ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to open their 2024 campaign with a three-game series against #9 Tennessee. The series is set to start Friday at 4:30 p.m.
 
Series Info
Game 1- Friday, February 23
4:30 pm E.T.
Live Stats | SECN+
 
Game 2- Saturday, February 24
2:00 pm E.T.
Live Stats | SECN+
 
Game 3- Sunday, February 25
1:00 pm E.T.
Live Stats | SECN+
 
Leading the Pack

• Will Binder returns after two years he received America East Second Team All-Conference selections. In 2023 he recorded a .300 batting average with a .411 SLG%, 26 RBIs, and five home runs.
• Matthew Mariano was named to the America East All-Rookie Team after earning a 2-2 record and a 1.86 WHIP across a team-best 49.1 innings of work.
• Cregg Scherrer led UAlbany in strikeouts for the second-straight season last year with 53. In 44.2 innings pitched, he kept batters in check, only allowing 53 hits, ranking second in the conference.

 
Pairs of Aces
The UAlbany rotation will be headlined by seniors Connor Eisenmann and Owen Birkman who combined for 74.2 innings last season. Eisenmann pitched 35 innings last season and ranked third on the team with a 1.77 WHIP while recording 25 strikeouts and 19 walks. Birkman logged 37.2 innings across 13 appearances as he earned a team-high three wins along with 20 strikeouts and a 1.56 WHIP.
 
Leading the Volunteers pitching staff will be Drew Beam and AJ Russell. Beam was recently named to the Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List and the Preseason All-SEC First Team after leading Tennessee with nine wins last season. Russell was named to the Preseason All-America Second Team by the NCBWA after recording a 0.89 ERA through 30.1 innings in his freshman season. 
 
Last Time Out

• The Great Danes went 9-34-1 in the 2023 season.
• The team closed the season with a three-game home series against NJIT. UAlbany fell in the first two games but rose to the occasion and won the last game of the season to say farewell to their seniors with a shutout victory, 8-0.
• As a team, the Great Danes held a .254 batting average, a .360 OB%, and a .358 SLG%. On the mound, the pitching staff combined for an 8.35 ERA.
• The team garnered one America East First-Team All-Conference selection, two Second-Team All-Conference selections, and an All-Rookie Team selection. 

 
Scouting #9 Tennessee
The Volunteers finished last season with a 44-22 record and an NCAA College Baseball World Series appearance. Starting their season already, Tennessee has a 4-1 record and is ranked ninth in the nation in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 Poll.

• Tennessee owned a 44-22 record last season and went 16-14 in the SEC.
• In the NCAA Regionals, the Volunteers defeated Charlotte and Clemson to advance to the Super Regionals.
• Squaring off against Southern Miss, Tennessee fell in the first game, 3-5, before rallying back to win game two, 8-4, and game three, 5-0, of the series to advance.
• The Volunteers' season ended at the hands of LSU in the College World Series.
• Three Tennessee players were named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List – Drew Beam (RHP), Billy Amick (INF), and Christian Moore (INF).
• Starting their season already, Tennessee recorded wins against #18 Texas Tech (2.16), Baylor (2.18), UNC Ashville (2.20), and ETSU (2.21) with their sole loss coming in extra-innings at the hands of Oklahoma (2.17).
• Moore leads the team with a .474 batting average and .565 OBP%.
• Amick has slugged in three home runs in the opening five games.
• Beam holds a team-best 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings pitched.

 
2024 Captains
Will Binder, Connor Eisenmann, and Cregg Scherrer will serve as the captains for the Great Danes during the 2024 season. Binder enters his third season with UAlbany after starting his collegiate career at LaSalle. Since joining the Great Danes, he has started in 89 games and has a .325 batting average. Eisenmann returns to UAlbany for his fourth season. Through 37 appearances for the Great Danes, he has recorded a 5.93 ERA with 121 strikeouts and a .254 batting average against. Scherrer is a redshirt senior from Skaneateles, N.Y., entering his fifth season with the team. Appearing in 44 games, including 34 starts, Scherrer has struck out 195 batters and owns a 5.73 ERA.
 
Injection of Experience
UAlbany Baseball welcomed six new transfer student-athletes to the team. Luke Myers (Infielder) spent two years playing at UMES. In 76 games, Myers had a .245 batting average with a .976 fielding percentage. Jared Toby (Catcher/Outfielder) comes to the team from Bard College. In four seasons, Toby slugged a career .363 batting average with 66 RBIs and 63 runs. Kyle Locklear (RHP) joins the team from William & Mary. He pitched eight innings through six appearances last season. Jason Goldblum (RHP) played four seasons at Union College before transferring to UAlbany. Through 27.2 innings, Goldblum struck out 31 batters. John Vitucci (Outfielder) from Seton Hall and Levi McAllister (Catcher) from UConn join the team after redshirting their freshman year.
 
2024 America East Preseason Poll

• UAlbany was picked to finish seventh in the 2024 America East Preseason Poll, earning eight points.
• The Binghamton was picked to finish first in the conference with 35 points, including five first-place votes.
• Maine, the defending champions, followed closely behind with 31 points and two first-place votes.
• UMBC (26) placed third, NJIT (19) fourth, and Bryant (18) fifth.
• UMass Lowell (10) and UAlbany rounded out the poll.

 
America East Standings
UMass Lowell owns a conference-best 3-1 record after the first week of play. Bryant trails behind after falling in their sole contest so far. Binghamton, Maine, and NJIT are still looking for their first win after their three-game series. UAlbany and UMBC have yet to start their season.
 
America East Contests This Week

• Friday
  • Bryant at George Washington, 2:30 pm
  • UMass Lowell at William & Mary, 3:00 pm
  • Binghamton at UNC Greensboro, 4:00 pm
  • NJIT at Elon, 4:00 pm
  • UAlbany at Tennessee, 4:30 pm
  • Maine at Stetson, 6:30 pm
  • UMBC at Santa Clara, 9:00 pm
• Saturday
  • Maine at Fordham, 12:00 pm
  • Bryant at George Washington, 1:00 pm
  • Binghamton at UNC Greensboro, 2:00 pm
  • UAlbany at Tennessee, 2:00 pm
  • UMass Lowell at William & Mary, 2:00 pm
  • NJIT at Elon, 4:00 pm
  • UMBC at Santa Clara, 4:00 pm
• Sunday
  • Maine at Army, 9:30 am
  • Binghamton at UNC Greensboro, 12:00 pm
  • Bryant at George Washington, 12:00 pm
  • UMass Lowell at William & Mary, 12:00 pm
  • NJIT at Elon, 1:00 pm
  • UAlbany at Tennessee, 1:00 pm
  • UMBC at Santa Clara, 3:00 pm
• Tuesday
  • UMBC at George Washington, 2:30 pm
• Wednesday
  • Maine at Boston College, TBA

 
Up Next: The Great Danes will travel to take on George Washington for a three-game weekend series beginning on March 1.
 
Keep up with all the latest news, highlights, and insights on UAlbany baseball by following the team on X (@UAlbanybaseball), Instagram (@ualbanybaseball), and Facebook (UAlbany Baseball).