The Matchup
The Leopards will travel to Stony Brook, N.Y. this weekend to take on the Seawolves of Stony Brook University in a three-game series set to begin on Friday at 11 a.m. The only prior meeting between the two teams was a four-game series in 2008, in which the Leopards won three of the four contests.

A Familiar Face
A.J. Miller '11 has returned to College Hill as the Leopards' skipper in 2023. Miller who is a 2011 Lafayette graduate was the 2011 Patriot League Player of the Year, a All-Patriot League First-Team selection and tied the Lafayette program record for home runs with 22. Miller was a Charles L. Albert '08 award recipient and received the Paul E. Koch '28 award during his time in Easton. After leaving College Hill, Miller went on to play professional baseball for the Normal Cornbelters of the Frontier League and the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He spent the previous seven years on the baseball staff at Lehigh University, holding titles of assistant coach, recruiting coordinator and associate head coach during his tenure.

Weekly Honors
Lafayette has won four weekly awards in the season to date. Most recently, freshman pitcher James Reese was awarded Patriot League Baseball Rookie of the Week. Reese appeared in two games at High Point, recording a save and a win and striking out three. Junior Blaze Fadio was named Patriot League Player of the Week and freshman Ethan Swidler was selected as Patriot League Rookie of the Week for their performances at Southeastern Louisiana. Senior Alex Walsh was named Patriot League Pitcher of the Week for his work on the mound against Davidson. These were the first weekly honors for the four members of the Lafayette Nine.

The Leopards
The Leopards earned a series split at High Point, propelled by nine home runs by six different players. Senior Pete Ciuffreda powered the Leopards in their series against the Panthers, clubbing four home runs while recording seven RBIs with five hits and scoring six runs. The Whitehouse Station, N.J. native hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the 10^th inning in Lafayette's 11-10 victory over High Point on Saturday. Another player to watch for the Leopards is sophomore Michael Zarrillo. During Lafayette's series at High Point, Zarrillo had six hits and batted .462, hitting a home run and scoring three runs. He recorded three RBIs, drew four walks and stole two bases. Lafayette has taken advantage of its team's speed and leads the Patriot League in stolen bases with 23.

The Opponent
Stony Brook enters this weekend series with a 2-9 record. The Seawolves won their last two games, defeating Fordham 8-4 and LIU 15-5. At the plate, graduate student Evan Giordano leads Stony Brook. The 2022 America East Player of the Year is batting .426, and has recorded two home runs and 16 RBIs. He went 5-6 in Stony Brook's most recent game against LIU and has recorded a hit in seven of the last eight contests. Another of the Seawolves to watch is junior Evan Fox, who is batting .311 and leads Stony Brook with three home runs. Fox has recorded a hit in 10 of the 11 games played this season and has reached base in every game.