ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team is set to travel to Smithfield, Rhode Island, for a weekend showdown with new America East foe Bryant University. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for Friday at 3:00 p.m. 
  
Series Info 
Friday, April 21 
3:00 p.m. ET  
Live Stats | Watch Live (ESPN+)
  
Saturday, April 22 
11:30 a.m. ET  
Live Stats | Watch Live (AE.TV)
  
Saturday, April 22  
2:30 p.m. ET  
Live Stats | Watch Live (AE.TV)
  
Projected Starting Pitchers for UAlbany 
Game 1: Matthew Mariano – R-Fr. | RHP | 6-0 | 220 | 6.85 ERA
Game 2: TBD
Game 3: TBD
   
Leading the Pack

• Junior Outfielder Dan Tauken is batting a team-high .333 and is also leading the team in RBIs (20, tied), doubles (7), and home runs (4, tied).
• Will Binder remains solid in the middle of the order of the Great Danes. He leads the team in hits (34) and runs scored (20). He is also tied for the team lead in home runs (4) and RBIs (20). 
• Jason Bottari has been an important part of the Great Danes offense all season. He has brought his batting average up to .295 and has tallied 31 hits, which are good for second best on the team. Bottari leads the team in on-base percentage (.426) and just recently collected his 100^th career stolen base.
• Cregg Scherrer has pitched 38.0 innings, leading the team in punch-outs (42) and opponents' batting average (.272). Scherrer ranks fourth in strikeouts looking (11), sixth in strikeouts, ninth in hits allowed (40) and tenth in opponents' batting average in the America East.
• As a team, the Great Danes sit with a .240 batting average, .688 OPS, and a .337 slugging percentage. The pitching staff sits with a combined 8.40 ERA with opponents' batting .342. 

 
Last Time Out 
UAlbany lost a midweek home matchup against Central Connecticut State University on Tuesday, 11-1.

• UAlbany Pitchers:
  • Kyle McCaffrey – 3.0 IP | 3 ER | 3 H
  • Joseph Tobia – 2.0 IP | 0 ER | 2 H | 1 K
  • Rob Manetta – 0.1 IP | 3 ER | 0 H | 3 BB
  • Cam Fuer – 0.2 IP | 2 ER | 1 H | 1 BB | 1 K
  • Michael DiMartino – 2.0 IP | 0 ER | 2 H | 3 K
  • Ryan Pittz – 1.0 IP | 0 ER | 1 H | 1 BB | 1 K
• Will Feil went 1-3 with a walk.
• Dan Tauken had the lone extra-base hit for UAlbany, a double.
• Will Binder finished 1-4 with a run scored.
• Ryan Ferremi collected the lone UAlbany RBI.
• Carson Dunkel was the final Great Dane to finish in the hit column.
• UAlbany finished with four hits, three walks, three strikeouts, and left six runners on base.

 
Scouting Bryant 
The Bulldogs come into the weekend series with an even 16-16 record, going 6-6 in conference play so far. Through 12 America East games, Bryant has picked up wins over NJIT (3), UMBC (2), and Binghamton (1), with losses to UMass Lowell (3), UMBC (1), and Binghamton (1). Most recently, the Bulldogs won an 8-3 matchup with Merrimack at home on Wednesday night.

• The Bulldogs have posted an impressive 6-1 record on their home field, with a 10-15 record playing on the road.
• Seniors Jake Gustin (.346) and Derek Smith (.339) lead the team in batting average. Gustin has a team-high 44 hits, 12 doubles, 25 RBIs, and 19 walks. Smith has posted 42 hits, 10 doubles, 23 RBIs, and a team-high five stolen bases. Both have posted a team-high five home runs.
• As a team, Bryant is batting .250 with a .357 OBP and a .448 SLG%.
• Chase Jeter has posted the most amount of innings pitched (35.0) for Bryant, followed by Ken Turner (34.0), and Brett Wichrowski (31.2). Sophomore right-hander Jackson Vanesko has a team-low 2.13 ERA over 12 innings pitched, followed by junior righty Coleman Picard with a 3.15 over 20.0 innings.
• As a pitching staff, Bryant pitchers have combined for a 6.62 ERA.

 
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.
 
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