POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 31, 2015) – The Vassar College baseball team (1-5, 0-4 Liberty League) will try to resume its 2015 season this upcoming weekend, as the Brewers take on Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for four games Friday and Saturday afternoons. VC will host the Engineers Friday for a doubleheader, turning around Saturday and heading to Troy, NY for another twinbill with RPI. Vassar hasn't played since March 19, and currently has played just six games this season, which is tied for the fewest amount of games of any conference affiliated Division III school in the nation.

Game Details
Opponent: vs. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (7-7, 6-2 Liberty League)
Links:  (RPI Baseball Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)

Site: Troy, NY
Facility: Robison Field
Date: April 3, 2015
Time: 1 p.m. (DH)
Twitter Coverage: (@VassarAthletics) (@RPIAthletics)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats)

Site: New York, NY
Facility: Robertson Field at Columbia University
Date: April 5, 2015
Time: 1 p.m. (DH)
Twitter Coverage: (@VassarAthletics) (@RPIAthletics)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Vassar Baseball Links:
(Vassar Baseball Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
 
What To Look For
The Brewers have had a tough go this season when it comes to weather cooperating, as nine games have been either cancelled or postponed. VC hasn't played since March 19, and when VC gets back on the diamond this Friday afternoon, it will have been 15 days since the Brewers battled Clarkson in a doubleheader in Winter Haven, FL. As frustrating has the weather has been, its important for the Brewers to start stringing together some Liberty League wins, and this weekend provides a great opportunity with four contests against a strong RPI team.
 
A Look At The Engineers (7-7, 6-2 Liberty League)
Rensselaer started its season nearly two months ago in Ashland, VA, falling to Randolph-Macon College twice back on February 14. Since then, the Engineers have had six games lost due to cancellations, but did spend eight days in Central Florida, playing eight conference games while in the Sunshine State. The Engineers swept Skidmore College to open Liberty League action, and then split with reigning conference champions Union College. RPI has not played a game this season at Robison Field, as all but three of its games have come in neutral site locations. The Engineers currently boast the conference's second-highest batting average at .326, and pace the league in total doubles with 30 and RBI with 116. The Engineers have a team ERA of 4.99, which is third lowest in the conference, and have struck out a conference-high 98 batters this season.
 
Leading the offense has been Tim LeSuer, who enters the week batting .440 with a league-high 19 runs scored this season. LeSuer is third on the team with 12 RBI, and also has made all 63 plays in the field this season. Jason Ramos is hitting .421 in part-time duty thus far, and Nick Annunziata has started 11 times and is batting .395. Nick Palmiero has driven in a team-leading 15 runs, and paces the Engineers with six doubles, while Jared Jensen is second on the team with 16 runs scored and is third with 16 hits, six of which are extra-base knocks. On the mound, Sean Conroy is 1-1 with a 1.88 ERA over five starts this season, while Greg Echeverria is 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA and team-best 25 strikeouts. Those two, along with Stephen Schiavone, have kept hitters at bat, as each holds a batting average against of .214 or below.
 
Against RPI All-Time
The Engineers have held a decisive edge over the Brewers since the two teams started playing back in 2001, taking 34 of the previous 39 meetings. VC did not play RPI last season, but the Engineers took three of four from VC back in 2013 in Poughkeepsie.
 
Closing In
The Brewers currently have a pair of hitters that are approaching their 100^th hits at Vassar College, as senior Kyle Casey (San Diego, CA/Vista) comes into the weekend with 88 and junior Nick Johnson (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius Prep) is three hits away with 97 through his career.
 
Up There
The Brewers currently has two of the three top hitters in the Liberty League in terms of average, as junior Dakota Sagnelli (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven) is hitting .538 and freshman Bobby Kinne (Great Barrington, MA/Mountain Monument Regional) is hitting .500.
 
Sixth Inning Blues
This season, the sixth inning hasn't been nice to the Brewers, as Vassar College has been outscoring in the sixth 17-3.
 
Hit Patrol
The Brewers are 1-0 this season when posting more hits than their opponent, with that victory coming against Southern Vermont back on April 15.
 
Lefty Hefty
The Brewers this season have had 203 total at-bats as a team, and of those 203 times at-bat, 140 of those have come by battled that hit left-handed. Of the top five batters for VC currently in average, four hit from the left side of the plate.
 
Two Bags
Junior Nick Johnson comes into the week 16^th nationally in doubles per game, posting 0.67 two-baggers per contest for the Brewers.
 
Turn It
The Brewers have posted 1.17 double plays per game this year, which is 22^nd most in all of Division III out of 374 ranked teams.

Up Next
Vassar will head to Rochester Institute of Technology April 11 and 12 for four games against the Tigers, continuing Liberty League action.