Staten Island, NY – Jim Carone, the 2015 Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year, has announced the Wagner baseball team’s 2016 schedule, a 54-game slate that opens with 11 consecutive games in the state of Virginia, highlighted by a two-game set at 2015 National Champion, the University of Virginia Cavaliers.
“We have put together another challenging early season non-conference schedule,” said Carone. “The schedule is highlighted by 11 games against four quality programs in the state of Virginia. This year, competing against the defending national champions, Virginia, as well as playing against a NCAA Super Regional program in VCU, will be tremendous opportunities for our players. These games will prepare us for the grind of a 32-game conference slate in which our ultimate goal is to win an NEC championship.”
This spring, Wagner will look to replace a pair of players, recruited and nurtured by Carone, whom will go down as two all-time greats in Seahawk history in catcher/second baseman Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ/Monroe Township) and 6’10” right-handed pitcher Nolan Long (Waterford, CT/ South Kent). Both were chosen in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft with Dini going to the Kansas City Royals in the 14th round and Long, who was also a member of the men’s basketball team for the previous two years, being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 16th round.
Also lost to graduation was senior closer Steven Bloodworth (Annandale, NJ/North Hunterdon), who joined Dini and Long as part of a program-best five players on the All-NEC First Team, which included OF Ben Ruta (West Windsor, NJ/West-Windsor Plainsboro South) and OF/DH Anthony Godino (Thornwood, NY/Pleasantville).
All told, the Seahawks return 20 letterwinners from a 2015 team that finished with an overall record of 27-23-1 and earned the No. 2 seed in the NEC Tournament, headlined by Ruta and Godino, who will be entering their senior and sophomore seasons, respectively. In 2015, Ruta started in all 51 games for the Seahawks, manning the corner outfield spots while also seeing some time at the hot corner, Ruta finished the year with a .327 average (64-for-196) [8th in the NEC], swatted three home runs on the year (second on the team) with 36 RBIs (second on the squad; 7th in the circuit), while scoring 41 runs (5th in the NEC).
Godino is looking to build on a tremendous rookie campaign. The Thornwood, NY native served as the team’s primary designated hitter, he batted .348 (46-for-132), which was the second-highest batting average on the team and in the NEC, along with nine doubles, and 30 RBIs. He also ranked 33rd in the NCAA in On-Base Percentage and second in the conference, behind Dini.
The 54-game schedule features 22 non-conference matchups against teams from the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big East, Big Ten, Big South, MEAC, and MAAC conferences. In addition, Wagner will play 32 Northeast Conference (NEC) games, beginning in late March, with the league champion gaining automatic qualification into the 2016 NCAA Baseball Championships.
Wagner opens the 2016 season with a three-game series at Longwood out of the Big South Conference in Farmville, VA, February 26-28. From there, the Seahawks head to Norfolk, VA where they will take on the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) member, the Norfolk State University Spartans, March 5-6, with the March 5 contest slated to be a doubleheader.
On March 8 and March 9, the Seahawks will take aim against Virginia, fresh off of its first NCAA championship in program history, when the Cavaliers secured a 4-2 victory over Vanderbilt in Game 3 of the College World Series. A No. 3 regional seed, the Cavaliers posted a 10-2 record during their NCAA run in becoming just the third No. 3 or 4 seed to win a College World Series championship.
Wagner concludes its tour of Virginia by taking on Atlantic-10 member VCU on March 11-13. The Rams, who finished the 2015 season with a 40-25 overall record, captured the A-10 championship, while advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals where they faced the University of Miami (FL).
The Seahawks return to the friendly confines of Richmond County Bank Ballpark when they welcome their second straight A-10 opponent in Fordham on March 19, which is scheduled to be a home doubleheader with the series wrapping up in The Bronx on March 20.
Wagner opens NEC play on March 24-26 as they travel to Emmitsburg, MD to take on the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers. Last season, these two teams split their four regular season meetings, while combing for 59 total runs, including 26 in the final game of the series, won by Wagner, 20-6.
To conclude the month of March, the Seahawks travel to Queens to tangle with Big East member St. John’s. The Red Storm captured the Big East regular season and tournament crowns for a conference-record eighth time while concluding the year ranked No. 21 in the final Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Poll after posting a 41-16 record.
The first NEC home series for the Seahawks opens the month of April as Wagner welcomes Central Connecticut for a four-game set, April 1-3 ,with April 2 being designated as the doubleheader. From there, Wagner will be on the road on April 6-10, with stops against Seton Hall (April 6) and a four-game tilt in Brooklyn against the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds.
Saint Peter’s visits the Seahawks on April 12 before Wagner travels to Smithfield, RI to take on conference rival, Bryant, April 15-17. The third Big East opponent for the year has Rutgers, led by former Wagner head coach Joe Litterio, coming to Richmond County Bank Ballpark on April 20. April closes with a pair of NEC matchups, as Mount St. Mary’s and Fairleigh Dickinson pay a visit to Staten Island, April 22 through May 1.
The Seahawks will take on back-to-back MAAC schools, welcoming Manhattan on May 4 in their lone night contest of the year, followed by a three-game series in Poughkeepsie, NY against the Marist Red Foxes.
The final home series has the defending conference champions, the Sacred Heart University Pioneers visit Staten Island from May 12-14 before the Seahawks head out to New Britain, CT May 19-21 to tangle with the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils for the regular season finale.
The 2016 NEC Tournament will be played May 26-29 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, CT.
