ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team is set to play its first home series of the year, taking on the NJIT Highlanders this weekend. First pitch at Varsity Field is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
Series Info
Friday, March 25 (Doubleheader)
Game 1 – 12:00 p.m. ET
Game 2 – 3:00 p.m. ET
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Live Stats
Saturday, March 26
1:00 p.m. ET
Live Stats
Projected Starting Pitchers for UAlbany
Game 1:
Ray Weber – R-Sr. | RHP | 6-1 | 180
Game 2:
Anthony Germinerio – R-So. | RHP | 6-4 | 240
Game 3:
Connor Eisenmann – So. | RHP | 6-0 | 155
Leading the Pack
- The Great Danes currently lead the America East with a batting average of .298. In 17 games, the team has accumulated a total of 185 hits, 140 runs, 23 home runs and 126 RBIs.
- On the mound, UAlbany pitchers sit at a 5.21 ERA, with opponents allowing 6.84 earned runs on average. The Great Danes have struck out 127 while also allowing 143 hits and holding a 1.56 WHIP.
- Redshirt senior Brad Malm leads the team and the America East in home runs, RBIs, hits, runs scored as well as slugging percentage. The shortstop's 11 home runs on the season is tied second place in the country. Additionally, he has collected 25 RBIs and 31 total hits, scored 27 runs so far and holds a slugging percentage of .960, the fourth-best in the NCAA. Malm also ranks first on the team with a .413 batting average and .489 on-base percentage.
- Jason Bottari leads the team and the conference and is fourth in the country in stolen bases with 17. He also ranks second for UAlbany in RBIs (17) and runs scored (19).
- Chris Fisher bats .370 on average, placing second for the Great Danes.
- Will Binder and Will Feil have each picked up 16 RBIs so far, the third most for UAlbany.
- Johnny Marti leads the Great Danes and the America East with nine doubles.
- Redshirt-sophomore pitcher Anthony Germinerio has a 2.83 ERA after 28.2 innings of work. He struck has out a team-high 25 batters and collected the most wins (3-0) in the America East so far.
- Nicholas Jessen leads UAlbany with a 2.79 ERA in 9.2 innings pitched.
Last Time Out
UAlbany won its first conference series last weekend, taking two of three games against UMBC. The Great Danes defeated the Retrievers 2-1 in game one on Friday.
Ray Weber and
Cregg Scherrer combined for a strong pitching performance, allowing just one run and six hits.
Will Feil picked up the lone RBI for the Great Danes in the sixth inning, scoring
Carson Dunkel off a sac fly.
Brad Malm scored the second run for UAlbany on an error in the eighth.
The Retrievers got off to a better start on Saturday, holding a 6-3 advantage at the end of the seventh inning. But UAlbany fought its way back into the game, scoring seven runs in the top of the eighth.
Will Binder led the Great Danes in game two with 4 RBIs off of a pair of two-run singles.
Brad Malm hit his 11
th home run of the year in the ninth inning, securing the 11-9 win.
UAlbany dropped the series finale with UMBC on Sunday 9-10. Despite getting on the board first in the opening inning on an RBI single by Binder and taking a 6-4 lead in the top of the fifth, the Great Danes were not able to complete the series sweep. UMBC hit a three-run double and an RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth, getting four runs back and later added two more in the seventh off a sac fly. UAlbany's three runs in the eights, including a home run by
Michael Whalen and two RBI singles by
Jason Bottari and Binder, were not enough to tie the game.
Scouting NJIT
NJIT enters the weekend with an overall record of 7-9. The Highlanders took their first conference series 2-1, winning game one 15-1 and game two 5-0 against Hartford and falling to the Hawks 5-7 in the final game. Last Tuesday, NJIT beat Big East team Seton Hall 8-3 in a midweek matchup. The Highlanders gave up three runs in the fourth inning but came back with three runs each in the fifth and the seventh to defeat the Pirates. Graduate catcher Paul Franzoni led NJIT with five RBIs, including a three-run home run in the seventh. Overall, the Highlanders hold a batting average of .251, with opponents batting .275 on average. In conference games only, the team ranks second in the America East with a .324 batting average. NJIT pitchers sit at a 5.44 overall ERA while ranking first with a 2.67 conference ERA.
The Highlanders are led by Paul Franzoni and graduate twins David and Julio Marcano. Franzoni has collected 14 RBIs in 16 games, the most for the team. David and Julio Marcano rank second in RBIs, both having driven in 12 runs so far. Additionally, the Marcano twins lead the Highlanders in runs and total bases. Julio crossed home 19 times while collecting 29 total bases. Brother David scored 17 times with 36 total bases. Junior outfielder Kevin Putsky ranks first for NJIT with a .429 batting average, a .643 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage. Junior pitcher Ryan Fischer leads the America East with 37 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched. Senior Grant Vurpillat pitched 20.0 innings so far, holding a 2.70 ERA and striking out 22.
Around the America East
The America East is split up into two divisions. UAlbany competes in Division A along with Hartford, Maine and UMass Lowell. Binghamton, NJIT, Stony Brook and UMBC are assigned to Division B. After the first weekend of conference play, Maine and Stony Brook lead their respective Divisions, having won all three of their games this past weekend. UAlbany is in second place in Division A after winning two of three games against UMBC. Hartford sits in third place with an America East record of 1-2, while UMass Lowell went 0-3 and sits in fourth place in Division A. Behind Stony Brook, NJIT (2-1) holds second place in Division B, ahead of UMBC (1-2) and Binghamton (0-3).
Overall, UAlbany holds the best batting average (.298) and ERA (5.21) of all America East teams. For conference games only, the Great Danes ranks fourth with a .296 batting average and fifth with a 6.58 ERA. Stony Brook leads the conference, having batted .327 on average in the first three games. NJIT ranks first for earned runs on average with 2.67.
By the Numbers – Batting Leaders
- Batting Average
- Slugging Percentage
- On-Base Percentage
- Runs Scored
- Hits
- Runs Batted In
- Home Runs
- Walks
- Stolen Bases
By the Numbers – Pitching Leaders
- Earned Run Average
- Opposing Batting Average
- Wins
- Strikeouts
2022 America East Preseason Poll
The UAlbany baseball team has been picked to finish fourth in the 2022 America East Coaches' Poll. The Great Danes earned 34 points in the annual poll, finishing ahead of Maine (27 points), UMass Lowell (18 points), UMBC (12 points) and Hartford (10 points). Stony Brook, 2021 regular-season champions and tournament finalist, was selected first, receiving 46 points and four first-place votes. Close behind, NJIT earned three first-place votes and a total of 40 points. Binghamton came in third with 37 points and a single first-place vote. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.
2022 Captains
Leading the Great Danes in 2022 will be
Ray Weber,
Brad Malm,
Will Feil,
Johnny Marti, and
John Daly. When asked about these selections, Head Coach
Jon Mueller stated "These guys all exemplify what we're looking for in captains. They are tremendous in the classroom, they've shown great leadership qualities, and they've had an immediate and profound impact on our younger guys."
Social Central
Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany baseball by following the team on
Twitter and
Instagram and by using the hashtag
#BeGreat.
