ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team returns to Varsity Field for a midweek contest against the Manhattan Jaspers on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Game Info
Wednesday, April 26
3:00 p.m. ET
Watch | Live Stats

Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes lead the America East with an overall batting average of .293, with opponents batting .270 on average. In conference-only games, UAlbany places second with a .296 batting average.
• On the mound, UAlbany pitchers sit at a 6.49 ERA, also ranking seventh overall in the conference.
• Brad Malm leads the team and the America East with 14 home runs and a .719 slugging percentage. The shortstop ranks second in the conference with 43 scored runs and third with 49 hits and 36 RBIs. 
• Will Binder is batting .346, ranking first for the Great Danes and fifth in the America East. In conference-only games, the third baseman holds a .408 batting average. He has accumulated 31 RBIs, the second most for UAlbany.
• Johnny Marti leads the America East with a batting average of .437 in conference-only games. He has accumulated 16 doubles this season, the most in the conference. Marti ranks second for the Great Danes with an overall slugging percentage of .522 and 46 hits.
• Michael Whalen leads UAlbany with a .343 batting average and places second with a .427 on-base percentage.
• Will Feil has scored the second-most runs (25) and hit the second-most home runs (5) for the Great Danes. He leads the team with 29 walks, placing second in the America East.
• Jason Bottari's 29 stolen bases are good for second place in the America East and fifth in the NCAA. 
• On the mound, Connor Eisenmann has allowed 4.60 earned runs on average in 37.2 innings of work, placing fifth in the America East. He holds a .207 opposing batting average, the second-best in the conference. 
• Anthony Germinerio has collected the most strikeouts (48) for UAlbany, closely followed by Cregg Scherrer with 46. 

Last Time Out
The Great Danes won two of three games this past weekend, taking the series against Hartford. In the series opener on Friday, UAlbany defeated the Hawks 19-8, highlighted by a six-run opening inning in which Johnny Marti hit a two-run single, John Daly an RBI double and Josh Loeffler a three-RBI home run. The Great Danes added three runs in the third as Marti, Will Binder and Michael Whalen recorded an RBI each. Hartford got two runs back in the same inning, but UAlbany drove in a run in the fourth, two in the fifth and the sixth, four in the seventh, and one more in the eighth. Marti finished with a team-high five RBIs on Friday, while both Will Binder and Michael Whalen recorded four.
 
The Hawks were able to win game two on Sunday by a score of 12-7. UAlbany started with an RBI single off the bat of Marti in the top of the opening inning, but Hartford came back immediately with a two-run single in the bottom of the first and a solo home run in the second. Will Feil's sac fly in the third made it a one-run game, but another solo homer by Hartford made it 4-2. Marti drove in Binder in the fourth to cut Hartford's lead to one run once again, but this time the Hawks responded with four runs, another home run, an RBI single and a two-run single. UAlbany's two runs in both the top of the seventh and the eighth were countered by two runs each in the bottom of the same innings by Hartford. 
 
The Great Danes decided Sunday's rubber game in their favor despite a four-run opening inning by Hartford. Carson Dunkel, Binder and Brad Malm drove in three runs for UAlbany in the second, making it a one-run game. The Great Danes allowed just one more run, a solo shot in the fourth. In the fifth, UAlbany loaded up the bases and took a 7-5 lead. Whalen drew an RBI walk, Dunkel doubled for two runs, and Jason Bottari hit a sac fly. Connor Eisenmann had a strong day on the mound, pitching 7.0 innings of relief and allowing just two hits and one run while striking out eight.
 
Scouting Manhattan
The Jaspers come to Albany with an overall record of 17-19 and a conference record of 7-8. The team lost its MAAC series against Rider this past weekend, dropping two of three games on the road. Manhattan was able to win the series finale on Sunday 7-5 despite having to erase a five-run second inning by the Broncs. Overall, the Jaspers are batting .284, with opponents holding a .289 batting average. On the mound, Manhattan pitchers hold a 6.13 ERA.
 
Offensively, graduate infielder David Bermudez leads the way. He ranks second in the MAAS with a.383 batting average, a .631 slugging percentage, 40 scored runs, 57 hits, and 13 doubles. Bermudez has collected 33 RBIs and has hit eight home runs so far. Junior Pete Durocher has driven in the most runs (36) for the Jaspers, holding a .349 batting average and a .532 slugging percentage. Defensively, graduate pitcher Will Hesslink has allowed 3.70 earned runs on average, placing fourth in the MAAC. In 58.1 innings of work, he struck out 54 batters.

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 six weekends of conference play, Maine (15-3) leads Division A after having lost just three games. Following in second place, UAlbany is tied with UMass Lowell, both holding a 7-11 record. Hartford places fourth with a 5-13 record. Stony Brook's 13-5 record gives the Seawolves the lead in Division B. NJIT's 10-8 record is good for second place ahead of Binghamton in third place with a 9-9 record. UMBC ranks fourth in Division B with a 6-12 record.

Maine leads the America East after 18 conference games with a .323 batting average. UAlbany is batting .296 on average, placing second. Defensively, Binghamton leads the way with a 4.78 ERA. The Great Danes give up 7.58 earned runs on average, sitting in eighth place.
 
By the Numbers – Batting Leaders 

• Batting Average
  • Will Binder - .346
  • Michael Whalen - .343
  • Johnny Marti - .338
• Slugging Percentage
  • Brad Malm - .719
  • Johnny Marti - .522
  • Michael Whalen - .480
• On-Base Percentage
  • Michael Whalen - .427
  • Carson Dunkel - .425
  • Johnny Marti - .416
• Runs Scored
  • Brad Malm - 43
  • Will Feil - 29
  • John Daly - 27
• Hits
  • Brad Malm - 49
  • Johnny Marti - 46
  • Will Binder - 44
• Runs Batted In
  • Brad Malm - 36
  • Will Binder - 31
  • Johnny Marti - 27
• Home Runs
  • Brad Malm - 14
  • Will Feil - 5
  • Carson Dunkel / Johnny Marti - 3
• Walks
  • Will Feil - 29
  • Carson Dunkel - 23
  • Jason Bottari - 19
• Stolen Bases
  • Jason Bottari - 29
  • John Daly - 7
  • Josh Loeffler - 5

By the Numbers – Pitching Leaders

• Earned Run Average
  • Connor Eisenmann - 4.30
  • Cregg Scherrer - 4.85
  • Chase Carroll - 5.40
• Opposing Batting Average
  • Chase Carroll – .087
  • Marshall Winn - .154
  • Connor Eisenmann - .207
• Wins
  • Connor Eisenmann - 4
  • Ray Weber / Anthony Germinerio – 3
  • Cregg Scherrer / Rob Manetta - 2
• Strikeouts
  • Anthony Germinerio - 48
  • Cregg Scherrer - 46
  • Ray Weber - 41

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
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