ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team will face off against Purdue in a four-game series. The first pitch will be at 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
 
Series Info
Game 1- Saturday, March 9
Alexander Field – West Lafayette, Ind.
1:00 pm E.T.
Live Stats | B1G+ | Listen
 
Game 2- Saturday, March 9
Alexander Field – West Lafayette, Ind.
4:30 pm E.T.
Live Stats | B1G+ | Listen
 
Game 3- Sunday, March 10
Alexander Field – West Lafayette, Ind.
12:00 pm E.T.
Live Stats | B1G+ | Listen

Game 4- Sunday, March 10
Alexander Field – West Lafayette, Ind.
3:30 pm E.T.
Live Stats | B1G+ | Listen
 
Probable Starters – UAlbany
Game 1: Matthew Mariano – RHP | R-So. | 6-0 | 205 | 72.00 ERA
Game 2: Owen Birkman – RHP | Sr. | 6-0 | 210 | 3.60 ERA
Game 3: TBD
Game 4: Kyle Locklear – RHP | R-Sr. | 5-10 | 200 | 17.36 ERA
 
Probable Starters – Purdue
Game 1: Jordan Morales - LHP | Grad. | 5-9 | 170 | 2.45 ERA
Game 2: Luke Wagner - LHP | Sr. | 6-0 | 190 | 3.86 ERA
Game 3: Kyle Iwinski - RHP | Sr. | 6-2 | 220 | 6.75 ERA
Game 4: TBD
 
Leading the Pack

• Jared Toby enjoyed a good weekend with the bat, slugging two home runs and tallying three RBIs. Toby leads the team with a .625 slugging percentage and four extra-base hits.
• John Vitucci holds a team-high .417 batting average and .500 OB%. He has played in five games, recording four runs and a team-best two steals.
• In addition to patrolling center field, Luke Filippi has started the season with a .300 batting average.
• Owen Birkman has been dominant on the mound for the Great Danes, recording a 3.60 ERA. Steven Turk has been effective out of the pen, only allowing three hits over 4.1 innings pitched.
• The pitching staff has amassed a 12.33 ERA over 46 innings, with opponents batting .342.

 
Last Time Out

• UAlbany started the season going 0-6 in non-conference play.
• Opening their season against #9 Tennessee (2.23-25), the Great Danes narrowly fell 5-8 in game one before being defeated 6-21 and 0-12.
• Traveling to George Washington (3.1-3), UAlbany lost the first two games with the Revolutionaries completing the sweep, winning 3-5 in game three.
• Jared Toby leads the team with seven hits and four extra-base hits, including two doubles and two home runs.
• Three players have tallied four RBIs- Jared Toby, Ryan Ferremi, and Will Binder.
• Owen Birkman leads the pitching with a 3.60 ERA and six strikeouts in 10 innings.

 
Scouting Purdue
The Boilermakers have started their season going 8-4 after finishing last season with a 24-29 record.

• Starting their season against Stony Brook (2.16-18), Purdue claimed the series winning three out of the four games.
• The Boilermakers picked up three wins in a four-game series against George Mason (2.23-25).
• At the Keith LeClair Classic, Purdue opened with a loss to hosts #11 East Carolina (3.1) but bounced back to defeat Southeastern Louisiana (3.2) and Cal State Fullerton (3.3).
• Most recently, the Boilermakers fell to Notre Dame (3.5), 11-2.
• Luke Gaffney leads the team with a .422 batting average.
• Logan Sutter has been a force at the plate, batting .409 with a team-best three home runs and nine doubles.
• The Purdue rotation is led by Jordan Morales and Luke Wagner who have a 2.45 and 3.86 ERA, respectively.

 
Leading the League
The Great Danes have leaders in seven of the hitting categories, eight of the pitching categories, and two of the fielding categories.

• John Vitucci
  • 1st – .417 batting average
  • 4th – .500 on-base percentage
  • T6th – 2 stolen bases
  • 10th – .917 OPS
• Owen Birkman
  • T2nd – 4 walks allowed
  • T4th – 4 earned runs allowed
  • 6th – 3.60 ERA
  • T7th – 12 hits allowed
  • 11th – .293 opponent batting average
• Jared Toby
  • T6th – .625 slugging percentage
  • 9th – .945 OPS
  • T9th – 2 home runs  
  • 14th – .292 batting average
• Connor Eisenmann
  • T7th – 6 walks allowed 
  • T10th – 14 hits allowed
  • 14th – 13 earned runs allowed
• Luke Filippi
  • 13th – .300 batting average
• Levi McAllister
  • T2nd – 3 runners caught stealing
• Ryan Ferremi
  • 9th – 40 putouts

 
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 Bearcats were 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
Binghamton and UMass Lowell have both tallied a conference-high three wins with Binghamton holding the advantage having lost two fewer contests. NJIT and Bryant trail with two wins, and the Bulldogs hold a slight advantage with one less loss. UMBC and Maine trail with a 1-7 and 1-8 record, respectively. UAlbany are still looking for their first win of the season.
 
America East Contests This Week

• Friday
  • Binghamton at VMI, 3:00 pm
  • Iona at Bryant, 3:00 pm
  • UAlbany at Purdue, 4:00 pm
  • UMBC at Lamar, 7:00 pm
  • Maine at Bethune-Cookman, 7:00 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Oral Roberts, 7:00 pm
  • NJIT at CSU Bakersfield, 9:00 pm
• Saturday
  • UAlbany at Purdue, 1:00 pm
  • Iona at Bryant, 1:00 pm
  • Binghamton at VMI, 2:00 pm
  • UAlbany at Purdue, 3:00 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Oral Roberts, 3:00 pm
  • NJIT at Cal Bakersfield, 5:00 pm
  • UMBC at Lamar, 6:00 pm
  • Maine at Bethune-Cookman, 6:00 pm
  • NJIT at Cal Bakersfield, 8:00 pm
• Sunday
  • UAlbany at Purdue, 1:00 pm
  • Maine at Bethune-Cookman, 1:00 pm
  • Binghamton at VMI, 1:00 pm
  • Iona at Bryant, 1:00 pm
  • UMBC at Lamar, 2:00 pm
  • UMass Lowell at Oral Roberts, 2:00 pm
  • NJIT at Cal Bakersfield, 4:00 pm
• Monday
  • Maine at Bethune-Cookman, TBA

 
Up Next: The Great Danes will travel to take on Army on Wednesday for their first midweek matchup of the season.
 
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).