Great Dane Baseball Travels To Cornell Tuesday For Two
Live Stats I Audio
ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team travels to Ithaca, N.Y. Tuesday to take on Cornell in a non-conference doubleheader. The twin bill is slated to start at 2:00 p.m. at Hoy Field.
SCOUTING THE BIG RED (11-5, 0-0 Ivy League)
Cornell enters Tuesday on a seven-game winning streak, highlighted by series sweeps of Davidson and Villanova. Most recently, the Big Red overcame Villanova by scores of 3-2, 4-0, and 3-1. As a team, Cornell owns a .255 batting average led by Matt Hall (.308), Spencer Sousa (.299), and Brenton Peters (.288). The pitching staff, piloted by Nick Bunto (2-0) and Brent Jones (3-0), boasts a collective 3.27 ERA, while the defense owns a .968 fielding percentage. Cornell is the defending Ivy League champion.
THE COACH: Bill Walkenbach (4th season, Cornell '98)
In his fifth season as the Ted Thoren Head Coach of Baseball at Cornell University, Bill Walkenbach has brought the Big Red into the spotlight with the program's first league title since 1977 and its first Ivy League title since the circuit added baseball 20 years ago. Named head coach on Aug. 14, 2008, Walkenbach is in his second stint as a coach for the Big Red, having previously served as an assistant coach under current associate head coach Tom Ford from 2003-05. He returned to Cornell after spending three seasons as the head coach at Franklin & Marshall, guiding the Diplomats to an NCAA tournament berth in 2006 and a 69-42 record. Now in his eighth season as a collegiate head coach, Walkenbach has a career record of 156-134-1 (.538).
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES (6-10, 3-3 America East)
UAlbany comes off a series win over conference foe UMBC. The Great Danes lost a close one, 4-3, in game one but rallied to win 13-1 and 5-2 in the final two contests. On the season, UAlbany is batting .252 collectively, as Matt Hinchy (.450), Evan Harasta (.342), Nolan Gaige (.311), and Jeff Welsh (.311) are all hitting above .300. Defensively, the squad owns a .959 fielding percentage, while the pitching staff has a combined 5.60 ERA and 131 strikeouts.
THE COACH: Jon Mueller (14th season, Eckerd College, '92)
Jon Mueller is in his 14th season as the head coach of the University at Albany baseball program. The Stillwater, N.Y. native has had proven success as both a player and coach throughout his career. Mueller ranks first among UAlbany's career leaders with 285 coaching victories, and was named the America East Coach of the Year in 2004. He also led the Danes to the program's first America East Conference tournament championship title and NCAA appearance in 2007. Mueller has produced dozens of all-conference standouts and has had six players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft under his direction, including one in each of the past two seasons.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH CORNELL
UAlbany is 0-1-1 all-time against Cornell, with both games being played on March 27, 2012. Despite strong performances by starting pitchers Austin Chase and Ryan White, UAlbany fell to Cornell, 5-2, in game one and then finished the nightcap in a 3-3 tie as the clash was called after six innings due to darkness. In game one, Cornell rallied to tie the game, 1-1, in the fourth and then scored four runs in the top of the ninth of the scheduled seven-inning game, for the win.
AMERICA EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior outfielder Nolan Gaige has been selected as the America East Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Monday. Gaige (East Greenbush, N.Y.) led UAlbany to a series victory over conference foe UMBC, batting .500 with a conference-best five RBI, three triples, three runs scored, and stole one base in one attempt. With his first triple of the weekend, Gaige became the program's all-time leader, belting 14 in his career. His seven hits in the series also moved Gaige into fourth place all-time at Albany with 210 career hits. Going 3-for-5 with two triples, three runs batted in and two runs scored in game two, Gaige led the Great Danes to a 13-1 victory and also played a key role in UAlbany's 5-2 rubber match win, scoring a run. Gaige had hits in all three games, including a pair of three-hit performances. On the season, Gaige leads UAlbany with a .311 batting average and ranks second in the conference with a .508 slugging percentage. The Player of the Week honor marks the first for UAlbany's squad this season, and the first for Gaige in his career.
LAST WEEK'S TOP PITCHER
Kasceim Graham, Sr., RHP, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Bishop Ford)
Kasceim Graham limited the Retrievers to just three hits total in UAlbany's 13-1 victory Saturday. Graham (3-2) earned the win, allowing one run and three hits in seven innings, while striking out three. On the season, the senior leads the pitching staff with three wins and a 3.25 ERA.
LAST WEEK'S TOP ROOKIE
Ryan Stinar, Fr., RHP, Forest Hill, Md. (North Harford)
In his first career start, freshman Ryan Stinar led the University at Albany baseball team to a 5-2 victory over UMBC Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field. The win captured the series for the Great Danes and evened their conference record to 3-3. Earning the win on the mound, Stinar (1-0) went six strong innings, yielding no earned runs, four hits (all singles), while striking out three.
ON DECK
After playing every game this season on the road, UAlbany will open a seven-game home stand this weekend, welcoming Maine for a three-game America East Conference series March 30-31. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon.
