ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team is set to host Wagner College for a three-game series over the weekend. A doubleheader is in place for Friday afternoon at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, followed by a single game on Saturday.
 
Friday night will mark the team's annual Vs. Cancer Game. To make a donation to Vs. Cancer, click here.
 
Series Info 
Friday, April 28 
Joseph L. Bruno Stadium
3:30 p.m. ET  
Live Stats | Watch Live 
  
Friday, April 28 
6:00 p.m. ET  
Joseph L. Bruno Stadium
Live Stats | Watch Live 
  
Saturday, April 29 
Varsity Field
12:00 p.m. ET  
Live Stats | Watch Live 
   
  
Leading the Pack 

• Junior Outfielder Dan Tauken is batting a team-high .337 and sits second on the team in RBIs (20), first in doubles (7), and first in home runs (4, tied).
• Will Binder remains solid in the middle of the order of the Great Danes. He leads the team in hits (36) and runs scored (21, tied). He is also tied for the team lead in home runs (4) and leads the team in RBIs (21).
• Jason Bottari has been an important part of the Great Danes offense all season. He has brought his batting average up to .288 and has tallied 34 hits, which is good for second-best on the team. He recently collected his 100th career stolen base and leads the team with 18 on the season.
• Cregg Scherrer has pitched 41.2 innings, leading the team in punch-outs (50).
• As a team, the Great Danes sit with a .239 batting average, .687 OPS, and a .336 slugging percentage. The pitching staff sits with a combined 8.77 ERA with opponents batting .349.

 
Last Time Out 
The Great Danes look to bounce back after being swept by conference foe Bryant last weekend. The team allowed 34 runs and tallied 17 over the weekend. In the final game of the series, UAlbany put up a good effort, tying the game up with a four run seventh inning. However, Bryant would respond with four unanswered runs in the last three innings to secure the sweep (5-7). 

• Jason Bottari led the Great Danes' offense going 3-4 with an RBI and a walk.  
• Chris Fisher had a solid day at the plate, going 2-2 with a walk and two runs scored.   
• Justin Hurd got the seventh-inning rally started with a big solo home run to cut into the Bryant lead.  
• Owen Birkman started on the mound, he threw four strong innings allowing only two earned runs, three hits and punching out four.  

 
Scouting Wagner 
The Seahawks come into the weekend series with an overall record of 21-18 and 14-7 in Northeast Conference play. The Seahawks have gone 5-5 in their last ten games, but come into the series having lost five of their last eight.  Last time out they lost a midweek slugfest to Saint Peter's University (11-16), allowing 16 runs on 18 hits.  

• Chris Conniff leads the team in batting average (.365) hits (54), on-base percentage (.484), triples (2) and walks (29). Conniff ranks first in walks, second in on-base percentage, fourth in hits, doubles (9), run scored (39), and sixth in batting average in the NEC. 
• David Melfi leads the Seahawks in home runs (8), RBIs (42), and runs scored (41). He also ranks second on the team in batting average (.347), slugging percentage (.583), hits (50), and walks (19). In the NEC, Melfi ranks second in runs scored and RBIs, and fourth in home runs.  
• Connor Hayden leads the pitching rotation with a 6-0 record, posting a 4.23 ERA with 41 punch-outs on 40 hits, 23 runs in 44.2 innings pitched. Hayden ranks second in opponents' batting average (.238), third in wins and hits allowed, and fourth in ERA and runs allowed. 
• The team is batting .287 with a .438 slugging percentage, and a .383 on-base percentage. 
• The Seahawks pitching staff sits with a 6.66 ERA with opponents batting .301.  

 
2023 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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