Pictured Above: Junior pitcher McCae Allen (Credit: Ross Pirrotta) 
 

Game 40-42 | May 3-5, 2019 Wagner College Seahawks (15-24; 8-10 NEC) vs. Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils (18-18; 8-7 NEC) Staten Island, NY | Richmond County Bank Ballpark
Gameday Info	Friday, May 3, 2019 | 1:00 PM (New Start Time)   Live Stats | 📺: NEC Front Row  : Keith Raad Saturday, May 4, 2019 | 12:00 pm (Game 1)   Live Stats | 📺: NEC Front Row  : Keith Raad Saturday, May 4, 2019 | 3:00 pm (Game 2)   Live Stats | 📺: NEC Front Row  : Keith Raad
Series History	Central Connecticut leads 58-33-0
Wagner Links	Roster | Schedule I Stats | News | Notes
Central Connecticut Links	Roster | Schedule I Stats | News | Notes

Staten Island, NY –  The Wagner College baseball team closes out its seven-game homestand this weekend as the Seahawks set to host Central Connecticut in a pivotal three-game Northeast Conference (NEC) series, beginning on Friday afternoon at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark. 

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Date	Team	Pitcher	W-L	ERA	G-GS	IP	SO	BB
May 3, 2019	Central Connecticut	RHP Tom Curtin	2-3	5.07	9-9	55.0	33	16
	Wagner	RHP Eric Ligda	0-4	5.53	10-10	57.0	46	31
May 4, 2019 (Game 1)	Central Connecticut	RHP Brandon Fox	1-4	4.58	10-10	57.0	31	17
	Wagner	LHP Neil Abbatiello	1-4	5.37	10-10	57.0	36	26
May 4, 2019 (Game 2)	Central Connecticut	RHP Patrick Mitchell	4-3	5.32	9-7	44.0	18	10
	Wagner	RHP McCae Allen	4-5	4.72	12-9	47.2	45	31

 

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// The Series: 
» Wagner and Central Connecticut have met 91 times in program history, which includes the NEC postseason, with the Blue Devils leading the head-to-head series, 58-33. 
» This season, CCSU has a 2-1 advantage in the season-series, as these two squads met to close out the month of March. 
» Over the last ten meetings, Wagner is 4-6 against the Blue Devils. 

2019 NEC Baseball Standings (Through 5/1/19)

SCHOOL	NEC RECORD	PCT	OVERALL	PCT	STREAK
1. Bryant	13-2	.867	32-14	.696	Lost, 1
2. Central Connecticut	8-7	.533	18-18	.500	Lost, 2
Sacred Heart	8-7	.533	16-25	.390	Lost, 1
4 .LIU Brooklyn	8-10	.444	18-24	.429	Lost, 1
WAGNER	8-10	.444	15-24	.385	Lost, 3
6. Fairleigh Dickinson	6-9	.400	12-30-1	.291	Won, 2
Mount St. Mary's	6-12	.333	13-30	.302	Lost, 4

// Last Time Out For Wagner...
» The Wagner College baseball team dropped the series finale to the Bryant University Bulldogs, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
» Junior 1B Tyler Sanfillippo and senior 3B Will Johnson led the way for the Seahawks at the plate with two hits apiece. Sanfillippo and senior SS Anthony Pecora scored the two runs for the Green & White with Johnson driving in the lone RBI in the contest. 
» Junior starter McCae Allen took the loss after tossing seven innings in which he allowed three runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out five batters.
» Classmate Justin Beyer finished the contest, throwing the final two scoreless frames while walking one, striking out two and giving up two hits.
» Sam Owens and Ryan Ward each had multi-hit games, with Owens collecting a team-high three hits and Ward scoring twice, driving in an RBI and getting two hits. Jimmy Titus and Brian Nicolas also drove in an RBI for the Bulldogs this afternoon.


// This Season Against CCSU... 
» When Wagner and Central Connecticut met back in March, seniors Joe Silvestrone and Will Johnson led the way with five hits apiece with Silvestrone clubbing .500 (5-for-10), with a team-leading four runs scored, a triple, a home run and four RBI. Silvestrone also posted a total OPS of 1.571, highlighted by a 1.000 slugging percentage. 
» The starting trio of seniors Neil Abbatiello and Eric Ligda with junior McCae Allen combined to strikeout 18 CCSU batters, led by Lidga's career-high 11 strikeout performance. Abbatiello went eight innings in earning the win in the 4-2 victory on March 30. 


// Last Time Against Central Connecticut...
» Trailing 4-1 after four innings, the Wagner College baseball team scored twice to get within 6-3 before Central Connecticut staged a four-run bottom of the eighth en route to a 10-3 win over the Seahawks. 
» Wagner, who belted 11 base hits in the contest, got two hits apiece from senior 3B Will Johnson, junior RF Griffin Schneider and sophomore catcher, Brandon Hall, as the trio combined to go 6-for-13 with two runs scored. 
» Senior CF Joe Silvestrone was one of three Seahawks to record an RBI in today's contest, as did junior 1B Tyler Sanfillippo and sophomore SS Mike Ruggiero. Junior starter, McCae Allen, was tagged with the loss after going 3.2 innings in allowing four runs on five hits while walking four and striking out four.
» Chandler Debrosse and Dave Matthew each drove in three RBIs, with Debrosse tallying a team-leading three hits in propelling the Blue Devils to victory. Debrosse, Buddy Dewaine, and Jack Nolan scored twice.  Mike Appel earned his third win of the season.


// Seahawks Finishes April With Eight Wins...
» The Green & White finished the month of April with eight wins, five of which coming in conference play.
» Collectively, the team batted close to .300 while outscoring its opponents, 109-93 for the month. 
» Five Seahawks batted over .300 for the month, led by junior 1B Tyler Sanfillippo, who batted to the tune of a .426 batting average, collecting a team-leading 26 hits during the month of April. Additionally, Sanfillippo paced the club with eight doubles, 19 RBIs, a .607 slugging percentage and a team-high .539 on-base percentage. 
» Senior Joe Silvestrone led the way for the team with 20 runs scored while swiping three bases in four chances during the month. 
» On the mound, junior McCae Allen earned three wins in his four appearances, posting a 2.13 ERA in 25.1 innings. The Wichita, KS native, who also collected his second NEC Pitcher of the Week honors during the month of April, had a team-high 24 strikeouts. 
» The Seahawk bullpen, who combined to strikeout 43 batters in 16 appearances out of the pen, were led by junior right-hander, Justin Beyer, who went 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA in six appearances in 15.1 innings of relief. Beyer led the way with 14 strikouts and held opponents to just a .182 batting average for the month. 
» Junior Nick Robino, who recently moved into a tie for second on the all-time career saves list with former Seahawk closer, Steven Bloodworth (14), tallied four saves this past month to go along with ten strikeouts and limiting the opposition to a .194 batting average. 


// Head Coach Jim Carone Continue To Climb Up The Career Wins Ladder..
» Wagner head coach Jim Carone, a two-time Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year, continued his upward trend on the all-time career wins list. 
» Carone has now moved north of 180 career victories, standing at 186
» Carone is just one of two Wagner bench bosses to ever accumulate 175 or more wins, joining former Seahawk head coach, Joe Litterio, who amassed a program-record 240 career wins in 12 seasons on Grymes Hill. 

ALL-TIME CAREER COACHING RECORD

Coach	Years	Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct
Joe Litterio	12	240	372	2	.393
JIM CARONE	8	186	225	1	.453
Herb Sutter	16	149	128	7	.537
Rich Vitaliano	8	120	208	3	.367

// Seahawks Ascending Upward On The All-Time Career Lists...
» Senior Anthony Pecora enters this weekend's series with Central Connecticut with 166 games played, tied for 17th all-time with former Seahawk, Tommy Mazurkiewicz.  
» He also is two triples away from tying Nick Papa for the most in program history with 13.
» Pecora, along with junior Freddy Sabido and senior Joe Silvestrone are moving up the all-time career hit chart as well.
» Sabido ranks 20th with 161 career hits while Silvestrone, who is 26th on the list, has 146 hits. Pecora is two behind Silvestrone with 144. 
» Sabido is just two RBIs shy of becoming the 14th member to reach 100 career RBI mark and is just two home runs shy of becoming the tenth player in Wagner history to hit 20 or more home runs in a career

Wagner All-Time Career Home Run List

Rank	Player	Years Played At Wagner	Home Run Total
1	Vin Avella	2007-10	50
2	Chris Dick	2000-04	32
3	Gil Barkman	1997-00	31
4	John Von Ahren	1982-85	30
5	Joe Murphy	1983-85	28
6	Mike Cerminaro	1998-01	26
7	Dean Esposito	1989-92	24
8	Phil Capra	2016-18	22
	John Spinelli	1997-00	22
10	Freddy Sabido	2017-Pres	18

» On the mound, senior southpaw, Neil Abbatiello, is also climbing the career charts.
» The North Salem, NY native currently ranks seventh all-time in games started (34) and is looking to crack the top-five in career strikeouts as the former Dobbs Ferry standout has 184 in his Wagner tenure. Next on the list is former teammate, Austin Goeke '17, who finished with 189 punchouts in his career.
 

Wagner All-Time Career Strikeout List

Rank	Player	Years Played At Wagner	Strikeout Total
1	Joe Testa	2005-08	308
2	Andrew Bailey	2003-06	237
3	Mike McTamney	2002-05	229
4	Don Finley	1950-53	207
5	Austin Goeke	2014-17	189
6	Neil Abbatiello	2016-Pres	184
7	Bruce Wilson	1960-62	182
8	Ryan Van Spronsen	2009-12	174
	Jim Moris	1960-63	174
10	Mike D'Angelis	2003-06	167

// About Central Connecticut...
» Central Connecticut, who is currently tied for second-place with Sacred Heart in the league standings at 8-7, enters play with an 18-18 overall record after dropping its two midweek games to UConn (9-1) and Quinnipiac (6-5). 
» Dave Matthews leads CCSU in five offensive statistical categories: slugging pct (.437), on-base pct (.380), doubles (13), home runs (3) and RBI (22).
» On the mound, Patrick Mitchell and Mike Appel each have four wins on the season while Tom Curtin leads the squad with 33 strikeouts. 


// On Deck For Wagner...