Baseball To Battle Bryant In Four-Game Series
ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany baseball team travels to Smithfield, R.I. this weekend to battle the hosting Bryant University Bulldogs in a four-game series starting Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Conaty Park. The squads will play a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m. and end the series with a single game Sunday, also at 1:00 p.m.
GAMES 16-19
UAlbany (4-11) at Bryant (11-8) – Conaty Park – Smithfield, R.I.
Friday, March 28 (2:30 p.m.)
Saturday, March 29 (1 p.m.) DH
Sunday, March 30 (1 p.m.)
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO: NEC Front Row
PITCHING PROBABLES
Game 1
Bryant: Craig Schlitter (Sr., RHP) (3-1, 3.03 ERA)
UAlbany: Brendan Ryan (So., LHP) (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game 2
Bryant: Kevin McAvoy (Jr., LHP) (2-1, 4.55 ERA)
UAlbany: Matt Gallup (Jr., RHP) (1-1, 5.50 ERA)
Game 3
Bryant: Kyle Wilcox (So., RHP) (0-0, 2.50 ERA)
UAlbany: Andrew Veiga (Fr., LHP) (0-1, 24.75 ERA)
Game 4
Bryant: Jack Patterson (Fr., LHP) (1-0, 5.79 ERA)
UAlbany: TBD
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
2014 Record: 4-11, 2-4 America East
Head Coach: Jon Mueller (15th season / 304-419-5)
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: With Tuesday’s non-conference doubleheader against Cornell cancelled due to weather, the Great Danes come off an 0-3 series at America East Conference foe Stony Brook. In game one, UAlbany ended up on the wrong end of a no-hitter tossed by the Seawolves’ Frankie Vanderka, falling 7-0, and then dropped the final two contests by scores of 6-2 and 7-3.
UALBANY LEADERS: As a team, UAlbany is batting .221 led by sophomore Evan Harasta’s .306 average and team-best .407 on-base percentage. Redshirt senior Josh Nethaway follows with a .294 batting average, 11 RBI, and six runs scored, while Craig Lepre boasts a .279 average and 10 runs batted in. On the mound, the Great Danes own a collective 6.45 ERA with 94 strikeouts led by Kevin Archbold (1-0, 0.90 ERA) and Matt Gallup’s (1-1, 5.50 ERA) 15 K’s each.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
2014 Record: 11-8, 0-0 NEC
Head Coach: Steve Owens (4th season / 119-70-1)
THE COACH: The 2013 ABCA Northeast Region and NEC Coach of the Year, Steve Owens is in his fourth season with Bryant in 2014. In his 23rd year as a head coach, Owens has guided his teams to a 706-369-2 career mark, ranking him 18th among active Division I coaches with a .656 winning percentage. With eight years at DIII Cortland State, 11 at Le Moyne and three at Bryant under his belt, Owens’s teams have never posted a losing record and he has compiled 16 30+ win seasons. In three years at Bryant, Owens has led the Bulldogs to a 119-70-1 record, a pair of NEC Regular Season titles and a Tournament title last year.
LAST TIME OUT: Winning five of their last six games, Bryant comes off a 5-4 midweek win over America East newcomer UMass Lowell. Last weekend, the Bulldogs took 3-of-4 from Delaware, winning by scores of 14-2, 11-0, and 10-9 in 10 innings, before falling in the series finale, 5-4.
BRYANT LEADERS: Batting .295 as a team, Bryant has six players hitting above .300 on the season, including Tom Gavitt (.368, 10 RBI), Buck McCarthy (.361, 12 R), Cole Fabio (.357), Robby Rinn (.338, 12 RBI), John Mullen (.324, 11 RBI, 7 SB), and Dan Cellucci (.317, 11 RBI, 15 R). Defensively, the Bulldogs boast a solid .978 fielding percentage, while the pitching staff owns a 3.79 ERA with 136 strikeouts.
UP NEXT
For the third straight Tuesday, the Great Danes will look to host their first home game of the season. Weather permitting, UAlbany will welcome Fordham to Varsity Field April 1st for a 3:30 p.m. clash.
