ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team is set begin conference play this weekend, hosting UMBC in their first home series of the season. First pitch of game one is scheduled for Friday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. from Varsity Field.
Fans should note the change to the original weekend schedule. Friday will now consist of a doubleheader, the first game being seven innings and the second being nine. The final game of the series is tentatively scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. Both teams will re-evaluate the weather following Friday's action to check the possibility of moving to Saturday.
Series Info
Friday, March 24
12:00 p.m. ET
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Friday, March 22
3:00 p.m. ET (Approx.)
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Sunday, March 26
12:00 p.m. ET
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Projected Starting Pitchers for UAlbany
Game 1: Cregg Scherrer – R-Jr. | LHP | 6-0 | 175 | 6.41 ERA
Game 2: Connor Eisenmann – Jr. | RHP | 6-0 | 155 | 7.23 ERA
Game 3: TBD
Projected Starting Pitchers for UMBC
Game 1: Luke Johnson – Jr. | RHP | 6-1 | 195 | 2.16 ERA
Game 2: Nick Remy – Soph.| RHP | 6-4 | 190 | 6.75 ERA
Game 3: Jayden Shertel – Soph.| LHP | 5-10 | 190 | 6.27 ERA
Leading the Pack
· Junior Outfielder Dan Tauken continues to rake for the Great Danes. He is batting .357 and has totaled a team-high 15 hits with four doubles and four home runs. He has 15 RBIs and has scored 11 runs.
· Will Binder is tied for the team lead in hits (15) and runs (11), while also posting a batting average of .278.
· Chris Fisher ranks second on the team in batting average posting a .324 average and drawing 11 walks.
· Captain Will Feil continues to lead the team in base on balls, drawing 13. He also ranks second in hits (13) and RBIs (12).
· Cregg Scherrer and Connor Eisenmann are slotted in as UAlbany's 1-2 punch at starting pitcher. Scherrer has a 6.41 ERA over 19.2 innings pitched and leads the team with 19 punch-outs. Eisenmann rocks a 7.23 ERA over 18.2 innings pitched.
· True freshman Dylan Banner has started games for UAlbany and has proven to be dangerous out of the bullpen. Banner has a 5.28 ERA over 15.1 innings, amassing 16 strikeouts. Banner also received America East Rookie of the Week honors.
· Junior Rob Manetta has a 3.38 ERA in 5.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen.
· Freshman Ryan Pittz has not allowed a run in 5.0 innings, allowing just three hits.
· As a team, the Great Danes sit with a .231 batting average, .692 OPS, and a .334 slugging percentage. The pitching staff sits with a combined 7.94 ERA with opponents' batting .337.
Last Time Out
UAlbany went 1-2 over the weekend against Big Ten foe Maryland. The Great Danes picked up a 6-3 win on Saturday thanks to strong pitching performances from Connor Eisenmann and Dylan Banner, as well as big days at the plate from Dan Tauken and Will Binder.
· Binder went 3-10 for a .300 average on the weekend, one of those hits being his first long ball of the season.
· Tauken hit his fourth homer of the year this past weekend, also tallying three RBIs.
· Tyler Pugliese also hit a home run over the weekend, the first of his collegiate career.
· Connor Eisenmann threw six strong innings for UAlbany, picking up the win while allowing only one earned run on seven hits with four strikeouts.
· Dylan Banner came out of the bullpen and shut the door - pitching three innings, not allowing any runs on three hits with three strikeouts to earn the win.
Scouting UMBC
The Retrievers come into the weekend series with an overall record of 6-9. The team is 4-6 in their last ten games and are currently on a four-game losing streak. Last time out, the Retrievers were swept in their conference opener by America East foe Maine.
· UMBC ranked sixth in the 2023 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, earning 14 points.
· Ian Diaz leads the team in batting average and hits, posting a .377 average with 20 hits in 53 at-bats. He also leads the team with a 1.165 OPS and 22 runs scored. The graduate student was named to the 2022 America East Baseball Second Team.
· Molessa Leewood also leads the Retrievers in hits, posting 20 of his own. He also leads with 62 at-bats, six doubles, three home runs, and 20 RBIs.
· Luke Johnson has been UMBC's ace this season. He's gone 2-0 in four starts with a 2.16 ERA over 25.0 innings pitched, striking out 30 batters. He also earned 2022 America East Baseball First Team honors for his efforts last season.
· The team is batting .276 with a .801 OPS, a .414 sugging percentage, and a .387 on-base percentage.
· The pitching staff as a whole sits with a 7.62 ERA with opponents batting .297.
2022 America East Preseason Poll
The UAlbany baseball team was picked to finish seventh in the 2023 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, earning nine points. The Binghamton Bearcats, the league's defending champions, were picked to finish in first place with 31 points, collecting four first place votes. UMass Lowell followed closely behind with 28 points and two first place votes. Bryant (25) placed third, Maine (21) fourth, and NJIT (19) fifth. UMBC (14) and UAlbany rounded out the poll.
2023 Captains
Will Feil?and Jason Bottari will serve as the Captains of the Great Danes during the 2023 season. Feil, a redshirt senior, enters his fifth year with the program – having joined before the 2019 campaign. He has been a mainstay for the Great Danes, playing in 35+ games the last two years. Bottari, also a redshirt senior, enters his fifth season as well. He currently holds the UAlbany single season stolen base record (44) and has more stolen bases than any other Great Dane in program history.
Social Central
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