Mix of Veterans and Youth Help Mavericks Improve in 2008
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Craig Ross |
2008 Mercy College Baseball Review
DOBBS FERRY, NY - The Mercy College baseball team saw significant improvements in all areas this season. The Mavericks (11-32-1, 7-19-1 ECC) had four regular starters hit .285 or better in their first season playing with wood bats and had strong contributions from the pitching staff.
"We took some big steps this year," said Head Coach Bill Sullivan. "Our upperclassmen stepped up and our younger guys continued to develop and contribute."
Senior Craig Ross (Bellmore, NY) led the team in hitting with a .319 average and collected 43 hits as he earned All-East Coast Conference (ECC) First Team honors. Ross also had 14 runs batted in and 19 runs scored. Senior Steve Summer (E. Meadow, NY) had a team leading 14 extra base hits and 28 RBI, while closing out his career by receiving ECC Player of the Week accolades in the final week of the regular season.
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Steve Summer |
Freshman Matt Walsh (Staten Island, NY) batted .297, stole 18 bases in 21 attempts and scored a team-best 23 runs to earn a spot on the All-ECC Second Team as an outfielder. He also contributed on the mound with a 3.51 ERA and tossed two complete games. Walsh earned ECC Rookie of the Week honors March 31 and Ping! Spotlight Performance of the Week.
A couple of other newcomers made big impacts as junior Chris Pannullo (Dix Hills, NY) hit .286 and drove in 16 runs while scoring 19 and stealing 10 bases. Freshman Graig Lauricella (North Massapequa, NY) finished strong to post a .307 batting average, a team-leading .450 on base percentage, and swiped 11 bases. As a team, the Mavericks collected 79 stolen bases in 44 games.
On the mound, junior right-hander Matt Moreno (Harrison, NY) had a 3.71 earned run average with 51 strikeouts in 51 innings. He picked up two saves and one win. Freshman Stephen Marsar (Seaford, NY) led the Mavericks with four wins and had a 4.47 earned run average. Freshman Anthony DiCarlo (Red Hook, NY) picked up three wins to the tune of a 4.21 earned run average with two complete games. DiCarlo earned ECC Pitcher and Rookie of the Week on March 11.
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Matt Moreno |
The Mavericks also got big contributions out of the bullpen from a couple of newcomers. Freshman right-hander Alex Rodriguez (Miami, FL) appeared in 22 games, earning one win and fanning 21 batters in 28.2 innings. Freshman southpaw Keith Kreig (City Island, NY) was third on the squad with 19 appearances. Sophomore Marc Dern (Valley Stream, NY) handled the staff for most of the season behind the dish, along with senior Roberto Martinez (Yonkers, NY).
Mercy picked up its first win of the season in Myrtle Beach, SC when they took on Felician College. The Mavericks pieced together the victory with six pitchers. Junior Bobby Engelhard (Oceanside, NY) went the first four innings and allowed only one run, while Marsar notched his first win in relief . Walsh went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and junior Ken Mundy (Valley Steam, NY) knocked in two runs for the 5-3 victory.
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Matt Walsh |
A few days later the Mavericks took on Mount St. Vincent and scored at least a run in each of the first five innings to win the opener. Sophomore Vinnie Tesoriero (Glen Head, NY) went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, sophomore Justin Muscarella (Plainedge, NY) belted Mercy's first home run of the year, and Ross went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Next Mercy headed to Florida and took on ECC opponent St. Thomas Aquinas College in a non-league tilt. The Mavericks got eight innings of one-hit ball from DiCarlo who struck out six batters. Pannullo went 3-for-5 with an RBI as the Mavericks rolled to a 5-0 victory.
After a split with Southeastern and a pair of defeats to Southern Connecticut State, the Mavericks returned north. They dropped a tight 8-6 decision at Bloomfield before diving into their ECC schedule of games. Mercy picked up a 9-2 victory at New Haven behind Marsar who picked up his third win of the year. Marsar pitched seven innings and allowed only two runs. Summer went 4-for-5 with two runs scored.
Mercy dropped back-to-back extra inning affairs, but responded by sweeping a weekend series from Bridgeport. In the top of the eighth of game one, Bridgeport took a 7-6 lead, but Pannullo and Ross each singled in a run to take the lead and the game. In game two, Marsar was again effective with six innings of one-run ball for a 6-1 triumph. The final game of the series was a tight one. Mercy scored two runs in the fifth which proved to be the winning runs in a 5-4 contest. Junior Steve Merslich (Flushing, NY) pitched a complete game for his first win of the season.
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Steve Marsar |
The Mavericks hit a rough spot, winning only two of the next 19 games. But, in the final week of the season Mercy played several close contests resulting in a tie with Queens, a win over Concordia and an extra inning defeat to the Clippers. Versus Queens, senior Julian Tosado (Miami, FL) capped his career with a 2-for-4 effort. In the win, Walsh completed what he started, allowing three hits and two earned runs for a 5-2 victory. Summer went 3-for-3 with three doubles and three RBI. In the final two games, Summer went a combined 5-for-8 with six RBI and four extra base hits.
Overall, Mercy's 11 victories on the year marked an eight-win improvement over the previous season, and with 25 letter winners slated to return, Sullivan expects bigger steps to be taken in 2009.
"We're going to miss some great production from this year's seniors," said Sullivan. "But our underclassmen also really shined and with another strong recruiting class I expect us to compete for an ECC Tournament berth next season."
