Baseball To Compete At Campbell Classic
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ALBANY, N.Y. – With snow still blanketing the Northeast, the University at Albany baseball team will head south to Buies Creek, N.C. this weekend to play three games in the Campbell Classic at Jim Perry Stadium. The Great Danes were originally scheduled to play a three-game series against Central Connecticut State in New Britain, but will now take on Campbell, Towson, and Army in a more temperate climate. UAlbany will face the hosting Camels Friday at 3 p.m., Towson on Saturday at 12 p.m., and Army on Sunday, also at noon.
GAMES 5-7
UAlbany at Campbell Classic – Jim Perry Stadium – Buies Creek, N.C.
Friday, Feb. 28 (3:00 p.m.) vs. Campbell
Saturday, March 1 (12 p.m.) vs. Towson
Sunday, March 2 (12 p.m.) vs. Army
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
2014 Record: 0-4, 0-0 America East
Head Coach: Jon Mueller (15th season / 302-412-5)
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 302 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: Opening the season at Hawaii, UAlbany will look to bounce back from an 0-4 start. The Danes fell by scores of 5-2, 9-0, 9-7, and 12-6. D.J. Hoagboon led UAlbany offensively with a .429 batting average across the four contests. Hoagboon logged a hit in each game, including two 2-for-3 performances, and totaled two runs and one RBI. Redshirt senior Josh Nethaway batted .308 with four hits and an RBI, followed by sophomore Evan Harasta (.250), and Brian Bullard (.235). On the mound, senior southpaw Kevin Archbold had a solid first outing, leaving game one in position for the win, as he tossed six frames, and allowed one unearned run, four hits, and struck out five. Archbold is scheduled to pitch first in the rotation again, facing Campbell. Junior righty Cameron Sorgie will start game two against Towson, and true freshman Stephen Woods will battle Army.
SCOUTING THE CAMELS
2014 Record: 7-2, 0-0 Big South
Head Coach: Greg Goff (7th season)
THE COACH: Coming off a Big South regular season championship and a school record 49 wins in 2013, Greg Goff returns for his seventh season as head baseball coach at Campbell University. The Camels have won 90 games over the last two seasons, posting the school’s first pair of 40-win campaigns, winning the Big South’s North Division title and finishing as the conference’s tournament runner-up in 2013. The team was ranked nationally for the majority of the season, climbing as high as No. 23 nationally. Entering the season, Goff was 336-237 overall in 10 seasons as a collegiate head coach, and carried a 183-153 mark through six years at the helm in Buies Creek, including a 90-28 mark over the last two seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: The Camels come off a 6-3 midweek victory over Missouri, which was played at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. Campbell is off to a strong start in 2014 with a 7-2 record, including wins in four of their last five games. Batting .349 as a team, the Camels are led by Danny Pardo (.515), Kyle Leady (.387), and Elijah Trail (.385). On the mound, Campbell boasts a 2.59 team ERA with 61 strikeouts, led by Heath Bowers’ 18 Ks in 18 innings and Ryan Koopman’s 13 Ks in 12 frames.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
2014 Record: 4-2, 0-0 CAA
Head Coach: Mike Gottlieb (27th season)
THE COACH: Mike Gottlieb’s 26th season as the Tigers’ head baseball coach was a very special one in 2013. He led the Tigers to their first Colonial Athletic Association championship as Towson won four straight games. The Tigers also reached the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional where they posted a first round win over No. 23-ranked Florida Atlantic and finished third in the regional. With 658 career wins, he ranks among the top 50 active coaches. Since becoming the Tigers’ head coach in 1988, he established Towson as a very competitive program in four different conferences.
LAST TIME OUT: Towson enters the weekend with a 4-2 overall record, including a 3-2 win over Cal State Bakersfield in their last outing. The Tigers went 1-2 against the Roadrunners, falling 5-4 and 8-1 in the first two games of the series last weekend. Opening the season at Wake Forest’s tournament, Towson won all three games, topping Wake Forest (5-4), Marshall (8-3), and Georgetown (9-1). Offensively, Towson is batting .271 as a squad, led by outfielder Peter Bowles (.375), shortstop Hunter Bennett (.350), and catcher Zach Fisher (.348). The pitching staff has been key for the Tigers, owning a collective 2.24 ERA. UAlbany is scheduled to duel sophomore righty Joe Patton. In two relief outings this season, Patton has a 3.86 ERA, tossing 2.1 frames.
SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
2014 Record: 4-2, 0-0 Patriot League
Interim Head Coach: Matt Reid (6th season on staff)
THE COACH: After serving as the Black Knights’ top assistant coach in 2010, Reid picked up the title of associate head coach prior to the 2011 season. Reid was named interim head coach on Sept. 24, 2013.
LAST TIME OUT: Army enters the weekend riding a three-game winning streak, as they swept the University of Massachusetts by scores of 14-0, 4-3, and 7-3 last weekend in Cary, N.C. At the plate, the Black Knights are hitting .261 as a team, led by Grant Van Orden (.429), Jon Crucitti (.364, 4 RBI, 6 R), and Daniel Cortes (.333, 5 RBI). On the hill, Army has a joint 4.99 ERA. UAlbany is slated to face right-handed pitcher Gunnar Carroll who has a 6.10 ERA in two starts and 10.1 innings.
ON DECK
Weather permitting, UAlbany will return to the Northeast for a midweek clash at Hofstra March 5th before traveling to play a four-game series at NYIT March 8-9th.
