Baseball Opens Four-Game Home Stand With Manhattan Wednesday
ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team welcomes the Manhattan College Jaspers Wednesday to Varsity Field for a mid-week non-conference contest beginning at 3:00 p.m.
GAME 30
UAlbany (7-22, 4-11 AE) vs. Manhattan (8-27, 4-11 MAAC) – Varsity Field – Albany, N.Y.
Wednesday, April 23 (3 p.m.)
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO: AmericaEast.TV
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
2014 Record: 7-22, 4-11 America East
Head Coach: Jon Mueller (15th season / 307-430-5)
THE COACH: Jon Mueller is in his 15th season as the head coach of the University at Albany baseball program in 2014. The Stillwater, N.Y. native has had proven success as both a player and coach throughout his career. Mueller ranks first among UAlbany’s career leaders with 307 coaching victories, and was named the America East Coach of the Year in 2004. He also led the Danes to the program’s first America East Conference tournament championship title and NCAA appearance in 2007. Mueller has produced dozens of all-conference standouts and has had six players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft under his direction, including two in the past three seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: UAlbany looks to snap a six-game skid Wednesday after suffering back-to-back America East series sweeps. Most recently, the Great Danes come off three losses at Hartford, falling 3-2, 3-0, and 12-9. The Hawks used a suicide squeeze in the bottom of the ninth to score the walk-off winning run in game one. In the nightcap, senior Kevin Archbold tossed a complete-game gem on the mound with eight strikeouts, but counterpart Brian Hunter was also effective and left Archbold without any run support. In game three, both teams knocked 14 hits, but Hartford made the most of theirs to carry out the sweep.
UALBANY LEADERS: Batting .242 as a team, redshirt senior Brian Bullard leads the Danes with a .324 average, along with 12 RBIs and 16 runs. Senior D.J. Hoagboon is also hitting above .300 with a .301 average and a team-best .419 slugging percentage. Sophomore Evan Harasta (.284, 16 RBI) follows, while junior Craig Lepre is batting .268 with a squad-high 20 RBIs. Defensively, the Great Danes have a .939 fielding percentage, while the pitching staff owns a collective 6.57 ERA.
SCOUTING THE JASPERS
2014 Record: 8-27, 4-11 MAAC
Head Coach: Jim Duffy (3rd season / 65-81)
THE COACH: The 2014 season marks Jim Duffy’s third season at the helm of the Jaspers. In his first season, Manhattan captured the 2012 MAAC championship in dramatic fashion and reached its third NCAA Regional appearance in the previous six seasons. The Jaspers made conference history in their title run by rallying through the elimination bracket of the MAAC Tournament. Duffy’s club became the first team to win four games in three days to earn the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Manhattan was sent to the Columbia Regional to face two-time defending National Champion South Carolina. In 2013, Duffy guided the Jaspers through an injury-plagued season, in which Manhattan went 24-28.
LAST TIME OUT: Manhattan comes off a 13-0 loss to NYIT Tuesday evening, as well as an 0-3 weekend at MAAC-rival Marist. The Jaspers fell by scores of 6-0, 11-6, and 8-7. Jose Carrera and Chris Kalousdian led Manhattan in the series, as Carerra went 3-for-8 in Saturday’s doubleheader and stole three bags. Meanwhile, Kalousdian went 5-for-11, hitting safely in each game.
MANHATTAN LEADERS: The Jaspers enter Wednesday’s clash batting .229 as a team. Christian Santisteban leads the squad with a .303 average and 15 RBIs, followed by Kalousdian, hitting .290 with 12 runs batted in. Defensively, the squad has a .963 fielding percentage and a 4.91 team ERA.
UP NEXT
The Great Danes return to conference play this weekend, bringing Stony Brook to Varsity Field for a three-game series. Saturday’s doubleheader is set for noon.
