Coming off its second series win in a row, the Stony Brook baseball team is looking to stay hot in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
The Seawolves (17-17, 6-6 CAA) will host the last-place Towson Tigers (10-26, 3-9 CAA) at Joe Nathan Field for a three-game series this weekend. Festivities are set for 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, followed by a noon start on Sunday. These two teams last met in the final series of the 2023 season, in which Stony Brook dropped two out of three to be eliminated from conference playoff contention.
The Seawolves are coming off an upset series victory last weekend against Campbell. Towson won both of its midweek games, the most recent being a 7-6 win over Coppin State on Wednesday.
Stony Brook has a significant advantage on the pitching front, as its pitching staff’s 5.33 earned run average (ERA) is the fifth-best mark in the CAA. Leading the way is starting pitcher Eddie Smink, who is sporting a 3.21 ERA across 47 ⅔ innings pitched over nine starts this season. His 50 strikeouts are the seventh most in the conference and opponents are hitting just .223 against him, which is the sixth-lowest figure in the CAA. Smink tossed six scoreless innings last Friday, stranding three hits and six walks.
After Smink in the Seawolves’ rotation is left-handed starting pitcher Nick Rizzo, who has a 4.18 ERA in 47 ⅓ innings pitched. Starting pitcher J.T. Raab rounds out Stony Brook’s weekend rotation with a 3.74 ERA and has tallied 34 strikeouts in 43 ⅓ innings pitched.
In the bullpen, the Seawolves have a special arm in two-way lefty Erik Paulsen. The freshman is holding a 2.45 ERA throughout 29 ⅓ innings of work and his four saves are tied for the third most in the conference. Paulsen was named the CAA Rookie of the Week after notching a three-inning save and going 7-for-17 with a home run and two runs batted in (RBI) as a designated hitter.
Other than Paulsen, Stony Brook has right-handed relief pitchers Ty Saunders and Brendan Pattermann atop the pecking order. Saunders is coming off the best outing of his career: an 11-out save on Sunday. He tossed 3 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing just a hit and a walk while striking out three. He leads the team’s bullpen with 33 ⅔ innings pitched, but owns a 7.49 ERA. Pattermann was not used last week, but he has surrendered just two earned runs on five hits and one walk over 7 ⅔ innings.
Relief pitcher Colin Rhein may be used as a long reliever. He struggled last Saturday at Campbell, but he has pitched well over his last four outings. Over that stretch, he owns a 2.65 ERA and a 0.88 walks and hits per innings pitched.
The Seawolves’ pitching staff has a good matchup ahead of it. The Tigers’ .254 batting average, .340 slugging percentage, and .339 on-base percentage are all the worst marks in the CAA.
Left fielder Elijah Dickerson is Towson’s best hitter, as his .347 batting average is by far the best on the team, with third baseman Taye Robinson’s .297 batting average being the next closest. Shortstop Jordan Peyton (.275) and first baseman Bryce Frederick (.263) are the only two other Tigers players with a batting average above .250.
Right fielder Jeremy Wagner has played in 35 of the team’s 36 games and has the sixth-lowest batting average (.219) amongst qualified hitters in the CAA. Center fielder Cole Stefano is 0-for-his-last-13, dropping his average from .286 to .247.
The Tigers do not hit for power either, as their 14 home runs are the fewest in the conference. Frederick’s eight home runs lead the team by a wide margin, as the only other player to hit more than one over the fence is Dickerson, who has two. Frederick also leads the team with 28 RBIs, followed by Dickerson with 22 and Peyton with 20.
Dickerson has notched 13 doubles, which is the most by a Towson player. Catcher Brian Heckelman has totaled 10 doubles on a .222/.343/.351 triple slash line.
Robinson and Stefano are their biggest threats to run, as they have both nabbed six stolen bases. Second baseman Ryan Williamson and Dickerson trail just behind with five stolen bases each.
Designated hitter has been a mess for the Tigers, as well. Second baseman Casey Bishop, third baseman Jack Lawrence and catchers Chris Akers and Josh Janove are all candidates to fill the role.
Lawrence is batting .250 this year with three doubles and two RBIs, while Bishop is back healthy after missing six weeks with an injury. He is batting .240 with one double and one RBI this year. Akers is just 4-for-26 (.154) this year, but he hit a two-run home run against Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday. Janove is batting .193 this year with three doubles and has driven in six runs this year.
Although the Tigers’ lineup has struggled, Stony Brook’s has been in its company all year. The Seawolves are tied for the second-worst batting average (.266) and own the third-worst on-base percentage (.362) and slugging percentage (.377) in the CAA.
Left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring has been Stony Brook’s best hitter this season, as he leads the team and is seventh in the conference with a .366 batting average. Brown-Eiring also paces his squad in on-base percentage (.434) and slugging percentage (.590), RBIs (31), and doubles (13).
Paulsen’s good weekend boosted his batting average to .321 and his on-base plus slugging percentage to .905, which are both the second-best numbers on the team. He is also tied for second on the team with eight doubles and third with 17 RBIs. Between Brown-Eiring and Paulsen in the run-production department is shortstop Matt Miceli, who has collected 20 RBIs. First baseman Brett Paulsen has 15 RBIs this year on a .254 batting average to round out the top group of run-producers.
Right fielder Matty Wright (.302), center fielder Cam Santerre (.290), Miceli (.281), and third baseman Evan Fox (.273) all have batting averages above the team mean.
Like Towson, the Seawolves are not a powerful team, as their 21 home runs as a team are the fourth-fewest in the CAA. Brown-Eiring leads the pack with five, followed by Paulsen’s four and second baseman Johnny Pilla’s three. Pilla is batting .265 this year with eight doubles, 20 runs and 10 RBIs.
Stony Brook has a lot of speed on the basepaths as well. Fox leads the team with 12 stolen bases without being caught, followed by Santerre who is 8-for-10. Pilla, Brown-Eiring, and Miceli are all close behind with seven steals each.
Catcher Ryan Micheli went 3-for-10 in his last series to raise his batting average to .246 on the year. He will remain the Seawolves’ top backstop for this series. Off the bench, right fielder Rob Taylor is batting .261 with five doubles, a home run and 11 RBIs. Center fielder Chris Carson — who is platooning with Santerre in center and Wright in right — is batting just .200 this year, but he has homered in back-to-back weekends, giving him 11 RBIs on the year.
Stony Brook’s offense will try to capitalize on Towson’s shaky pitching staff. Towson’s 7.60 ERA is the second-worst number in the CAA.
The Tiger’s first starting pitcher will likely be Andrew Luczak, who has a 6.86 ERA in 19 ⅔ innings pitched. Opponents are hitting .304 against Luczak and he is coming off a start last weekend where he gave up five runs in four innings against the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He has only made four starts this season and has not gone more than 4 ⅔ innings in any of them. Behind Luczak is starting pitcher Jake Michel, who owns a 6.36 ERA in just 15 ⅔ innings pitched. Michel gave up four earned runs in just one inning of work last Saturday.
The Tigers’ likely game three arm will be right-handed pitcher Max Simpson, who has thrown to a 6.75 ERA over 41 ⅓ innings. Simpson has also been used in the bullpen, as his two saves are the second most on the team. Sunday’s nod may also go to right-handed pitcher Brett Seils, who has pitched to an 8.74 ERA over 30 innings across 10 appearances.
Relief pitcher Justin Rebok leads the team with three saves and has an 8.90 ERA in 31 ⅓ innings pitched. The Tigers use their bullpen often, as relief pitchers Ryder Jeske, Jordan Luton, and Brandon Jung have been used the most. Jeske and Luton have struggled immensely, as opponents are hitting .281 and .306 against them, respectively. Jung has been the most effective of the bunch. Although his 5.17 ERA is not too attractive, opponents are hitting just .173 against him.
Towson has had some defensive struggles as well. Its .949 fielding percentage is the lowest in the CAA. Robinson has been the team’s main weakness defensively, as his 21 errors in 67 attempts are the most in the league.
If the Seawolves’ bats can keep hitting like they have the previous two weekends, they may very well rise over .500 both overall and in against conference opponents. If so, it would be the first time in program history that Stony Brook ever eclipses the .500 mark during CAA play. A sweep would keep the team in the playoff picture for another week.
