Coming off a conference series sweep, the Stony Brook baseball team will look to build on that to rise in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) standings.
The Seawolves (15-16, 4-5 CAA) will take on the Campbell Camels (22-9, 5-4 CAA) in North Carolina this weekend in a three-game series. The set will open at 6 p.m. on Friday followed by a 3 p.m. start on Saturday and a noon first pitch on Sunday.
Stony Brook is on the outside looking in of the playoff picture right now at seventh place in the CAA, but a series victory over the Camels would allow it to leapfrog them in the standings based on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Seawolves will need their pitching staff to get them into the playoff bracket, as they are facing one of the best offenses in the conference. They have the advantage on the mound coming into this series with a 5.38 earned run average (ERA), which is the sixth-best mark in the CAA.
Stony Brook’s staff is led by starting pitcher Eddie Smink, who has thrown 42 ⅔ innings and notched 46 strikeouts to the tune of a 3.67 ERA, which ranks seventh in the conference. Opponents are hitting just .232 against the flamethrowing right-hander, which is the eighth-lowest mark in the conference. Smink was named the CAA Co-Pitcher of the Week after allowing just one hit in six scoreless innings in a win over Elon last Friday.
Behind Smink is starting pitcher Nick Rizzo, who boasts a 4.03 ERA in 44 ⅔ innings pitched. The lefty’s ERA is inflated from two starts against Purdue and Charleston, where he gave up eight earned runs and six earned runs, respectively. Rounding out the weekend rotation is J.T. Raab, who is ninth in the CAA with a 3.79 ERA over 38 innings pitched. Raab has tallied 31 strikeouts, eight of which came in six innings of work last Sunday.
In the bullpen, the Seawolves have a weapon in two-way lefty Erik Paulsen, who owns a 1.71 ERA in 26 ⅓ innings. Paulsen has notched three saves thus far, all of which have come in three or more innings of work. Also out of the pen is long relief pitcher Colin Rhein, who has pitched to a 1.35 ERA and a 0.68 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP) over his previous three outings, where he has given them 13 ⅓ innings.
Other right-handed relievers who may appear are Ty Saunders and Brendan Pattermann. Saunders is a long man who has struggled this year to an 8.40 ERA, but his 30 innings and 10 appearances have made him one of the team’s most-used arms. Pattermann is experiencing a career renaissance and has allowed just two earned runs on five hits over 7 ⅔ innings after finishing a three-inning save last Sunday.
Stony Brook’s pitching staff will have to carefully navigate Campbell’s powerful offense. The Camels rank first in the CAA with a .429 in on-base percentage, a .564 slugging percentage and 271 runs batted in (RBI) as well as second with a .299 team batting average.
Leading Campbell’s offense is two-way player Grant Knipp, who leads the league with a .455 batting average and a 1.749 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) as a designated hitter. Knipp has missed the Camels’ last nine games with a hamstring injury after starting in the team’s first 22 contests. His status is unknown for this weekend.
Right fielder Lawson Harrill is second in the CAA with a 1.422 OPS and sixth with a .383 batting average. Harrill also leads his team with 10 doubles and is second with 31 RBIs, trailing only Knipp’s 40.
The Camels’ top two bats are heavily protected in their dangerous lineup. Third baseman Charlie Meglio (.454), first baseman Reed Stallman (.447), catcher Andrew Schuldt (.427), center fielder Payton Howard (.417), second baseman Braeden O’Shaughnessy (.411) and shortstop Riley Chandler (.405) all have on-base percentages above the .400 mark.
Campbell’s lineup is the strongest in the conference, as it has slugged 68 home runs, which is 18 more than the next-highest team. Knipp and Harrill lead the charge, as the pairing is second and third in the conference with 15 and 14 home runs, respectively. Following them is left fielder Dalen Thompson — who has eight — and Stallman, who has six. In total, the Camels have 13 different players who have knocked one over the fence this season.
One player definitely missing from the lineup is injured first baseman Dylan Koontz, who is batting .271 with 17 RBIs.
However, the Seawolves’ pitching staff may be able to tame Campbell’s powerful lineup. Stony Brook has given up just 21 home runs this season, which is the third-best mark in the CAA.
Even if they can not get the ball in the air, the Camels also create a lot of movement on the basepaths, as their 51 stolen bases are the third-most in the CAA. Howard leads the team with 10 steals on 14 steal attempts followed by Knipp, who has seven in nine tries. Harrill, Thompson and right fielder Peyton Bonds are all 6-for-6 on steals along with Stallman, who is perfect in four tries.
The Seawolves’ lineup has not been nearly as productive as Campbell’s. Stony Brook’s .262 batting average, .358 on-base percentage and .370 slugging percentage are all the second-worst marks in the conference.
Left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring leads the team with a .372 batting average, followed by right fielder Matty Wright at .326 and Paulsen — a first baseman who has been the primary designated hitter — at .303. Center fielder Cam Santerre is sporting a .299 batting average. Second baseman Johnny Pilla has locked up his spot, but he is 2-for-his-last-15, dropping his average to .247. Brown-Erring’s 13 doubles are the most on the team, followed by Paulsen’s eight and Pilla’s six.
After a slow start, second baseman Evan Fox — who will likely be playing third base for the rest of the year — has found his stride at the plate. After dislocating his shoulder and tearing his labrum on a head-first slide at Seton Hall, Fox has returned on fire, going 12-for-30 with three doubles, seven RBIs and five walks over his last seven games. The speedster has 10 stolen bases in as many tries to lead the team.
Brown-Eiring leads the Seawolves with 29 RBIs, followed by shortstop Matt Miceli’s 17. Paulsen (15), Fox (13), first baseman Brett Paulsen (11) and right fielder Chris Carson (10) — who may platoon with Santerre in center field — all have tallied double-digit RBIs this year. Pilla and right fielder Rob Taylor have both driven in nine runs this year.
Catcher Ryan Micheli has been the most productive player at his position on the team and has caught the last four games, so he will likely handle the duties in this series. He is batting .234 this year and has scored 13 runs.
Stony Brook’s bats will hope to post similar numbers to last weekend against Elon, when it batted .377 and averaged 11 runs across three games. The Camels’ struggling staff may open the door for such a thing to happen, as they have pitched to the fourth-worst ERA (6.49) in the CAA.
At the forefront of Campbell’s weekend rotation is starting pitcher Zach Sabers, who has pitched 39 ⅔ innings with a 5.22 ERA and notched 30 strikeouts. Following Sabers in the rotation is starting pitcher Cooper Clark, whose 8.58 ERA in 35 ⅔ innings is the second-worst mark amongst qualified pitchers in the CAA.
It is a toss-up as to who could start the third game of the series for Campbell. Left-handed pitcher Cy Cox and right-handed pitcher Nate Brittain have both started games for the Camels. Cox’s ERA sits at 16.03. Brittain has a much more stable 4.02 ERA in 15 ⅔ innings pitched after tossing five scoreless frames while striking out six in his first start of the year last week.
In the bullpen, Campbell relies on relief pitcher Jackson Roberts, who has a 5.33 ERA in 27 innings pitched. Relief pitcher Packy Bradley-Cooney leads the team with three saves and has struck out 29 batters to the tune of a 4.88 ERA. Bradley-Cooney leads the team with just a .157 batting average against amongst players with multiple games pitched.
If healthy, Knipp may be able to chip in, as he has allowed just one earned run on five hits and a walk over 5 ⅔ innings of relief. He has struck out six in his small body of work.
This will be the teams’ first meeting since 2002 and first-ever matchup as conference rivals. A series win would push the Seawolves over .500 on the year for the first time since they were 9-8 on March 16.
