LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Baseball continues its season-long nine-game homestand to wrap up its 2024 Connors Park slate when the Saints host rivals UAlbany and Marist this week. Siena is set to welcome the Great Danes for doubleheader action featuring a pair of seven-inning contests Wednesday beginning at 1 p.m., before hosting the Red Foxes for a pivotal three-game conference series this weekend.
Four of the five games this week will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Friday's series-opener vs. Marist airing on Siena All-Access. The Saints are scheduled to wrap up their nine-game homestand – which encompasses exactly half of this season's home schedule – when they host Fairleigh Dickinson in non-conference action Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Siena (9-34, 5-13) enters what could be a season-defining week still firmly in the hunt for a MAAC Tournament berth. Entering the penultimate week of regular season action, the Saints currently stand 2.5 games back of Manhattan for the sixth and final postseason spot, with Siena having six conference games remaining. Two of the three teams either tied or directly ahead of the Saints in the MAAC Standings – Marist and Iona – are Siena's final two league opponents, while the other – Quinnipiac – the Saints hold the tiebreaker over having swept the regular season series.
The margin is razor thin for Siena entering the stretch run, which also reflects their most recent results. Six of the Saints' last 13 games have been decided by exactly one run. Overall this season, Siena has played 15 total games decided by two runs or less (4-11 record), including 10 by just one run (3-7).
A direct correlation to the close games has been thanks in large part to the improving overall performance of the pitching staff. The Saints staff has registered a 4.83 earned run average over the past 12 games to lower the overall team ERA by more than two full runs spanning that time.
Arnad Mulamekic, who was named the MAAC Pitcher of the Week on Apr. 23, has spearheaded the effort with a 2.78 ERA over six MAAC starts, while freshman
Connor Byrne has come out of the bullpen to register seven straight scoreless appearances spanning 11 total innings of work.
Offensively, freshman standout
Tyler Figueroa has been a consistent producer in the heart of the lineup. Named the MAAC Rookie of the Week for a program-record fourth time Tuesday, he has kicked it into another gear of late as he enters the week hitting .373 with four home runs and 14 RBI over his last 15 games.
Separated by less than eight miles, Siena and UAlbany (11-29, 8-12) met on the baseball diamond for the first time in 42 years dating back to the 1982 season when the Great Danes prevailed in a 17-12 slugfest in the Saints 2024 Connors Park debut on Apr. 2. UAlbany capitalized on seven Siena errors in the game, leading to eight of their 17 total runs being unearned.
Meanwhile, the Saints and Marist (15-31, 8-13) will meet on the Siena campus for the third straight season where the Red Foxes have won four of those six matchups. Overall, Marist has won 10 of the last 13 meetings between the I-87 rivals. The Red Foxes will enter the weekend a game back of the Jaspers for the final MAAC Tournament spot.
