Score: UAlbany 9, Wagner 5
Location: Varsity Field in Albany, New York
Records: UAlbany (6-27-1, 1-14 America East) | Wagner (22-20, 14-7)
Short Story: The Great Danes jumped to an early 7-2 advantage in the first two innings on their way to a 9-5 victory over Wagner, Sunday afternoon.
Head Coach Jon Mueller: "It was a great weekend for the guys. Owen [Birkman] gave us a quality start. We extended the lead, and we were able to kind of distance ourselves from [Wagner] throughout the course of the game. Really happy for the guys and this weekend … looking forward to Binghamton next weekend."
Key Stats:
- UAlbany Pitchers:
- Will Feil led the offense with three runs, three RBIs, and three hits, including one home run and one double.
- Will Binder and Jason Bottari finished with three hits each. Binder added a run from a homer and Bottari compiled three runs and three stolen bases.
- Devan Kruzinski added three RBI in four at-bats.
- Carson Dunkel and Kruzinski each tallied a double as their one hit.
- UAlbany finished with 13 hits, five walks, five strikeouts, and left 10 runners on base.
How it Happened:
- Owen Birkman started on the mound for the Great Danes, and Zach Gorman started for the Seahawks.
- Wagner struck first in the opening inning with two runs from Chris Conniff and David Melfi.
- Will Binder put the Great Danes on the board with a leadoff home run off the first pitch from Gorman.
- Jason Bottari put a man on base with a single to right field just before Will Feil slammed a home run over right-center field to give the Great Danes a 3-2 lead.
- Devan Kruzinski grabbed the fourth hit of the inning with a ball deep into right field for a double and an RBI.
- Julian Taudin-Chabot took the mound for the Seahawks before the close of the first inning.
- UAlbany extended its lead to 7-2 by the end of the second inning.
- After walking, Owen Silliman made his way around the bases with a couple of deep fly balls before scoring a run from a sacrifice fly hit by Chris Fisher.
- Three hits in a row – a single from Bottari, an RBI double from Feil, and an RBI single from Dan Tauken – added two Great Dane runs.
- The UAlbany defense notched three-straight outs, including Birkman's second strikeout, in the third inning.
- Wagner put a new pitcher on the mound - Ruben Del Castillo – to start the third.
- With the bases loaded, Kruzinski hit a sac fly as the Great Danes took an 8-2 advantage in the fourth inning.
- In a scoreless fifth inning, both teams left one runner on base.
- Kruzinski earned his third RBI as he drove in Carson Dunkel with a groundout to second base in the bottom of the sixth inning.
- Dylan Banner took the mound ahead of the seventh inning.
- Griffin Selby hit an RBI single for the Seahawks in the top of the seventh.
- John Lapointe came in to pitch, and finish, the game for the Seahawks in the seventh inning.
- In a scoreless eighth inning, the Great Dane defense tallied three-straight outs.
- Ryan Pittz took the mound ahead of the ninth inning to close out the game for UAlbany.
- Wagner closed the lead with two runs before the Great Danes earned a 9-5 win with the final out.
Next: UAlbany continues at Varsity Field on Tuesday with a 3:00 p.m. matchup with Marist. Keep up with all of the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany baseball by following the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and by using the hashtag #UAUKNOW.
