Our 2012 season preview. Very excited to see how things to turn out. Probably take a few lumps for a yr or two...we'll see:
March 7, 2012
Saint Michael's baseball heads into 2012 season as NE-10 member for first time since 1998 COLCHESTER, Vt. - On March 24, the Saint Michael's College baseball team is slated to complete a rebirth, playing its first league contest as a member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 1998 after more than a decade as an independent. The 2012 squad will also have a familiar face in a new role at the helm.
Upon taking on 2011 NCAA Tournament semifinalist Southern Connecticut State University during its NE-10 opener, the Purple Knights will be in the midst of Matt Rodovick's first season as the interim head coach of the program after joining the squad as an assistant last spring. With Paul Morgan taking a leave of absence following three seasons as head coach, Rodovick has already witnessed how much returning to a conference means to the team.
"The players are extremely excited alone at the fact that they're back in the NE-10, just to have the possibility to be on an all-conference team, or to get to a conference tournament, or to get to an NCAA Tournament," said Rodovick. "That's driven them beyond anything I could have done. It's really good for them in the weight room, and the fall was our best semester academically while I've been here. All of this has been directly related to us being back in a conference."
Rodovick is joined by fourth-year assistant coach Josh Jacobs and first-year staff member Cagney Brigham. Only one regular was lost from last year's 5-25 squad, as players who combined to start all 30 games and record more than 84 percent of the team's hits return. "It's hard for guys to reflect back on a season where the record wasn't very good and see positives, but we had guys who took some positives away from last year," said the head coach. "We played a lot of freshmen, and we're going to play a lot of freshmen and sophomores this year. We have a lot of arms coming back, guys that have pitched against NE-10 teams for two or three years, so there's an experience factor there."
Saint Michael's will face numerous challenges upon its return to a conference that boasted four NCAA Tournament qualifiers last spring, including becoming a member of a league that utilizes wooden bats. "Some players will be using wooden bats for the first time, but wood or metal, if you square it up, you're going to get results," said Rodovick. "A lot of our past games against NE-10 teams were in the middle of the week, but teams typically throw their best arms on the weekends. We're going to get their best guys all the time, so we're going to have to do the small things well - hitting and running, being good two-out hitters, being good two-strike hitters."
The pitching staff will be led by five veteran starters with college experience, as second-year captain Austin Ziskie (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) anchors the starting rotation. Twenty of his 24 career appearances have come in a starting role, as he has struck out 101 and walked just 52 in 131.2 innings.
Juniors Andrew DuPrat (Fairfax, Vt./BFA-Fairfax), Collin Fishman (Bethesda, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) and Andrew Kelley (Lincoln, N.H./Lin-Wood) and sophomore Nick Myers (Canton, Conn./The Master's School) round out the projected rotation, though freshman Will Corkum (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich) is challenging DuPrat for the fifth spot. A southpaw, Kelley led the team with 36 strikeouts last year, fanning at least seven in three outings. Fishman posted a 3.98 earned run average while striking out 31 and should grab at bats as a designated hitter when not pitching. Fishman had four doubles and eight RBIs in 2011. Myers struck out 30 in 31.2 innings, while DuPrat made four appearances, including three starts, among them a four-hit shutout of C.W. Post.
Freshmen Harry Klein (Rockville, Md./The Avalon School) and Barry Maily (Moosup, Conn./Plainfield) could make spot starts but will otherwise appear out of the bullpen, as would Corkum should he not end up in the rotation. Sophomore lefty Alec Tice (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford), the team's starting first baseman, might also log innings on the mound. Classmate and fellow left-hander Corey Livingston (Hartford, Conn./East Catholic) went 1-1 in 12 relief outings last year, yielding no earned runs in eight of his contests.
Seniors Matthew Dunn (Needham, Mass./Needham), Chris Hoey (Huntington, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) and Jesse Sullivan (Saugus, Mass./Pingree School) will all be relied upon for short stints in relief. Now in his third season of college ball, Dunn has made 22 career appearances, all out of the bullpen, while each of Hoey's 12 outings have been in a relief capacity. Sullivan posted a 2.61 ERA in five games last spring, including drawing one start.
Three catchers complete the team's battery, with seniors Chadwick Estey (New Haven, Vt./Mount Abraham Union) and Ben Mitchell (Pembroke, N.H./Pembroke Academy) providing veteran experience, and sophomore Jason Moore (Avon, Conn./Northwest Catholic) entering his second season. Estey, a captain who had five doubles and 10 RBIs last year, enters the spring as the starter, having posted a .982 career fielding percentage. He will also see time at first base. Mitchell has a .968 fielding percentage, and the left-handed-hitting Moore drew 13 at bats as a freshman.
Youth reigns on the infield, where each of the four projected starters is an underclassman. Tice will hold down the starting spot at first base for the second straight year, as the lefty batter hit a team-high .323 last spring with 30 hits, among them seven for extra bases. Sophomore second baseman Tyler Wild (Quaker Hill, Conn./Saint Bernard School) and left-handed-hitting freshman shortstop Don McGuirl (Warwick, R.I./Saint Sebastian's School) are each capable of playing both middle infield spots. Wild had 24 hits and drew nine walks last year while swiping 10 bases. Freshman George Buteau (South Burlington, Vt./Trinity-Pawling School) figures to start at third and provide his bat to the middle of the order.
Sophomore Chris Puliafico (Sharon, Mass./Sharon), who has the skills to appear at first base and behind the plate, is in the mix to be the starting DH after posting 11 hits and eight RBIs last year, and freshman Tyler Robertson (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) is pushing for starting time at second base.
Seniors Bryan Geary (Milton, Vt./Milton/Skidmore), Patrick Lawler (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) and Michael Robinson (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) and freshman Charlie Russell (Ozone Park, N.Y./CTEA) will draw at bats in reserve capacities this spring. Geary, who has made 49 of his 53 appearances as a Purple Knight in the starting nine, can play any infield or outfield position, while Lawler, a captain, was an infield starter his first two years before being limited to six games in 2011 due to injuries. He will see time on the left side of the infield. Robinson has a .986 career fielding percentage at first base and in the outfield, and Russell, a third baseman, provides the squad with another left-handed batter.
In the outfield, four players are in contention to draw starting assignments. Senior Tim McDonnell (Durham, N.H./Oyster River) will lead off in center field, with the lefty hitter picking up 18 hits, five doubles and 11 walks last year, as he and sophomore left fielder Nick Nelson (Spofford, N.H./Keene) flipped outfield spots. Nelson had 12 hits and 12 RBIs. The starting right fielder a year ago, junior Jacob Begnoche (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) will gain at bats as the DH when not in the outfield, as he had 19 hits in 22 games. Freshman Nicky Elderton (Shelburne, Vt./Rice Memorial), a left-handed hitter, is also set to see time either in right field or as a DH. Both local products will bat in the heart of the order. Sophomore outfielder Nick Barton (Colchester, Vt./Colchester), a catcher in high school, looks to provide a lefty bat off the bench while potentially putting his speed to use as a pinch runner.
Saint Michael's embarks on an ambitious eight-game Spring Break trip to Florida next week, one that includes league counterpart Franklin Pierce University, which is ranked in a pair of national polls, and Nova Southeastern University, which appears in the March 5 Collegiate Baseball national rankings. Both qualified for the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Following their NE-10 opener with Southern Connecticut State, the Purple Knights kick off their home campaign versus Saint Anselm College on April 3, as the squad is slated to play 28 games in 36 days between March 24 and April 28.
The conference will be broken into two divisions - Northeast and Southwest - for the first time since 2003, with the top four teams from each advancing to the NE-10 Tournament, which begins May 8. The Purple and Gold plays 21 contests against Northeast Division counterparts. Should weather allow them to complete every scheduled game, the Purple Knights would play as many as 39 contests for just the third time in their 108 seasons, a far cry from playing only 12 as recently as 2003 due to the unpredictable New England weather. But the heavier schedule is one of the perks of returning to the NE-10.
"I think we could be a great team if things progress in the right direction," said Rodovick. "One man cannot do it all by himself. We need all 30 guys to buy in, accept their role, and want to succeed in that role. Whether it's a starter who's batting third all season, or a player who's going to get 10 at bats or 10 innings pitching, we need all of those guys. We need everyone to buy in and everyone to contribute, regardless of the size of their role."
