Pictured Above: Sophomore catcher Brandon Hall against Fordham last season (Credit: Fordham University Sports Information Department)
Bronx, NY – The Wagner College baseball team returns to the diamond on Wednesday afternoon as the Seahawks square off against the Fordham University Rams. First-pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. from Houlihan Park.
// The Series:
» Wagner and Fordham will be squaring off for the 69th time on Wednesday afternoon in a series that first started back in 1947.
» Over the last eight meetings, both schools have earned four victories with the Rams outscoring the Seahawks, 42-32, in those contests.
» Last season, these two teams needed extra innings to determine a winner with the Green & White getting the go-ahead runs thanks to recently graduated All-Northeast Conference (NEC) First Teamer and current volunteer assistant coach,
Sean Mazzio, who connected on a three-run home run lifting Wagner to victory.
» Three Seahawks enter Wednesday's contest with .500 or better batting averages in games against Fordham, led by sophomore
Ben Montenegro, who had two hits and a RBI in the 10-7 extra inning triumph.
» Junior
Eric Lauk, who went 1-for-2 in the contest, was one of three Seahawks to score twice in the contest. Sophomore catcher,
Brandon Hall, also went 1-for-2 in the game, delivering a leadoff single in the top of the third.
» On the mound, junior reliever
Nick Robino earned the victory against the Rams, throwing two innings and striking out three. Sophomore RHP
Pat Gallagher, who started the contest, threw four innings while also striking out three batters.
// Last Time Out For Wagner:
» Facing a ten-run deficit, the Seahawks were able to hold off the University of Virginia scoreless over a three-inning span before staging a five-run rally over the top of the seventh and eight but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback as the Cavaliers defeated Wagner, 18-9, in the series finale back on March 6.
» Over the two-game outing at Virginia, junior
Freddy Sabido batted a team-leading, .500 (4-for-8) while scoring two runs and driving in two RBIs while slugging .625 and posting an on-base percentage of .600.
» Senior OF
Joe Silvestrone had three hits in the series, which extended his hit streak to eight straight and 12 overall, dating back to last season's Northeast Conference Tournament, in which he recorded a hit in all four postseason contests.
» Senior
Will Johnson is ranked among the top-50 players in the nation (148 ranked), in on-base percentage, as the Toms River, NJ native has posted a .532 OB% through eleven games for the Seahawks. That mark is currently third in the NEC.
» Johnson and Silvestrone rank among the top-150 players in the country in the toughest to strike out category, as Johnson, who is ranked 79th, is averaging a strikeout in every 11.7 at-bats while Silvestrone, who is ranked 83rd, is next at 11.5.
» Johnson leads the Seahawks in five statistical categories: average (.371), slugging percentage (.457), on-base pct. (.532) and is tied with Silvestrone for the team lead in hits, with 13, while Johnson and has three doubles to lead the club.
» On the mound, seniors
Eric Ligda and
Neil Abbatiello are ranked second and third in innings pitched, with Ligda throwing 14.0 frames followed by the left-hander and 2018 all-league performer, Abbatiello, at 13.1 innings.
» Ligda is tied with Sacred Heart's Brent Teller for the league-lead in strikeouts with 15 while Abbatiello ranks fifth followed by junior teammate,
Nick Zuppe, who has recorded ten strikeouts thus far this season.
// About Fordham:
» The Rams extended its win streak to seven straight after earning a 12-3 victory over fellow NEC member, Sacred Heart, on Tuesday afternoon.
» The win, which moved Fordham to 10-6 on the season, kept the Rams home win streak intact, moving to 5-0 at Houilhan Park.
» Jake MacKenzie went 5-for-5 with three runs scored and drove in two more. Four Rams had at least two hits in the contest with Justin Bardwell bringing in three RBIs.
» On the season, Fordham, who is batting .253 as a squad, is paced by MacKenzie, who is batting .369 with a team-leading three home runs, is a threat on the bases, converting 14-of-16 stolen base attempts.
» Bardwell is the team's leading RBI producer with 15.
» On the mound, John Stankiewicz, who was recently named Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Week, leads the Rams' hurlers with three wins while recording 25 strikeouts and allowing just three walks and holding batters to just a .183 batting average.
» Kyle Martin serves as the Rams closer, recording a team-leading four saves in seven appearances.
Wagner in 2018:
- The Green & White are coming off a magical season, in which the ball club rewrote several records, including setting the new benchmark for wins in a single-season (38) and conference victories (21).
- Wagner rattled off two separate, nine-game winning streaks (March 10-25 & March 29-April 11), outscoring its opponents by a combined 151-to-66.
- The Seahawks concluded the 2018 season winning 13 of its final 17 contests to claim a share of the 2018 Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season championship, the first time program has done so since 2009.
- Wagner went 13-1 in home contests (7-0 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George) while leading the entire NCAA with 23 road triumphs a season ago.
- In the NEC, Wagner led the circuit in ERA (4.15) while finishing the regular season with a league-best .974 fielding percentage. The club ranked second in hits (505), total bases (751) and stolen bases (61).
- Individually, Wagner had a program-high six all-league selections, four of which being named to the First Team, which includes rising senior left-hander, Neil Abbatiello, junior reliever, Nick Robino and classmate, Freddy Sabido, who returns as the team's leader in most offensive categories.
- Head Coach Jim Carone, who embarks on his eighth season, was named NEC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, becoming the first Wagner baseball head coach to win the award multiple times
- Robino was named 2019 Collegiate Baseball Pre-Season All-American, powered by Diamond Sports and announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper back on December 18, 2018
- Wagner was picked third in the preseason coaches' poll that was announced back on February 1.
