VIDEO | LIVE STATS | UMBC BASEBALL WEEKLY REPORT
BALTIMORE-- UMBC baseball concludes their two series homestand against America East newcomer NJIT on Saturday and Sunday. The Retrievers are sitting at 14-14, 9-14 AE currently outside of the playoff picture with three weekends to play after this weekend. Last time out, UMBC split with Binghamton winning the middle two games of the four-game set.
NJIT Series Info:
What: UMBC Retrievers (14-14, 9-14 AE) vs. NJIT Highlanders (11-19, 10-14 AE)
Where: Alumni Field - Baltimore, Md.
When: Saturday-Sunday, May 1-2 - Both days DH starting at 1 p.m.
How to Watch: Live video on AmericaEast.TV, live stats at UMBCRetrievers.com
Social Media: @umbcbaseball, #RetrieverNation, #AEBASE
Scouting the Retrievers:
-The Retrievers come into the weekend at 14-14, 9-14 AE after splitting their last series with Binghamton. UMBC won the middle two of the four-game set by scores of 15-9 and 14-9 after losing the opener 8-3 and the finale 6-4.
-Ian Diaz (Philadelphia, Pa.) continues his torrid season batting .385 having reached base in all but two games he has played. He has 35 hits with six doubles, two triples, five home runs, and 21 RBI. Freshman Drew Roberts (Matthews, N.C.) is also hitting over .300 at .370 with a team-best 10 doubles with 26 runs scored. Christian Torres (Miami, Fla.) leads the team with 25 RBI and four home runs.
-Tyler McDonnell (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) leads the pitching staff with a 3.07 ERA in nine appearances out of the bullpen with a 2-0 record in 14.1 innings of work. Reid Celata (Virginia Beach, Va.) leads the rotation with a 4.19 ERA and three wins with one complete game. Joe Nestel (Drexel Hill, Pa.) has a team-best 25 strikeouts.
Scouting the Highlanders:
-The Highlanders enter the weekend at 11-19, 10-14 AE after winning a big series against conference leader Stony Brook last weekend. NJIT won the first two before falling in game three and getting revenge in game four. The Highlanders are just 3-7 at home compared to 8-12 on the road.
-Daniel Helfgott leads the team at the plate with a .360 batting average. He has 32 hits with 15 RBI in 28 games. Julio Marcano is the only other Highlander over .300 at .311 with a team-best 33 hits, four doubles, six home runs, and 22 RBI. Albert Choi leads the team on the bases with 18 stolen bases.
-Jake Rappaport leads a pitching staff that has a collective 5.32 ERA and is allowing opponents to bat .277 against them. Rappaport has a 2.13 ERA in 14 appearances with a 3-0 record. Ryan Fischer leads the rotation with a 3.30 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 46.1 innings of work.
All-Time Series:
-The Retrievers and Highlanders have met just six times prior to this weekend with the Retrievers holding a commanding 5-1 lead. The lone Retriever loss came at home in 2007. This will be the first meeting since 2015 where the Retrievers won 12-2 in a season that saw them reach the America East Championship game. This will be the first time the two meet as conference foes.
Top Dawgs:
-Once again the Retrievers picked up an America East weekly award with Ian Diaz being named Player of the Week on Tuesday. He joins Christian Torres and Adam Schwartz (Akron, Pa.) to win player of the week. Joe Nestel won pitcher of the week honors with Drew Roberts winning back-to-back rookie of the week awards the previous two weeks.
On Deck:
-The Retrievers will hit the road for a rematch with Binghamton next weekend, May 8-9. Both days will start at noon on AmericaEast.TV.
