Box Score / Box Score (PDF) / Ian Miller Postgame Interview /  Higgins Game Program Cover

Staten Island, NY - Sophomore #Ian Miller#'s fourth-inning home run broke a scoreless tie while fueling Wagner's 10-1 romp over Quinnipiac. After being held hitless over the first three frames, the Seahawks plated 10 runs on 12 hits over their last five trips to the plate en route to improving to 6-12 and 3-1 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Bobcats fall to 2-11 and 1-3 in the league.

The Green & White saw all nine players hit safely for the first time all season while scoring seven runs with two outs and freshman RHP Dan Watson (Howell, NJ / Howell) dominated on the mound, hurling six innings of one-run ball in picking up his first collegiate victory.

The first three innings took just over 40 minutes to complete and was headlined by QU starting pitcher Nick Fabrizio and Watson as the pair combined to allow just one hit.

In the top of the fourth inning, Miller awakened the offense with his first collegiate home run, crushing the first offering he saw in the frame over the right field wall. Bill Murphy (GS, Cranford, NJ / Roselle Catholic / Rutgers) followed with a single through the left side. Eddie Brown's (Sr., Edison, NJ / St. Joseph's (Metuchen) / Seton Hall) followed with a single through the left side, pushing Murphy to third while executing the hit-and-run to perfection. Murphy would be thrown out trying to score on a safety squeeze on the ensuing play, but that just momentarily quelled the Wagner spurt.

Undaunted, the Seahawks would continue to fight and with two outs, junior Jayson Keel (Starkville, MS / Starkville / Holmes CC) loaded the bases with an infield hit. Freshman Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township) then cleared the bases with scorching triple over the right fielder's head, extending the lead out to 4-0 while plating Brown, senior Hayden Hunter (Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) and Keel.

The Green & White added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth, to make it 6-1 while knocking Fabrizio from the game. Brown drove in the first run with a double down the left field line, scoring Miller, who had previously walked. Senior Tommy Higgins (Port Monmouth, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) capped the scoring with a RBI single to center field, scoring Brown.

Quinnipiac got on the board in the top of the sixth inning on Zak Palmer's RBI single up the middle that scored Kyle Nisson. With runners on and first-and-second, Watson evaded further damage by getting Neil Mammele to ground out for the final out.

Wagner immediately got that run back in the bottom part of the frame, Sophomore Chris Smith (Tampa, FL / Freedom / Ellsworth (IA) CC) led off with a walk. After stealing second, he came around to score on Miller's second hit of the game, a single through the right side.

The Seahawk capped the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, on a Keel RBI single and a Smith two-run double, while providing the final 10-1 tally

Miller led a 12-hit attack, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, two RBI and a walk while Brown and Keel each added two hits with two runs. Watson (1-1) captured his first career victory, striking out two while scattering one run on seven hits and just one walk over 6.0 innings.

Nisson went 2-for-3 with a run, pacing an eight-hit QU offense. Fabrizio (0-2) was saddled with the loss, striking out five while yielding fix runs on eight hits and a walk over 4.2 frames.

Wagner returns to action on Wednesday, March 21 at 3:00 pm with a non-conference tilt at Lafayette.

Notes:
* Murphy extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a fourth-inning single. Additionally, he has reached base safely in all 12 of his starts and is batting a team-best .342 (13-for-38).

* On the strength of his multi-hit performance, Miller has now notched multiple-hits in a team-best five games.

* Dini's three-run triple extended his hitting streak to five and his on-base streak to nine games. Dini just missed a grand slam later in the game when his deep fly was coralled at the warning track.

* Wagner improved to 16-4 against Quinnipiac since the 2008 season and has outscored the Bobcats 112-61 during that time. Additionally, the Seahawks are 11-1, all-time, against QU at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

* Over the last eight years, the Green & White has not lost a conference-opening series, going 23-7 during that time ... The last time Wagner lost its conference-opening weekend was against Quinnipiac in 2004.

* Since moving to Richmond County Bank Ballpark, the Seahawks have opened at home each season going 15-5 in the first weekend of NEC play.

* Watson picked up his first career victory with his brother Matt, who is tied with three others for the most wins (19) in school history, in attendance ... All-time the brothers are now 10-1 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

* Fellow freshmen Evon Previte (Raritan, NJ / Immaculata) and Anthony Battaglia (Staten Island, NY / St. Joseph By The Sea) combined to close out the game, spinning 3.0 scoreless frames. That marks the fourth time this season that every inning of a game was accrued by a freshman hurler.

* The Seahawks hit .342 (13-for-38) with runners in scoring position against the Bobcats after entering the weekend at just .193 (22-for-114).

* The Green & White set or matched season-highs with 12 hits, 10 RBI, four extra-base hits, one home run, three stolen bases.

* Wagner committed just two errors on the weekend and walked just eight over 32.0 innings of work.

* The Seahawks collected the win in game four of the weekend series after going just 2-6 in NEC game fours last year.

* In the first weekend of NEC play, Bryant swept Mount St. Mary's while Monmouth took three-of-four from FDU and CCSU and Sacred Heart split four games. LIU was idle from NEC competition.

* After its midweek road game at Lafayette, Wagner returns home to host preseason favorite Monmouth next weekend at the stadium.