CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Week five of America East baseball gets underway on Saturday with just 3.5 games separating first place and sixth place in the standings.
Albany (12-13-1, 7-5) at Binghamton (14-11, 5-6)
Sat., April 13, 1 p.m. – Derek Zielinski, Albany (2-3, 5.33 ERA) vs. Jake Lambert, Binghamton (3-1, 5.22 ERA)
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Sat., April 13, 4 p.m. - Kasceim Graham, Albany (4-3, 3.29 ERA) vs. Jack Rogalla, Binghamton (2-2, 2.95 ERA)
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Sunday, April 14, 1 p.m. – TBA, Albany vs. Jay Lynch, Binghamton (2-3, 2.80 ERA)
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Albany and Binghamton meet in a SUNY rivalry beginning on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Great Danes are coming off a sweep against Stony Brook last weekend to move into a tie for second in the conference at 7-5. Albany is hitting .281 as a team during conference play, the second-highest average in the conference. Reigning America East Player of the Week Josh Nethaway is second in the league in RBI with 10 entering the weekend.
Binghamton was swept in a two-game series in Maine after the first game was canceled due to extreme cold. The Bearcats boast the conference’s leading hitter in Jake Thomas who is batting .400 with 11 RBI in 11 conference games. The Bearcats also have one of the top pitchers in the conference as righty Jay Lynch is second in ERA at 1.29.
Maine (18-14, 8-3) at UMBC (8-15, 4-8)
Sat., April 13, 12 p.m. – Tommy Lawrence, Maine (5-2, 2.04 ERA) vs. Mac Gill, UMBC (2-1, 3.79 ERA)
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Sat. April 13, 3 p.m. – A.J. Bazdanes, Maine (4-3, 3.63 ERA) vs. Denis Mikush, UMBC (0-2, 5.11 ERA)
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Sun., April 14, 12 p.m. – TBA, Maine vs. TBA, UMBC
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Maine stands atop the league standings entering a weekend tilt at UMBC after taking two games from Binghamton last weekend. The Black Bears lead the conference in both team batting (.293) and team ERA (3.91). Troy Black is second in the conference in all games with a .365 average, while starting pitcher Tommy Lawrence has surrendered only three earned runs in four starts in conference play.
UMBC is looking to snap a four-game skid after being swept at Hartford last weekend. Freshman Kevin LaChance leads the team in batting at .317. The Retrievers have also shown to be strong in the bullpen, as Kevin Ladner, Jon Cohn and Mike Gomez have allowed just 26 earned runs in 65.1 innings.
Hartford (9-19, 7-5) at Stony Brook (10-22, 4-8)
Sat., April 13, 12 p.m. – Kyle Gauthier, Hartford (1-4, 5.90 ERA) vs. Frankie Vanderka, Stony Brook (4-2, 1.91 ERA)
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Sat., April 13, 3 p.m. – Brian Hunter, Hartford (1-3, 4.10 ERA) vs. Brandon McNitt, Stony Brook (1-3, 4.19 ERA)
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Sun., April 14, 12 p.m. – Sean Newcomb, Hartford (3-3, 4.09 ERA) vs. Daniel Zamora, Stony Brook (1-6, 4.89 ERA)
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Hartford visits Stony Brook after sweeping UMBC at home last weekend. The Hawks are tied for second in the conference with a 7-5 overall record and have won four-straight games after beating Sacred Heart in a non-conference contest this week. Freshman Chris DelDebbio is one of the top rookies in the conference this season, hitting .286 this season. Starting pitcher Sean Newcomb has also been excellent during league play with a 1.54 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched.
Stony Brook is off to a slow start in conference play with a 4-8 mark. The Seawolves rank third in the conference in team ERA at 4.59 as Frankie Vanderka leads the conference in all games played with a 1.91 ERA. Freshman Jack Parenty also has been impressive with a .343 batting average in 29 games.