Baseball To Host UMass Lowell For Home-Opener Saturday
ALBANY, N.Y. – Playing the first 19 games of the season on the road, the University at Albany baseball team will finally christen Varsity Field for the 2014 season Saturday when the Great Danes host UMass Lowell in a three-game America East Conference series. The squads are scheduled to play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and a single game Sunday, also at 1 p.m. With impending rain, the times may be pushed. Check back for schedule updates on this page as well as on Twitter (@UAlbanySports).
GAMES 20-22
UAlbany (4-15, 2-4) vs. UMass Lowell (8-8, 2-0) – Varsity Field – Albany, N.Y.
Saturday, April 5 (1 p.m.) DH
Sunday, April 6 (1 p.m.)
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO: AmericaEast.TV
PITCHING PROBABLES
Game 1
UAlbany: Matt Gallup (Jr., RHP) (1-2, 7.08 ERA)
UMass Lowell: Shane Beauchemin (Sr., RHP) (2-1, 4.77 ERA)
Game 2
UAlbany: TBD
UMass Lowell: Mike Calzetta (Sr., RHP) 1-1, 2.42 ERA
Game 3
UAlbany: TBD
UMass Lowell: Christian Lavoie (Jr., RHP) 0-1, 4.66 ERA
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
2014 Record: 4-15, 2-4 America East
Head Coach: Jon Mueller (15th season / 304-423-5)
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 304 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: The Great Danes come off an 8-2 non-conference loss at Fordham, played on Tuesday at Houlihan Park in the Bronx. It was staff day on the mound, as UAlbany used eight arms in the game. The Danes stayed within one run into the fifth, but Fordham (11-13) scored five unanswered runs in the final frames, including a pair of home runs in the eighth to put the game away. Offensively, senior D.J. Hoagboon’s triple (1-for-4), Craig Lepre’s double (1-for-3), and Brian Bullard’s single (1-for-4) represented the Danes’ three hits in the game. Fordham totaled five hits, led by Tim O’Connor’s 2-for-5 day.
IN CONFERENCE PLAY: UAlbany owns a 2-4 mark in America East play, winning a road series at UMBC, 2-1, on March 15-16 before getting swept by Stony Brook, 3-0, March 22-23. In conference play, Evan Harasta (.350, 5 RBI), Craig Lepre (.350, 6 RBI), and Matt Hinchy (.333, 4 RBI) are all batting above the .300 mark, while the team has a .253 average.
UALBANY LEADERS: Batting .213 as a team on the season, UAlbany is led by sophomore Evan Harasta’s .283 average with eight RBI and five runs scored. Junior Craig Lepre follows closely with a .281 average, including six doubles, a team-high 13 RBI, as well as five runs. Starting all 19 games, senior Josh Nethaway is batting .254 with 11 RBI. Defensively, UAlbany has a .928 fielding percentage and the pitching staff owns a collective 6.64 ERA.
SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS
2014 Record: 8-8, 2-0 America East
Head Coach: Ken Harring (10th season / 277-179-1)
THE COACH: Ken Harring is in his 10th season as head coach of the UMass Lowell baseball program and has guided the River Hawks to four Division II NCAA Tournament bids (2005-07, 2011) with a record of 277-179-1. In 2011, the River Hawks went 37-14 and clinched the fourth NCAA Tournament bid of Harring’s tenure. While there, the River Hawks eliminated Dowling in the East Regional. In 2013 — their last season at the Division II level – UMass Lowell finished 30-19 overall and 11-10 in the NE-10 Northeast Division.
LAST TIME OUT: Entering the weekend, the River Hawks will look to snap a six-game losing streak, falling most recently to Central Connecticut State Tuesday by one run, 4-3. The River Hawks rallied to score all three runs in the top of the ninth inning, as Matt Mottola belted a solo home run and two batters later Jacob O’Keefe knocked a two-run dinger. However, the Blue Devils cut the rally short just in time, logging a strikeout to end the game.
IN CONFERENCE PLAY: UMass Lowell owns a 2-0 record in America East play, sweeping March 15th’s doubleheader versus the Binghamton Bearcats. Both games ended with a score of 4-2, before the series finale was rained out. The River Hawks had last weekend’s conference series versus Maine cancelled due to inclement weather.
UMASS LOWELL LEADERS: As a team, the River Hawks are batting .240, led by Danny Mendrick’s .339 average, nine RBI, and nine runs. Matthew Sanchez has also been hitting well for UML with a .306 average and team-high 10 RBI. Defensively, the River Hawks own a .973 fielding percentage, while the pitching staff boasts a collective 4.13 ERA.
UP NEXT
The Great Danes travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Tuesday to face Marist in a non-conference clash. Already meeting this season, the squads split a neutral site doubleheader on March 18th in Yaphank, N.Y.
