POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 29, 2016) – The Vassar College baseball team (5-8, 2-2 Liberty League) will return from its 15-day trip down in Florida Wednesday afternoon, heading up the road to take on Bard College in a non-conference tussle with the Raptors. Vassar and Bard will not play each other in conference action this season, but the Brewers will look to earn a non-conference win after splitting four Liberty League games this weekend in Fort Myers with St. Lawrence University.

Game Details
Opponent: at Bard College (5-9, 0-0 Liberty League)
Links:
(Vassar's Baseball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
(Bard's Baseball Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Annandale on Hudson, NY
Facility: Honey Field (See More)
Date: March 30, 2016
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)

A Look At The Brewers (5-8, 2-2 Liberty)
Vassar comes back from its Florida swing after going 5-8 down in the Sunshine State, but VC could have very easily have won five more games on the trip. Regardless, the opportunity to play 13 games down in Florida early in the season will definitely pay dividends later in the year. So far this season, Vassar is hitting .294 as a team, which is fourth in the Liberty League; while it's pitching ERA of 5.70 is fifth-lowest in the conference. Vassar currently has the conference's third-highest slugging percentage at .406, and it's on-base percentage of .410 as a team leads the Liberty League. Also, defense has been strong thus far for the Brewers, leading the conference and placing in the top 20 nationally in fielding percentage with a .968 clip.

Individually, senior Brooks English comes into Wednesday afternoon's affair leading the team with a .385 batting average, leading the team with 12 free passes already though 13 games. The 12 walks lead the Liberty League, while his batting average is sixth-best. Senior Cory Wuenschell currently is sporting a .375 batting average for 10^th best in the Liberty League, while his six doubles are tied for third in the conference. Wuenschell also leads the team in RBI with 13, and sits in second place in that category in the League. Nick Johnson is third in hitting on the squad, and is tied for third in the conference with 12 runs score, tops on the VC team. Junior Adam Erkis leads the team on the hill with a 3.00 ERA, and Johnny Mrlik is 2-1 with a 3.77 earned run average as well. Defensively, Matt Hernandez and Eric Strickland are 3-4 in assists with 37 and 25, respectively.

A Look At The Raptors (5-9, Liberty)
The Bard College baseball team is in its fourth season as a program, but Ed Kohovac and his staff has done a great job of building the program since 2013. Last season, the Raptors won 11 games to mark the first time the team had picked up double-digit wins, but Bard already has five victories in 14 games this year. Bard is hitting .280 as a team on the year, and its six triples this season leads the Liberty League. Additionally, Bard is fourth in the conference in base on balls drawn, and has put the ball in play well only striking out 68 times this season. The execution for the Raptors has been solid as well, leading the conference in sacrifice flies with nine, while ranking in the top two in sacrifice bunts as well with 12.

Top hitter Adam Carafotes, who earned Liberty League weekly Honor Roll honors Monday, is eighth in the conference in hitting with a .375 batting average, connecting on four doubles, two triples and two homers so far. Carafotes is second in the league in slugging percentage (.667), and also has driven in 13 runs. All-Liberty League player David Schlosser has picked up where he left off in 2015, batting .349 so far this season with six stolen bases, and freshman double play partner Preston Gittelson has started all 14 games for the Raptors at short, hitting .311. On the bump, Alex Bunnell has pitched in eight of Bard's 14 games out of the pen, allowing just one earned run while posting a 2-0 mark and a 0.87 ERA. Freshman John Wendt has been lights out this year in four starts, allowing three earned runs in 23.2 innings, as the Bard pitching staff has been strong. Bard is posting a 3.91 ERA as a team, second lowest in the conference this far.

Against Bard All-Time
Vassar has gone 6-2 against the Raptors all time, sweeping the first series with Bard back in 2014. Last season, Vassar won both home games in Poughkeepsie but the Raptors won a pair of 6-5 games on Honey Field last April.

Other Notes:
- Freshman Taylor Smach delivered a two-run, two-out single in the top of the seventh to tie the ball game against St. Lawrence last Saturday. VC eventually ended up winning the game in extras, 9-6.
- Sophomore shortstop Matt Hernandez has committed just one error all season, posting a .980 clip on 51 chances. He also leads the Liberty League in sacrifice bunts with four.
- Sophomore Eric Strickland leads the Liberty League in triples with three.
- Vassar has three players ranked in the top 10 in base on balls in the conference, as RIT is the only other team to boast that feat.
- Brooks English has 72 walks for his career, fourth-most at VC. He trails all-time leader Tim Reinhardt, who posted 84 in his tenure. Brett Zaziski (80) and Liam Lee (77) are No. 2 and No. 3 on the list, respectively.
- Senior catcher Dakota Sagnelli has thrown out five runners stealing this season, the most of any catcher in the conference.
- With his last two-bagger, Vassar senior Cory Wuenschell moved into No. 10 on the all-time doubles list with his 20^th of his career.
- Matt Schwartz was intentionally walked in his third official plate appearance, becoming the 19^th player since 1999 to earn an intentional free pass.
- Vassar starts a nine-game home stand on April 13, the longest home stretch VC has had since the 2013 campaign, when the Brewers also hosted nine consecutive games.
- Eric Strickland has reached base safely in all 13 games this year, the only played on the squad to be able to say that.
- Senior Nick Johnson has five games with two or more hits, the most of any player on the team, while Denis Shanagher and Brooks English each have four.
- When Taylor Smach has started the game as the No. 7 hitter this year for VC, the Brewers are an unblemished 3-0.
- This year, the Brewers are hitting .376 as a team in odd-numbered innings, but are hitting just .252 in even-numbered innings.

Up Next
Vassar will take on Skidmore College (4-8, 1-3 Liberty) for four contests this weekend in more Liberty League action. VC will host the Thoroughbreds on Prentiss Field Saturday at noon, before heading to Saratoga on Sunday for a twinbill at noon.