Photo Credit: Gerry Nelson Wall '81
Piscataway, NJ – The Wagner College baseball makes the short trek to Piscataway, NJ as the Seahawks square off against Big Ten members, Rutgers, on Wednesday afternoon at Bainton Field.
// Rutgers - The Series...
» Wagner and Rutgers, separated by a mere 35 minute drive, have faced one another 30 times in program history with the Scarlet Knights holding a 24-4-2 advantage in the head-to-head series.
» The Seahawks are looking to halt a five-game losing streak to the Scarlet Knights, last defeating Rutgers, 11-4, back on April 7, 2015.
» In that contest, the Green & White were trailing 4-1, before the Seahawks erupted for 10 runs on eight hits in the eighth inning to post the come-from-behind victory.
// Wagner Bats Against Scarlet Knights...
» At the plate against Rutgers, senior
Joe Silvestrone is batting .333 against the Scarlet Knights, connecting on four hits, three of which for extra bases while driving in five RBIs in the process.
» Junior
Freddy Sabido has played in three contests, batting .500 (6-for-12) with three runs scored and posting a total OPS of 1.000.
// About Rutgers...
» The Scarlet Knights come into this afternoon's contest looking for back-to-back wins after outlasting Ohio State, 3-2, in 15 innings back on March 30.
» Tim Dezzi leads the club with a .322 batting, a .368 slugging percentage and a team-best .410 on-base percentage.
» Kevin Welsh is the owner of an impressive 19-game on-base streak.
» Mike Nyisztor and Welsh are tied for the team's lead with 12 runs scored.
» Victor Valderrama and Carmen Sclafani have each connected on a two home runs with Dezzi and McNamara tied for the team-lead with nine RBIs.
» Rutgers, as a team, have stolen 25 bases, led by five apiece from Nysiztor and Kevin Blum
» On the hill, the Scarlet Knights are led by Serafino Brito, who has recorded three wins in 14 appearances out of the bullpen, while making one start. He also both saves.
» Harry Rutkowski has struck out a team-leading 42 batters this season, while Tommy Genuario has limited the opposition to just a .221 batting average.
// Weren't We Just Here?...
» Wagner is no stranger to Bainton Field, as the Seahawks opened up Northeast Conference (NEC) play at this exact venue almost a month ago, when the Green & White took two of three from the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers.
// Longball Tracker (Inside-The-Park Home Runs Across NCAA)...
» Back on March 20, at home against Saint Peter's' University, freshman infielder
Shamus Connolly recorded his first collegiate hit, which turned out to be a two-run, inside-the-park home run.
» Connolly's inside-the-park round tripper was the sixth such occurrence to date this season
Inside-The-Park Home Runs In Division I Baseball This Season
| Player |
School |
Opponent (Date) |
| Tucker Maxwell |
Georgia |
UMass Lowell (2/24/19) |
| Justice Bigbie |
Western Carolina |
@ UNC Asheville (3/6/19) |
| Drew Lowe |
Oral Roberts |
Dallas Baptist (3/8/19) |
| Justice Bigbie |
Western Carolina |
Elon (3/16/19) |
| Caleb Walls |
Maryland |
@ Elon (3/19/19) |
| Shamus Connolly |
WAGNER |
Saint Peter's (3/20/19) |
| Gavin Johns |
Tennessee Tech |
Eastern Illinois (3/23/19) |
| Bryce Teodosio |
Clemson |
@ Boston College (3/23/19) |
// Head Coach Jim Carone Continues To Ascend All-Time Wins List...
» Wednesday's matchup at Rutgers will pit the No. 1 and No. 2 coaches on Wagner all-time career wins list against one another as
Jim Carone squares off against former Seahawk bench boss, Joe Litterio.
» Coach Carone has guided the Seahawks to 178 wins during his tenure. Carone stands second on the all-time career wins list, behind Litterio, who amassed 240 victories during his 12-year career on Grymes Hill.
Wagner All-Time Career Coaching Record
| Coach |
Years |
Wins |
Losses |
Ties |
Winning Percentage |
| Joe Litterio |
12 |
240 |
372 |
2 |
.393 |
| JIM CARONE |
8 |
177 |
215 |
1 |
.452 |
| Herb Sutter |
16 |
149 |
128 |
7 |
.537 |
| Rich Vitaliano |
8 |
120 |
208 |
3 |
.367 |
// 100 Wins Against Current League Members For Carone..
» In head coach
Jim Carone's climb to the top of the all-time career wins list continues, his Seahawks helped him complete another personal milestone.
» In Saturday's 4-2 victory over Central Connecticut, the victory marked the 100th career win for Carone against the current NEC members.
» All-time, Coach Carone has amassed 107 conference victories.
// Abbatiello Collects Second Career NEC Pitcher of the Week Honors...
» Wagner College baseball senior
Neil Abbatiello was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday afternoon.
» For the North Salem, NY native it marks the second time in his Seahawk career that he has earned a weekly citation from the league, the first coming back on May 22, 2017.
» The veteran southpaw kept Central Connecticut's bats at bay during the middle game of this past weekend's league series. Abbatiello did not surrender an extra-base hit while limiting the opposition to one run over 8.0 innings in a 4-2 victory.
» After allowing two straight one-out singles in the second inning, the former Dobbs Ferry standout didn't allow another hit over the next 3.2 innings of work in picking up his first victory of the season.
// Seahawks In The Pros..
» With the 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) season underway, five Wagner baseball alums will be gearing up to start another season.
»
Phil Capra (New York Mets): A three-time all-league performer, Capra concluded his first professional season with the Kingsport Mets. Capra appeared in 32 games, notching his first professional home run while driving in 11 RBIs and drawing 17 walks.
»
Nick Dini (Kansas City Royals): Dini, the 2015 NEC Player of the Year, begins his fourth professional season within the Royals organization as a member of the Omaha Storm Chasers, the club's Triple-A affiliate. Last season, Dini split time between Omaha and Northwest Arkansas. In 14 games at the Tripe-A level, he batted .333 with three home runs, six RBI while producing a total OPS of 1.017, on the strenghts of a .667 slugging percentage. According to RoyalsFarmReport.com, "the catching duties will be shared by Xavier Fernandez and
Nick Dini... Dini was in Omaha for most of the first month of the 2018 season while Salvador Perez was recovering from injuries... In a small sample size he had a much better time in AAA (.333/.350/.667 in 14 games) than then rest of the season he spent in AA (.239/.287/.361 in 80 games).
»
Nolan Long (Los Angeles Dodgers): Long, a 2015 All-NEC First Teamer, will embark on his fourth professional season, beginning the year in Double-A with the Tulsa Drillers, who are the defending Texas League champions. Similar to Dini, Long split time between Class-A and AA ball a season ago. With the Drillers, the towering 6-10 right hander appeared in 24 games, going 3-0 with a 5.05 ERA in 35.2 innings. Long held batters to just a .200 average, as he recorded nearly a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (40 strikeouts, 17 walks). Back on May 5, against the Springfield Cardinals, Long worked 2.2 frames and recorded a season-high five strikeouts during the outing.
»
Ian Miller (Seattle Mariners): Miller begins his seventh season as a member of the Seattle Mariners organization and will embark on his second full season with the Tacoma Rainiers at the Triple-A level. Last season, Miller played in 114 games, while batting .261 with two home runs and 41 RBIs. Known more for his speed, Miller finished second in the Pacific Coast League in stolen bases, swiping 33.
»
Ben Ruta (New York Yankees): A two-time All-NEC selection, Ruta is gearing up for his fourth professional season, as he will start the year at Double-A Trenton. The West Windosr, NJ native saw some time with the Thunder last, batting .314 with 13 RBIs and .762 OPS. On May 24 he was assigned to Tampa, where he appeared in 83 games for the Tarpons, batted .294 with eight home runs and drove in 40 RBIs, the highest total in his professional career.
// On Deck For Wagner...
» Following this midweek contest, the Seahawks resume league play, as they will embark on a three-game series at Sacred Heart, beginning on Friday, April 5
