298 in the three games, with Kyle Brey and Sean Mazzio leading the way with seven hits apiece. 
• Brey went on to earn All-Tournament honors after batting .538 with a team-best three runs scored. 

• Thursday's contest between the Seahawks and the Blackbirds marks the 125th all-time meeting between the schools, with Wagner trailing in the head-to-head series, 61-62-1.
• These two squads splits their four-game regular season series in 2018, with Wagner sweeping the May 5 doubleheader, taking the first game, 3-2, before winning the nightcap, 6-5. LIU Brooklyn's wins came in the opener, 8-7 and the series finale, 7-3.
• This marks just the second time that these will meet in NEC Tournament action,with the Blackbirds taking a 2-1 victory back in 1994.
• Senior RF Kyle Cala, sophomore designated hitter, Freddy Sabido, and senior 2B Nick Mascelli were the main offensive producers against the Blackbirds in their regular season meetings, with Cala batting a team-best .429. Sabido, who clubbed .417, had a total OPS of 1.480 while Mascelli finished at .333.

• The Seahawks and the Bulldogs have squared off a total of 42 times, with Bryant leading the all-time head-to-head series, 29-12. 
• This season, both teams finished with identical 21-7 conference records en route to sharing the NEC Regular Season title.
• Wagner and Bryant split its six-game series, 3-3, with the Green & White taking two-of-three in late March in Brooklyn and Bryant taking two of three recently in Smithfield.
• The last ten meetings between the schools have been decided by two runs or less, dating back to the first game of the April 8, 2017, doubleheader, in which Wagner fell, 1-0, at home. 
• Pitching held the upper hand in this season's six-game series, with Wagner batting a combined .187 while Bryant was connecting at a .184 clip.
• In NEC Tournament play, Wagner is 1-2 all time against the Bulldogs, with the Seahawks' lone win coming last season in walk-off fashion, 6-5.
• Bryant has outscored Wagner, 18-10 in its three NEC Tournament meetings. 
• Sophomore reliever Nick Robino made three appearances this season against Bryant, not allowing a run in four innings of work, as he earned two saves while striking out three and holding the Bulldogs to a .083 batting average. 

NO. 2 WAGNER VS. NO. 4 MOUNT ST. MARY'S...

• Wagner and Mount St. Mary's have met 100 times all time with the Seahawks leading the overall head-to-head matchup, 59-41. 
• The Green & White swept the season series, 4-0, from the Mountaineers, with two games played in Brooklyn at MCU Park and two at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson.
• Wagner outscored the Mountaineers, 23-13 in these four contests, while hitting a combined .333 with 11 doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI. 
• Cala was a main contributor against the Mount this year, hitting .500 in the four-game set, with five runs scored, two doubles, two home runs and three RBI. He also posted a total OPS of 1.792, highlighted by a slugging percentage of 1.167. 
• On the mound, the Seahawks' hurlers combined for a 3.66 ERA over 32.0 innings. Junior Eric Ligda led the way with five strikeouts. 

 

• Senior shortstop Sean Mazzio, who concluded regular season-ending three-game series against Sacred Heart batting .667 (8-for-12) with four runs scored and a RBI, became the 11th member of the 200-hit club, and enters the postseason with 201 career hits.
• Thise 201 hits are tied for ninth place all time, along with former Seahawks, Nick Papa (2003-06) and Chris Dick (2000-04).

• Sporting a 33-16 overall record, which translates to a .692 win percentage, the Wagner baseball team ranks among the top-30 in the nation in this category, through games played on May 17. 

• Wagner has played 37 road games this season, compiling a NCAA-leading 23 road victories. 
• In games away from Staten Island, the Seahawks have outscored their opposition, 226-190, while connecting on 28 home runs with 202 RBIs.

• As of May 20, Wagner is the highest-ranked Northeast Conference (NEC) program, checking in at No. 70
• The next-closest NEC team is Bryant at 83, followed by LIU Brooklyn (242) and Mount St. Mary's (252). 

 
 

• Wagner is 6-4 over its last ten games, going 3-0 at home and 3-4 away.
• The Seahawks are batting a combined .233 over its last ten games while the pitching has carried the program in this stretch, sporting a 3.10 combined ERA.
• Senior Sean Mazzio leads the way with a .486 batting average (17-for-35) with eight runs scored a double and a RBI
• Sophomore designated hitter Freddy Sabido, along with senior Kyle Cala and junior Joe Silvestrone, have combined for 19 of the 32 RBIs with Sabido leading the way with seven RBI. Cala and Silvestrone have six apiece.
• On the mound, Seahawk starters Neil Abbatiello, Eric Ligda and Pat Gallagher have combined to post an ERA of 3.33 over 48.2 combined innings pitched.
• Over the last ten games, the Seahawk arms have held opponents to just a .226 batting average, while allowing just 35 runs and striking out 50 batters.
• Senior southpaw Brad Currao has appeared in four games over the last ten while recording three saves in 3.2 innings pitched.