Baltimore, Md.—The UMBC baseball team will conclude their four game home stand with an America East matchup against Binghamton on Saturday and Sunday. UMBC is 7-9, 1-2 AE after winning three of their last four.
Binghamton Game Day Info:
WHO: UMBC (7-9, 1-2 AE) vs. Binghamton (4-9, 1-2 AE)
WHEN: Saturday, March 28 (4:30 p.m.) and Sunday, March 29 (DH, Noon)
WHERE: Alumni Field- Baltimore, Md.
SOCIAL MEDIA: @UMBCAthletics, @UMBCBaseball, #EveryPitchMatters, #AEBASE
Probable Pitching Matchups:
Game 1- UMBC- Joe Vanderplas (1-3, 4.44 ERA) vs. Binghamton- Rob Hardy (1-2, 3.92 ERA)
Game 2- UMBC- Conrad Wozniak (0-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Binghamton- Mike Bunal (1-2, 10.80 ERA)
Game 3- UMBC- Matt Chanin (1-0, 1.38 ERA) vs. Binghamton- Greg Ostner (1-3, 7.98 ERA)
Scouting the Retrievers (7-9, 1-2 AE):
UMBC is on a three game win streak, recording wins over Citadel, Mount St. Mary's and Navy. The Retriever most recently picked up a big 2-0 shutout victory against Navy on Wednesday. The Retrievers held the Navy offense to just four hits, striking out 16 Midshipmen.
Andrew Casali (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) leads the squad hitting .344 on the year, going 21-61 from the dish. Casali has one home run, four doubles and one triple on the year. Andrew also leads the team with ten RBI's in 2015.
Joe Vanderplas (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax/Tennessee) and Conrad Wozniak (Cypress, Texas/Cypress Woods/Frank Phillip College) are leading the pitching staff for UMBC. Vanderplas has a 4.44 ERA in four starts, going 1-3 in those starts. He has struck out 20 while only walking three batters. Wozniak is hurling a stellar 1.50 ERA over 18 innings pitched. He has 13 strikeouts with only three runs given up.
Transfer Connor Staskey (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem/Temple) is coming off a stellar performance against Navy. Staskey pitched 5.2 innings, recording nine strikeouts to improve to 2-2 on the year.
Scouting the Bearcats (4-9, 1-2 AE):
Binghamton is coming off a 6-2 loss to Bucknell this past Tuesday. The Bearcats could only muster six hits as the Bison scored four runs in the second inning to earn the win. Binghamton is 4-9, 1-2 AE on the year.
Jake Thomas is the leader on offense for the Bearcats. Thomas is hitting .391 on the year, going 18-46 from the plate. He also leads the team with 12 RBI's and one home run. Zach Blanden is second on the team with a .370 batting average, and leads the squad in runs scored with 13.
Rob Hardy is the ace on the mound, posting a 3.92 ERA with a 1-2 record on the year. Hardy has only ten strikeouts, but has walked only three batters while giving up just three runs all year.
All-Time Series:
The Retriever and Bearcats have met 49 other times before this weekend, with 46 of them being in America East play. The Bearcats have a staunch 40-9 lead in the all-time series, including the last four. The last UMBC win was in 2013, when UMBC defeated Binghamton 1-0 in Vestal.
Up Next:
The Retrievers will travel to George Washington for a mid-week game on Tuesday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. UMBC will head home on Friday, April 3 and Saturday April 4 for a three game set with Saint Peter's. The Retrievers and Peacocks will play one game on Saturday at 6:00 p.m., with a double-header on Sunday starting at noon.
