ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team hosts the University of Massachusetts Amherst for a non-conference matchup this Wednesday. First pitch at Varsity Field is set for 1:00 p.m.

Game Info
Wednesday, March 30
1:00 p.m. ET
Watch | Live Stats
 
Projected Starting Pitcher
Nicholas Jessen – Fr. | LHP | 6-2 | 192

Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes lead the America East with an overall batting average of .296, with opponents batting .263 on average. In conference-only games, the team is batting .289, sitting in fifth place.
• On the mound, UAlbany pitchers sit at a 5.94 ERA, ranking second overall in the conference.
• Brad Malm leads the team and the America East in home runs, RBIs, runs scored as well as slugging percentage. After the first 20 games of the season, the shortstop has recorded 11 home runs, 25 RBIs and 31 scored runs. He holds a slugging percentage of .871. Malm also leads the Great Danes with 33 total hits, a .388 batting average and a .475 on-base percentage.
• Will Feil ranks second on the team in RBIs (20), home runs (5) and scored runs (20).
• Will Binder is batting .375, placing second for UAlbany and third in the America East. In conference-only games, the infielder leads the America East with a .542 batting average.
• Johnny Marti hit 12 doubles in the first 20 games of the season, ranking first on UAlbany and in the conference. He holds the second-best batting average (.522) in the America East for conference-only games.
• Jason Bottari leads the team and the America East in stolen bases with 19.
• Carson Dunkel has recorded 19 walks, the most in the conference.
• On the mound, Cregg Scherrer has allowed 3.60 earned runs on average in 20.0 innings pitched. In conference-only games, the redshirt sophomore has allowed just five hits and holds an ERA of 2.00, placing fourth in the America East.
• Ray Weber ranks sixth in the conference with a 3.00 ERA in America East games.
• Anthony Germinerio leads the Great Danes in strikeouts with 31 after 31.2 innings of work.

Last Time Out
UAlbany lost all three games against the NJIT Highlanders this past weekend in the team's first home series of the year. The Great Danes dropped game one of Friday's doubleheader 1-9. Michael Whalen picked up the lone RBI for UAlbany, driving in Johnny Marti with an RBI double in the fifth inning. The Highlanders scored two runs each in the fourth and the sixth and secured their victory in the final inning when they drove in five more runs.
 
In the second game on Friday, NJIT shot out to an early lead, holding a 7-0 advantage after three innings and adding another run in the fifth inning. The Great Danes got four runs back in the fourth when Marti singled with the bases loaded to score Brad Malm and John Daly. Later in the inning, Will Feil hit a two-run double to score Marti and Will Binder. A pair of RBI singles by Binder and Marti in the fifth were not enough to prevent NJIT's 6-8 win. Pitcher Cregg Scherrer took the mound midway through the fifth inning, allowing just one run for the rest of the game and striking out six. Marti led the Great Danes on Friday, going 5-7 overall, with three RBIs.
 
Despite a better start in game three, the Great Danes fell 10-12 to the Highlanders on Saturday. UAlbany took a 4-0 lead in the opening inning. Feil scored on a wild pitch, Marti drove in Malm with a double, Binder crossed home on an error and Jason Bottari singled to score Marti. Marti added another run when he scored on an error in the second inning, but NJIT got on the board with eight scored runs in the top of the third. The Great Danes were able to respond in the sixth with a two-run shot by Feil and an RBI double by Marti and erased NJIT's advantage in the seventh off an RBI single by Binder and an unearned run by Chris Fisher. However, the Highlanders scored three runs in the following inning, taking back the lead and holding on to it for the rest of the game.

Scouting UMass
The University of Massachusetts Minutemen travel to UAlbany with an 8-7-1 record, having won their last two games of a three-game weekend series with Towson. Despite a 7-9 loss to the Tigers on Friday, UMass took the series after winning 4-3 on Saturday and 5-4 on Sunday. A three-run sixth inning on Saturday and a three-run ninth inning on Sunday secured the victories for the Minutemen. After 16 games played, UMass bats .236 on average, with opponents batting .286. The team's pitchers hold a 5.12 ERA overall.
 
The Minutemen are led by infielder Drew DeMartino who has collected 16 RBIs so far. The graduate student bats .220 on average and has hit a team-high three home runs. Catcher Mike Gervasi and outfielder Kevin Skagerlind have both picked up 10 RBIs, the second most for UMass. Both hold a .262 batting average. On the mound, senior Tyler Dalton gives up 1.93 earned runs on average after 14.0 innings pitched. Senior Kevin Dow leads the Minutemen with 21 strikeouts in 19.1 innings of work. Junior Jack Pawloski has allowed just one run in 7.0 innings pitched and has yet to give up a run.
 
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 two weekends of conference play, Maine leads Division A with a 4-2 record, whereas Stony Brook and NJIT are tied for first in Division B, both holding a 5-1 record. UAlbany's 2-4 record is good for a tie in second place with UMass Lowell. Hartford (1-5) ranks fourth in Division A. In Division B, UMBC (2-4) sits in third and Binghamton (1-5) in fourth place.

Stony Brook leads the America East after the first six conference games with a .319 average. The Seawolves have won all three games against UMass Lowell and two of three games against Maine so far. UAlbany currently ranks fifth with a .289 batting average. NJIT leads the conference defensively, allowing 4.15 earned runs on average. The Great Danes give up 8.29 runs on average, sitting in eighth place.
 
By the Numbers – Batting Leaders 

• Batting Average
  • Brad Malm - .388
  • Will Binder - .375
  • Johnny Marti - .317
• Slugging Percentage
  • Brad Malm - .871
  • Will Feil - .548
  • Johnny Marti - .500
• On-Base Percentage
  • Brad Malm - .475
  • Carson Dunkel - .452
  • Josh Loeffler - .439
• Runs Scored
  • Brad Malm - 31
  • Will Feil - 20
  • Jason Bottari - 19
• Hits
  • Brad Malm - 33
  • Will Binder - 27
  • Will Feil - 26
• Runs Batted In
  • Brad Malm - 25
  • Will Feil - 20
  • Will Binder / Jason Bottari - 18
• Home Runs
  • Brad Malm - 11
  • Will Feil - 5
  • Carson Dunkel / Jason Bottari - 2
• Walks
  • Carson Dunkel - 19
  • Brad Malm / Will Feil / Jason Bottari -12
  • Johnny Marti - 8
• Stolen Bases
  • Jason Bottari - 19
  • Josh Loeffler – 4
  • Carson Dunkel - 3

 
By the Numbers – Pitching Leaders

• Earned Run Average
  • Cregg Scherrer - 3.60
  • Owen Birkman - 4.26
  • Nicholas Jessen - 4.50
• Opposing Batting Average
  • Marshall Winn - .185
  • Cregg Scherrer - .189
  • Connor Eisenmann - .215
• Wins
  • Anthony Germinerio – 3
  • Ray Weber - 2
  • Connor Eisenmann - 2
• Strikeouts
  • Anthony Germinerio - 31
  • Cregg Scherrer - 26
  • Ray Weber - 24

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."
 
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