After losing a crucial series to drop to fifth place in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), the Stony Brook baseball team will return home and try to flip its fortunes in the Battle of Long Island.
In need of a big weekend, the Seawolves (22-20, 10-8 CAA) will play host to the Hofstra Pride (18-27, 8-10 CAA) at Joe Nathan Field this weekend for three games. The series will open with a 2 p.m. contest on Friday before a 1 p.m. game on Saturday. First pitch in Sunday’s finale is penciled in for noon.
In last year’s edition of the rivalry, Stony Brook took the opener 8-6 before Hofstra stormed back and took the final two to win the series. This series is crucial for both teams, as the Seawolves are in fifth place and just a game ahead of William & Mary, who holds the final spot in the 2024 CAA baseball tournament. They do not own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Tribe.
For the Pride, they are just a game behind William & Mary in the standings and they won the season series with eighth-place Campbell, which means they too have a legitimate shot at the playoffs.
In order to bury Hofstra and elevate itself, Stony Brook’s offense is going to need to pick up the pace. Its bats have struggled this year, as it ranks 11th in the CAA with a .264 team batting average. Luckily for the Seawolves, the Pride sit last in the conference with a 7.88 earned run average (ERA) and have allowed the third-highest batting average against at .291.
Hofstra’s rotation is headed by right-handed starting pitcher Michael O’Hanlon, who leads the team with 67 innings pitched. Across those innings, he has struck out 65 batters but has struggled to a 5.37 ERA. Opponents are hitting .258 against him. Behind him is fellow right-handed starting pitcher Carlos Martinez. Martinez has become a strikeout machine in his sophomore year, punching out a team-leading 69 hitters in just 52 innings pitched. Despite his power stuff, Martinez has issued 22 walks, which has contributed to a 5.54 ERA.
Left-handed pitcher Tanner Sanderoff has gotten many of the Sunday starts for the Pride recently but has thrown just 17 ⅔ innings this season. Sanderoff has been stingy, holding hitters to a .219 batting average, but walks have been problematic. The freshman has handed out 19 free passes, which has helped blow his ERA up to 7.64.
The only other candidate to start game three is right-handed pitcher Steven Kaenzig, who has pitched in 14 games and started 10. He has been kicked from the rotation due to poor performance, as he owns a 10.47 ERA, a 12.6 hits per nine innings rate and 16 hit batsmen across 43 innings.
Out of the bullpen, head coach Frank Catalanotto has leaned heavily on right-handed relief pitcher Mike McKenna as his closer. Across 19 appearances, McKenna has converted a CAA-leading seven saves while pitching to a 4.31 ERA. In 31 ⅓ innings, he has struck out 40 batters.
Other than McKenna, right-handed relief pitchers Danny Kelleher and Russell Hunter are likely to appear for Hofstra if needed. Kelleher recently had a streak of six innings without an earned run over four appearances — a streak that was snapped by Seton Hall on Wednesday. However, he still owns a 6.91 ERA in 28 ⅔ innings this year. As for Hunter, he has given the Pride 27 innings to the tune of an 8.00 ERA, but has allowed just two earned runs and one walk over his last five innings, making him one of their hottest relievers by default.
Leading the charge against Hofstra’s weak staff will be left fielder Matt Brown-Eiring, who paces the Seawolves with five home runs and a .317 batting average. His 20 extra base hits coupled with a .384 on-base percentage, have produced an .890 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). Brown-Eiring’s 14 doubles place him in a three-way tie for ninth place in the CAA.
Center fielder Cam Santerre has been an on-base machine this year, as his .480 on-base percentage ranks 10th in the CAA and his .926 OPS leads his team. Santerre has been a ball magnet, getting hit by 19 pitches, which is the second most in the conference. With the bat itself, Santerre has swung it well, owning a .293 batting average, seven doubles, two triples and a home run. Once aboard, Santerre is a threat to take off, as he is tied for seventh in the league with 14 stolen bases.
First baseman Erik Paulsen has gotten off to a good start in his freshman year as Stony Brook’s regular designated hitter, batting .306 with an .858 OPS. Paulsen has moved around in the batting order and has driven in 19 runs to go along with 11 doubles and four homers. Another young lefty slugger is second baseman Johnny Pilla, who is hitting .273 with 15 walks, nine doubles and three home runs and a .770 OPS. He is also a speedster, as he is tied for third on the team with 10 steals.
A trio of veterans have had down-years but have still been productive for the Seawolves. Shortstop Matt Miceli has been doing much of his work from the two-hole and is second on Stony Brook’s roster with 26 runs batted in (RBI). He is also second on the team with 27 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. First baseman Brett Paulsen is only hitting .259 with five doubles and 16 RBIs, but his team-leading 25 walks have given him a .371 on-base percentage. Leadoff-hitting third baseman Evan Fox has battled injuries this year, hampering his production to just a .254 batting average. Despite this, he has socked eight doubles and two home runs while stealing 13 bases in as many tries.
Right fielder Matty Wright is the Seawolves’ hottest hitter, as he is 7-for-his-last-14 coming into this series. On the year, he is batting .333 with a .415 on-base percentage and six doubles. He has also scored 18 runs despite not becoming a starter until conference play began.
Catcher Ryan Micheli has taken the backstop role and run with it, evidenced by his .303 batting average and .426 on-base percentage.
Right fielder Rob Taylor — who owns a .271 batting average, .746 OPS and five doubles in 48 at-bats — is out for the rest of the year as he continues to heal from his hit-by-pitch against Towson. Fellow right fielder Chris Carson has been fazed out of the center field platoon due to Santerre’s play, and with Wright’s hot streak, it is likely that he will merely be a pinch hitter and pinch runner. Carson is hitting just .172 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.
With the bench thin, third baseman Evan Goforth may get another shot, which would move Fox to his natural position of second base or to center field. Goforth is batting .200 in 80 at-bats with two doubles, one homer and eight RBIs. He has struggled at third base with eight errors in just 67 chances, good for just an .881 fielding percentage.
Stony Brook’s arms have been what has held the team together, as its 5.27 team ERA is the fifth-best figure in the CAA. However, starting pitcher Eddie Smink — the team’s ace — is out for the rest of the season with torn ligaments in his right rotator cuff. Smink ranked in the conference’s top 10 and top five in most statistics and finished his sophomore year with a 3.11 ERA, a 1.27 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP), a .215 batting average against and a 9.2 strikeouts per nine.
In Smink’s absence, the Seawolves will rely on lefty freshman starting pitcher Nick Rizzo to give them length. After getting off to a strong start, Rizzo has pitched to an 11.66 ERA over his last five starts, inflating his ERA to 5.61 across 51 ⅓ innings this year. The southpaw has gotten knocked around this year, as he owns a .308 opponent’s batting average.
After Rizzo, J.T. Raab has been the third starter, but he will likely move up to one or two now due to his solid performance. In his team leading 58 ⅔ innings, Raab has excelled to the tune of a 3.22 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP, which both rank ninth in the CAA. He has also been tough on opposing hitters, holding them to a .230 batting average.
Right-handed relief pitchers Ty Saunders and Colin Rhein have been used as long men this year and are both candidates to fill Smink’s role. Saunders has gotten six starts this year in 14 appearances, hurling 40 ⅓ innings. Across those innings, Saunders has had inconsistencies, owning a 6.92 ERA. Rhein has been good of late, pitching to a 1.99 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP over 31 ⅔ innings since March 17, lowering his ERA to 4.89 and his WHIP to 1.09 in 38 ⅔ innings. He has limited opponents to a .224 average.
Out of the bullpen, Erik Paulsen has been spectacular as a left-handed reliever. In 34 innings, he has pitched to a 2.38 ERA while notching five saves. Relief pitcher Brendan Pattermann has rebounded after a bad year in 2023, pitching to a 1.69 ERA and a 0.66 WHIP in 10 ⅔ innings.
It should be a tough matchup for Stony Brook’s pitching staff as the Pride’s identity is their offense. It ranks third in the CAA with a .296 batting average and fourth with 88 doubles.
Leading things off for them is second baseman Dylan Palmer, who has been a hit machine with a .396 batting average. Palmer is a dangerous baserunner, stealing the second-most bases in the conference with 20. He is also leading the league with 76 hits, but only eight of them have gone for extra bases.
Center fielder Alex McCoy has been Hofstra’s best hitter with a .320 average, 10 home runs and a .944 OPS. McCoy also ranks third in the CAA with 18 stolen bases. First baseman Steve Harrington is hitting .331 with three home runs and 18 RBIS. Catcher Matt Plecher is hitting .317 and has belted seven doubles and a home run. Third baseman Santino Rosso has done damage out of the three-hole, hitting .306 with nine homers, a team-leading 44 RBIs and an .878 OPS.
Batting out of the two-hole, right fielder Luke Masiuk has hit at a .290 clip while reaching base at a .401 rate. Masiuk also leads his team with 13 doubles. Left fielder Will Kennedy has been productive with 28 RBIs and 11 doubles on a .270 batting average. Shortstop Michael Florides is an effective singles hitter with a .284 average and a reliable glove, as he has only committed five errors all year.
At designated hitter, Hofstra has a two-way third baseman who has struggled out of the bullpen to an 11.03 ERA in 23 ⅔ innings. However, his right-handed bat has provided a .290 average, seven doubles, one home run and nine RBIs.
With the difficult part of their CAA schedule looming and the tiebreaker over Campbell already secured, the Seawolves can make things way easier for themselves by just winning this series.
