ALBANY, N.Y.- The University at Albany baseball team will face MAAC foe Manhattan at Iona College for a three-game series this weekend. The series was relocated due to poor field conditions at Manhattan.

Series Info
Saturday, March 7 (Doubleheader Game 1, 12:00 p.m.)
Live Stats
Saturday, March 7 (Doubleheader Game 2, 3:00 p.m.)
Live Stats
Sunday, March 8 (12:00 p.m.)
Live Stats

Records: UAlbany (5-4), Manhattan (2-7) 

Projected Pitching Matchups 
Game 1: LHP Cregg Scherrer (1-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Massa (0-3, 3.00 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Ray Weber (1-1, 4.60 ERA) vs. RHP T.J. Stuart (0-1, 2.37 ERA)
Game 3: RHP Anthony Germinerio (0-2, 6.97 ERA) vs. RHP Jacob Knight (1-0, 3.93 ERA)
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 29th in the NCAA in fielding percentage (.981).
• Sophomore Jason Bottari ranks seventh in the conference in batting average (.367) and second in stolen bases (seven).
• Bottari and Brad Malm are tied for the conference lead in runs with seven.
• Freshman pitcher Cregg Scherrer threw eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits, while recording his first collegiate victory and first weekly award.
• Junior pitcher Ray Weber earned the first weekly award of his career and first win of the season with his complete game, three-hit victory over Norfolk State.
• Dolan Ocasal has a .462 on base percentage with a .323 batting average.
• Kenny McLean is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 7.1 innings of relief.
• Manhattan's Nick Cimillo is the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year and was the unanimous MAAC Preseason Player of the Year selection this season.

Series History

• Manhattan leads the series 11-8-1 and enter on a two-game winning streak against UAlbany.
• The Great Danes are 6-4 in the last 10 matchups.
• UAlbany is 5-6-1 when visiting Manhattan.

Scouting Manhattan
The Jaspers are 2-7 on the season and enter the series losing five-of-six games against four different opponents. They are led by starting pitchers Nick Massa and T.J. Stuart who both possess sub-3.01 ERAs despite their combined 0-4 record. They average one strikeout per inning and have given up 16 runs (11 earned) in 37 innings combined. Infielder Will Trochiano is second in the MAAC with a .406 batting average and leads the team with nine runs scored. Sophomore Nick Cimillo was MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2019 and was selected as Preseason Player of the Year. Manhattan was selected to finish third in the conference and received three first-place votes, one shy of conference favorite Quinnipiac.

Last Time Out
UAlbany swept Norfolk State and outscored the Spartans 25-6 in the series. The Great Danes featured stellar pitching, as Cregg Scherrer, Jamie Silverberg and Ray Weber combined for 18 scoreless innings in a Saturday doubleheader. Scherrer earned the first win of his collegiate career in game one. UAlbany's pitching staff started the series with 22-straight scoreless innings and only gave up runs in two-of-28 innings. Kenny McLean threw four hitless innings to seal his second win of the season. John Daly hit 4-10 in the series with three RBIs, all in game three, including the game-tying RBI in the eighth innings and game-winning RBI in extra innings. Dolan Ocasal finished the series with a .533 on base percentage. Norfolk State committed 13 errors in the series while UAlbany committed two.

Scherrer, Weber Earn America East Weekly Awards
Freshman Cregg Scherrer and junior Ray Weber earned Rookie and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for their performances at Norfolk State, the America East announced Tuesday, March 3.

Left-handed pitcher Scherrer needed just 90 pitches to complete eight scoreless innings, giving up three hits and three walks with three strikeouts. The outing was his first collegiate start as the series opener and led to his first collegiate win.

Right-handed pitcher Weber threw the first complete game of his collegiate career and the first in the America East this season. He went nine innings and allowed three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. The West Islip, New York native earned his first win of the 2020 season and the first America East weekly award of his career.

Thul Earns America East Player of the Week
Senior Alex Thul earned baseball's first weekly honor of the season for his weekend at the plate against Maryland Eastern Shore. Thul was named Player of the Week, the America East announced Tuesday, February 25.

The Martinsville, New Jersey native hit 4-12 (.333) with three RBIs and one run scored in a 2-1 series win over Maryland Eastern Shore. Thul recorded two RBIs in a 6-3 doubleheader game two victory, helping the Great Danes erase an early 3-0 deficit.

Great Danes Tabbed Fourth in Preseason Poll
The University at Albany baseball team is picked to finish fourth in the America East Coaches' Poll.

The Great Danes garnered 22 points in the annual poll, finishing ahead of UMass Lowell (18 points), Maine (13 points) and UMBC (6 points). Binghamton (33 points) was selected first with four first place votes, defending champion Stony Brook (30 points) was picked second with two first place votes and Hartford secured the final first place vote in third with 25 points.
 
Kruszka Earns Collegiate Preseason All-American
Senior pitcher Joe Kruszka was named a Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American, the publication announced on Friday, January 3. The Gowanda, N.Y., native finished the 2019 campaign with a 2.16 ERA, which led the team, and notched a team- and conference-high 10 saves.
 
Two Decades and Counting
Head coach Jon Mueller is set for his 21^st season at the helm of Great Danes' baseball. Mueller enters the 2020 season as the reining America East Coach of the Year, his second at UAlbany (2004). Mueller compiled a 28-21 record last season including a nine-game winning streak to end the regular season. His 28 wins were the most at UAlbany since 2007. 
 
Early Bird Special
The Great Danes February 14 start to the 2020 season is the program's earliest since joining Division I Baseball in 2000. The start is one day earlier than the team's 2013 start date of February 15, marking just the second time in eight seasons that UAlbany is playing on opening weekend. 
 
Next: UAlbany heads to Fairfax, Virginia for a three-game series against George Mason Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 15.