ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team is set to play UMass Lowell for its second straight America East series on the road this weekend. First pitch at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass., is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday. The Great Danes and River Hawks are currently tied for second place in Division A.

Series Info
Friday, April 29
6:00 p.m. ET
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Saturday, April 30
1:00 p.m. ET
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Sunday, May 1
12:00 p.m. ET
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Projected Starting Pitchers for UAlbany
Game 1: Ray Weber – R-Sr. | RHP | 6-1 | 180
Game 2: Cregg Scherrer – R-So. | LHP | 6-0 | 175
Game 3: Connor Eisenmann – So. | RHP | 6-0 | 155

Leading the Pack

• The Great Danes lead the America East with an overall batting average of .298, with opponents batting .278 on average. In conference-only games, UAlbany places second in the America East with a .296 batting average.
• On the mound, UAlbany pitchers sit at a 6.78 ERA, ranking seventh overall in the conference.
• Brad Malm leads the team and the America East with 14 home runs and a .704 slugging percentage. The shortstop ranks second in the conference with 44 scored runs, third with 39 RBIs and fourth with 51 hits.
• Will Binder is batting .359, ranking first for the Great Danes and third in the America East. In conference-only games, the third baseman holds a .408 batting average. He has accumulated the second-most RBIs (37) and hits (47) 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 third with 46 hits.
• Will Feil has scored the second-most runs (31) and hit the second-most home runs (6) for the Great Danes. He leads the team with 29 walks, placing second in the America East.
• Jason Bottari's 33 stolen bases are good for second place in the America East and third in the NCAA.
• On the mound, Connor Eisenmann has allowed 4.30 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
In a high scoring game, the Great Danes defeated MAAC opponent Manhattan, 21-21, on Wednesday evening. The Jaspers opened the scoring in the first inning off a two-run home run but Will Feil responded immediately with another two-run shot, in the bottom of the same inning. The Great Danes took their first lead in the second after scoring eleven runs, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Will Binder and a three-run triple by Chris Fisher. However, Manhattan got nine runs back in the following inning, making it a two-run game, and plated seven more in the top of the fourth to take an 18-13 lead. UAlbany answered with a one-run single by Binder and an RBI groundout by Malm, cutting Manhattan's lead to three runs. The Jaspers recorded their final two runs in the top of the fifth as they scored on a wild pitch and an RBI double. Starting in the sixth, UAlbany's defense stabilized and set the stage for its offense to start a comeback. Fisher's RBI single and Malm's two-run double made it a two-run game in the bottom of the sixth and Matt Soloman's first career home run evened the score at 20 in the seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, John Daly hit a solo home run to center field to win the game for the Great Danes.
 

Scouting UMass Lowell
The River Hawks enter this weekend with an overall record of 17-23 and a conference record of 7-11 which ties them for second place with UAlbany in the America East Division A. UMass Lowell won three of their six conference series, taking series victories over Binghamton, UMBC and Hartford, while dropping their weekends against Stony Brook, NJIT, and most recently Maine. The River Hawks picked up two midweek wins, defeating Harvard on Tuesday 12-4 and Boston College on Wednesday 10-0. Overall, UML is batting .288 on average, placing second in the conference. In conference-only games, the team is batting an average of .284, sitting in fourth place. On the mound, River Hawk pitchers hold a 6.11 ERA overall and a 5.46 ERA for conference-only games.
 
Senior Gerry Siracusa leads UMass Lowell offensively with 47 runs driven in, the second-most in the America East. He is batting .343 on average, ranking second on the team and sixth in the conference. He has picked up 57 hits and 38 scored runs this season. Three-time Rookie of the Week Jacob Humphrey has crossed home plate 42 times this season, placing third in the conference. He is batting a team-high .344 on average and leads the America East with 35 stolen bases.
 
Defensively, Junior Brian Gaughan has allowed 3.78 runs on average, the least for the River Hawks, in 16.2 innings of work. Senior Joshua Becker has pitched 61.2 innings, the most in the America East. In conference-only games, he holds a 3.56 ERA in 43.0 innings while striking out 46 opposing batters, the most in the conference.

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 - .359
  • Johnny Marti - .338
  • Brad Malm - .336
• Slugging Percentage
  • Brad Malm - .704
  • Johnny Marti - .522
  • John Daly - .484
• On-Base Percentage
  • Michael Whalen - .431
  • Carson Dunkel - .420
  • Johnny Marti - .416
• Runs Scored
  • Brad Malm - 44
  • Will Feil - 31
  • Jason Bottari - 30
• Hits
  • Brad Malm - 51
  • Will Binder - 47
  • Johnny Marti - 46
• Runs Batted In
  • Brad Malm - 39
  • Will Binder - 37
  • Johnny Marti / Will Feil - 27
• Home Runs
  • Brad Malm - 14
  • Will Feil - 6
  • Carson Dunkel / Johnny Marti / John Daly - 3
• Walks
  • Will Feil - 29
  • Carson Dunkel - 25
  • Jason Bottari - 20
• Stolen Bases
  • Jason Bottari - 33
  • John Daly - 8
  • Josh Loeffler - 5

By the Numbers – Pitching Leaders

• Earned Run Average
  • Connor Eisenmann - 4.30
  • Cregg Scherrer - 4.85
  • Marshall Winn - 4.97
• Opposing Batting Average
  • Chase Carroll – .087
  • Marshall Winn - .163
  • Connor Eisenmann - .207
• Wins
  • Connor Eisenmann - 4
  • Ray Weber / Anthony Germinerio – 3
  • Cregg Scherrer / Rob Manetta / Nicholas Jessen - 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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