POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 29, 2017) – The Vassar College baseball team will look to shake off the rust from an 11-day hiatus from action this weekend, traveling south to Farmingdale State University on Long Island to take on the Cardinals of Plattsburgh State in three non-conference contests. Vassar is looking to snap a three-game losing skid, having fallen its last time out to No. 21 Johns Hopkins University 6-3.
 
Game Details
Opponent: vs. Plattsburgh (3-6, 0-3 SUNYAC)
Links: (Plattsburgh Baseball Home Page)(Roster)(Schedule)(Statistics)
Site: Farmingdale, NY
Facility: Farmingdale State Baseball Stadium
Date: April 1-2, 2017
Time: 6:30 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday (DH)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats)
 
Last Time Out: Vassar hasn't played since March 21, but the Brewers battled No. 21 Johns Hopkins University tough before falling to the Jays, 6-3. It was a reunion of sorts for head coach Matthew Righter, as the Hopkins graduate coached against his former team and head coach for the second time in his career. VC jumped out on top early with two runs, but a four-run eighth innings for JHU was the difference. Junior Bobby Kinne had two hits, while senior Denis Shanagher and sophomores Taylor Smach and Matt Schwartz each had multi-hit games as well.
 
A Look at the Brewers (3-6):
 

• The Brewers are led offensively by a pair of sophomores in Matt Schwartz and Taylor Smach, as the second-year players are both hitting over .420 for the season.
• Smach is tied for the Liberty League lead in doubles with four, while his slugging percentage of .714 is fourth-highest in the conference.
• Senior Adam Erkis currently is fourth in the Liberty League in ERA with a 1.08 mark, while allowing batters to hit just .200 against hit this season. He ranks in the top five in five pitching categories.
• Denis Shanagher is the only player this season for Vassar to have a pair of multiple RBI contests, as he has posted two of the Brewer's eight contests with one player posting two or more steaks.
• Smach currently has the team's longest hit streak at three games, but junior Matt Hernandez had the longest stretch of the year at six contests.
• Freshmen Daniel Bonfiglio and Matt Martino have both been strong so far, as the pair each are sporting .333 batting averages while combining for 12 hits.
• Freshman Jake Silver has been effective in his first two collegiate starts, allowing just three earned runs over 8.2 innings of work. Batters are hitting just .200 against him, second best on the team.
• Junior Derek DeMild has had some bad luck this year, as he has an ERA over 10, but his batting average against is .174, allowing just four hits in six innings on the hill.
• This season, Smach has created 17.75 runs per nine innings, by far the most on the team. The next closest number is 10.87 by Schwartz.
• Vassar ranks in the top 50 in stolen bases per game with 2.11, which also leads the Liberty League.
• Erkis is 40^th nationally in WHIP with a 0.84 mark.
• Junior Eric Strickland ranks 13^th in the country in stolen bases per contest, getting 0.86 bags a game.

 
A Look at the Cardinals (3-7):
 

• Plattsburgh is coming off three losses to Brockport to start SUNYAC play, and are in the midst of a stretch where they have lost seven of their last eight.
• The Cardinals are hitting .252 as a team, while allowing teams to hit .306. Freshman outfielder Alex Follmer leads the team with a .364 batting average.
• TJ Montalbano has a team-best 13 hits on the season, while he ranks as the toughest batter in the nation to strikeout, having not fanned once this season in nearly 40 at-bats.
• Kentaro Mori has a team-high four doubles, posting a .345 batting average along with six runs scored.
• Plattsburgh's offense ranks sixth in the SUNYAC, while scoring 49 runs in 10 games, the second-fewest.
• The Cardinals also rank seventh in team ERA (6.22) and total strikeouts (51), though Plattsburgh has only thrown 81 innings over 10 games.
• Sophomore Matt Fox leads the pitching staff with a 2.25 ERA, appearing in three games with three starts. He has a team-best 10 strikeouts.
• Fellow sophomore Patrick Bryant has tossed the teams only complete game, going 1-0 on the year with a 3.21 ERA, allowing opponents to hit .236 off him this year.
• Plattsburgh will run, as the Cardinals have been successful on 18 of their 24 stolen bases attempts this year.
• The Cardinals have 13 freshmen on the roster, along with just three seniors here in 2017.
• These two teams have only played twice before this season, with both teams picking up one end of a 2016 doubleheader down in Florida.

 
Up Next: Vassar will open Liberty League play Tuesday afternoon at Noon against the Yellowjackets of the University of Rochester in a twinbill from Prentiss Field.