POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (May 7, 2014) – The Vassar College baseball team, coming off a four-game sweep of Bard College this weekend, will take part in the Liberty League Tournament for the second consecutive season as the No. 4 seed. The Brewers will take on top-seed and host Union College at Siena Field on the campus of Siena College Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in Loudonville, NY. The Brewers and Dutchmen split their regular season four-game set, as each team earned sweeps on their home fields.

#4 Vassar College (18-12, 13-7 Liberty)
(Vassar College Baseball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)

Tournament Details
Opponent: Liberty League Tournament (Tournament Website)
Team Links:
#1 Union (22-9-1, 14-6-1) (Union Baseball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
#2 Rochester( 23-14, 16-8) (Rochester Baseball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
#3 Clarkson (19-11, 14-7) (Clarkson Baseball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Loudonville, NY
Facility: Siena Field (500)
Date: May 8-10, 2014
Tournament Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)

 

Liberty League Breakdown
Category	Vassar	Union	Rochester	Clarkson
Batting Avg.	.303	.305	.304	.271
SLG%	.409	.372	.361	.386
OB%	.396	.388	.382	.363
FLD%	.937	.954	.953	.961
SB-SBA	21-28	68-85	66-90	46-52
ERA	4.46	4.49	3.17	2.71
AVG. AGAINST	.269	.267	.245	.255
BB	110	119	148	80
K	151	170	195	154

 
 
 
 
 
 







What To Look For
The Brewers make their way back to Siena College for the Liberty League Tournament for the second time in program history, as VC went 1-2 in the Tournament in 2013. Vassar College boasts one of the best offenses of the four teams making the trip to Siena, boasting the top slugging percentage and on-base percentages of the group. Vassar College will send out a pair of freshmen pitchers in Adam Erkis (Villanova, PA/Radnor) and Trent Berg (Milton, MA/Boston College) in their first tournament appearances. Last season, senior Joe Lovizio (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst) went eight innings in the Tournament opener against Union, allowing just four hits and one earned run. All three of the hurlers will be huge if the Brewers hope to win the program's first League title.

A Look At the Liberty League Tournament Squads
All four of the Liberty League Tournament seeds come into the playoffs with a .600 winning percentage or higher, led by the .703 winning clip of Union College. The tournament host Dutchmen just edges second-seed University of Rochester for conference winning percentage, earning the chance to host the event at nearby Siena College.

Union - The Dutchmen come into the weekend with the conference's second-best average, hitting .305 as a team, though UC is fifth in the Liberty League total bases this year. Sam Caruso leads the Dutch in hitting, boasting a league-high .431 clip with seven doubles and 17 RBI, also pacing the squad with 27 runs. Freshman Jake Fishman has been stellar both in the box and on the mound, sporting a .372 batting average with 19 RBI, while also leading Union with a 2.30 ERA and an unblemished 6-0 W-L record. Full-time starters Kent Curran, David Peretti and Joe Bradlee each sport averages of .300 this year, while Curran leads the team in RBI. On the hill, Dan O'Neil joins Fishman as one of the best 1-2 combos in the conference, as he is 6-0 with a 3.32 ERA and a .236 batting average against. Chris Pignatello is 2-0 in a team-high 12 appearances, saving four games and fanning 16.

Rochester – The Yellowjackets, who are also a member of the University Athletic Association, played the most games this year of any Liberty League squad, getting in 37 thanks to their turf home field. Rochester has a complete ball club, as they rank in the top of the League in most hitting and pitching categories. The Yellow Jackets are holding teams to just a .245 batting average, the lowest mark of any squad in the conference. Lance Hamilton paces the Jackets in hitting with a .391 batting average, while Ethan Sander is right behind with a .390 clip, boasting three doubles and two triples. Seven in the starting lineup have averages over .300 for UR, as the balanced squad has 14 players that have started 17 or more games. On the hill, Dan Warren leads the staff with a 1.25 ERA in 43.1 innings of work, going 3-2, while Michael Mondon has started seven games, posting a 2.79 earned run clip. The bullpen for the Yellowjackets is deep, and very talented, led by Evan Janifer and Andrew Crean. Janifer has a 0.49 ERA and seven saves, while Crean sports a 1.55 ERA with one save, helping on three combined shutouts.

Clarkson – The Golden Knights statistically have the best pitching in the conference, led by four starters that all sport sub-3.00 ERAs. As a squad, Clarkson sports a Liberty League-best 2.71 earned run average, while hosting opposition to a .255 average. The defense for CU has been the best in the league all season, as the team picks it at a .961 clip. This is been a tough season for travel for the Golden Knights, who played a grand total of zero home games due to the harsh winter. Offensively, Greg Jasek leads the team with a .315 batting average, posting a team-best 10 doubles, while John Coleman has a .304 batting average, leading the team in hits with 34. David Wixted is also a solid player for the Knights, as he has hit .301 with a team-leading 20 RBI and 28 runs. Pete Roma leads the staff with 52.1 innings pitched and a 1.89 ERA, while Jasek is 5-2 with four complete games, sporting a 2.39 earned run mark. Eddie Miller is 4-1 on the year, and Jarrod Mattingly has a 2.65 ERA and a 5-2 mark in 51 innings of work.

Against Each Squad
The Brewers come into the tournament with a 15-41 record with host Union College, dropping both conference playoff games the two teams have played. Vassar is 7-28 all-time against Rochester, falling in three of four this year in Rochester, going 10-33 against the Golden Knights all-time. This season, Vassar is 5-7 against the three teams they will compete against this weekend.

Have Another Bottini
This season, the Brewers are a perfect 8-0 when assistant coach Race Bottini has been coaching first base.

We're Going Streaking
The Vassar College baseball team comes into the Tournament on a six-game win streak. The win streak is the longest since a six-game stretch that went over the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The program record is eight games, set over the 2002 and 2003 campaigns.

I'm Speaking English
Sophomore Brooks English (Milton, MA/Milton Academy) enters the tournament with an eight-game hitting streak, which is a season-high. The season-long for any Brewer is nine, set by senior Brett Zaziski (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) over the first nine games of the year.

Getting On
Brewer Nick Johnson (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius) comes into the Liberty League Tournament reaching base safely in each of his last 15 games.

KP Power
The Brewers have gotten great contributions out of junior Kyle Casey (San Diego, CA/Vista) and senior Parker Werline (Newport Beach, CA/Corona Del Mar). When they have batting 7-8, the team is 8-3.

Double Trouble
Sophomore Nick Johnson comes into the weekend with the ninth-most doubles per game in the nation, posting .53 two-baggers per contest. He leads the league with 16 doubles, in just 30 games.

Coming At You
This year, the Brewers finished the regular season with five players in the top 15 in the Liberty League in batting average. No other Liberty League team has more than three.

Slugging Out
The Brewers lead the conference in slugging percentage with a .409 clip, which is 78^th in the nation.

Closing In
The Brewers are one win short of the all-time record for wins in a season, closing in on the 19 victories in 2003. Vassar College has already assured itself of a winning season, and the best winning percentage in program history.