Baseball To Battle Blue Devils Tuesday
ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team will play its first of nine consecutive road games Tuesday at Central Connecticut State, starting at 3:00 p.m. at CCSU Baseball Field.
GAME 34
UAlbany (7-26, 4-14 AE) at CCSU (18-15, 9-7 NEC) – CCSU Baseball Field – New Britain, Conn.
Tuesday, April 29 (3 p.m.)
LIVE STATS
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
2014 Record: 7-26, 4-14 America East
Head Coach: Jon Mueller (15th season / 307-434-5)
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 10-game skid Tuesday, coming off a three-game series sweep at the hands of America East rival Stony Brook. The Seawolves won by scores of 6-3, 12-7, and 13-2.
UALBANY LEADERS: Batting .241 as a team, redshirt senior Brian Bullard has continued to elevate his average to a team-best .330, along with 13 RBIs and 20 runs. Sophomore Evan Harasta follows with a .306 average with 21 RBIs, while senior D.J. Hoagboon is hitting .286. Defensively, the Great Danes have a .942 fielding percentage, while the pitching staff owns a collective 6.96 ERA.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
2014 Record: 18-15, 9-7 NEC
Head Coach: Charlie Hickey (15th season / 521-401-5)
THE COACH: Head coach Charlie Hickey is in his 15th season at the helm of the Central Connecticut State University baseball program. In his previous 14 seasons, the Blue Devils have won four Northeast Conference titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament is each of those seasons. Their most recent title came in 2010, when the Blue Devils put together the most productive offense season in school history, on their way to a 33-23 record. The 2013 season was a memorable year for Hickey as he posted his 500th career victory as a head coach. The Blue Devils finished the season with a 28-25 overall record and a 16-16 mark in NEC action.
LAST TIME OUT: CCSU comes off a 5-1 week in which the Blue Devils fell to UConn, 9-1, before overcoming non-conference opponent Stony Brook, 4-1. They then went on to sweep NEC-foe Wagner by scores of 8-2, 2-1, 4-0, and 7-0. Senior Nick Neumann and freshman Kevin Connolly were named the Northeast Conference Pitcher and Rookie of the Week for their performances.
CCSU LEADERS: The Blue Devils enter Wednesday with a .257 team batting average led by Josh Ingham (.354, 11 RBI), J.P. Sportman (.336, 17 RBI), and Dominic Severino (.300, 13). Defensively, CCSU has a .975 fielding percentage, while the pitching staff owns a joint 3.62 ERA.
NETHAWAY IN THE RECORD BOOK
Hitting one double on Sunday against Stony Brook, senior Josh Nethaway has now hit 51 doubles in his career and is tied with the program record-holder Michael Oliva (1997-01). In addition, Nethaway ranks in the top-5 for career RBIs, currently with 123. He is just three away from Oliva’s second-place mark (126), while Steve Checksfield (1998-01) holds the record with 168.
NETHAWAY NEARS 200 HITS
Nethaway enters the week with 193 career hits, just seven away from becoming UAlbany’s seventh member of the 200-hits club.
UP NEXT
UAlbany will stay out of conference and on the road, playing a four-game series at NJIT Saturday and Sunday.
