DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 16, 2022) – The Mercy College baseball team looks to continue its success over the last four years under Head Coach Chris Schoen. The Mavericks return some key contributors from last year's team that qualified for the ECC Tournament for the first time since 2010. Mercy opens their 2022 season on Saturday, February 19th when they face Goldey-Beacom and Le Moyne in Cary, North Carolina.
Mercy went 18-11 in 2021 and secured their first ECC Championship berth since 2010. The Mavericks also set a school record for ECC wins with 14 and posted the highest winning percentage (.667) in ECC play in school history. Mercy also posted their first winning record since 1990. Six Mavericks were named to the ECC All-Conference Teams and Nolan Giblin was tabbed Rookie of the Year.
"The boys are working hard and we are looking forward to the season. We look to continue building on what we have done the past few years," stated Schoen.
Infield
Leading the returners in the infield is Giblin who hit .360 with 40 hits and 16 RBI. He also had a team-high 35 runs and 13 stolen bases in 111 at bats. Giblin was named to the ECC Honor Roll twice in 2021 and ranked second on the team in average, hits and doubles. He is expected to start at third base this season.
Also returning in the infield is senior Nikko Liguori who should see time at second base. Liguori ended the 2021 season with 12 hits, 14 runs, six RBI and eight stolen bases in 63 at bats. In 2020, he was named to the ECC Honor Roll once and hit .259 in 27 at bats with three RBI.
Senior James Mattutat also returns for the Mavericks. He looks to see action at first base and is coming off a year in which he hit .357 with five RBI and a home run in 14 at bats.
The newcomers in the infield are led by Neumann University transfer Ryan Gonzalez who should see time at first base. Gonzalez hit .278 in seven games a year ago for Neumann. Freshman Frankie Asaro joins the Mavericks from Wheatley High School, was named to the Newsday Long Island Top 100 and will see time at second base. Freshman Jaden Caballero and Friends University transfer Jared Hernandez will split time at shortstop. Caballero won the Section 9 Championship while at Newburgh Free Academy.
Junior Justin Glennerster will lead the Mavericks behind the dish. Glennerster was named to the ECC Honor Roll once in 2021 after hitting .311 with 18 runs, 23 hits, five doubles, 13 RBI, four stolen bases and three home runs. He ranked second on the team in home runs. Also looking to see time at catcher are freshmen Alfred Hoti and Connor Ruland. Ruland was an All-League selection while at Islip High School.
Outfield
Returning in the outfield for the Mavericks are seniors Ryan Saltzman and James Dieguez, graduate student Robert Wootten and junior Isaiah Ortiz. Saltzman has recorded 61 hits, 40 runs and 24 RBI in three seasons to date for the Mavericks. Last season, he had 11 RBI and 17 hits in 70 at bats and will continue to man centerfield for Schoen. Dieguez will also see time in the outfield after hitting .270 in 2021 with three RBI and five runs scored.
Wootten has seen action in 10 games in two seasons for the Mavericks but should see action as a starting outfielder in 2022. Ortiz and freshman Nathan Rodriguez will see action in the outfield.
Pitchers
The pitching staff will be led by junior Anthony Burgio who had an outstanding 2021 season for the Mavericks. He was named Second Team All-ECC, ECC Pitcher of the Week once and NCBWA East Region Pitcher of the Week once. Burgio went 5-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 49.1 innings with 47 strikeouts. He led the team in wins and strikeouts and ranked third in the ECC in wins.
Also seeing action as a starter will be juniors Kevin Seckler, seniors Jonathan Diforio and Austin DeRosa and freshman Scott Scheppy. Seckler went 1-1 with one save in 17.1 innings with a 4.67 ERA in six appearances and two starts. Diforio made nine appearances out of the bullpen in 2021 and produced a 2.21 ERA in 20.1 innings with 20 strikeouts and three wins. DeRosa went 4-1 in six starts last season with a 5.10 ERA in 30.0 innings with 19 strikeouts. He was named ECC, NCBWA National and East Region Pitcher of the Week after throwing a no-hitter against D'Youville on April 3, 2021. Scheppy joins the Mavericks from Newburgh Free Academy where he went 6-0 in 32 innings with a 0.42 ERA in 2021.
The Mavericks will be led in the bullpen by junior John Gillespie, freshman Matthew Manzoeillo, Rodriguez, graduate students Manny Sanchez, Kuzari Jocelyn and Ryan DeMille and sophomores Luis Ruiz and Max Rank. Gillespie made five appearances in 2021 with a 3.18 ERA in 5.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Manzoeillo joins the Mavericks from Beacon High School where he was named All-Section and All-League. Sanchez has appeared in 29 games as a Maverick and has a 2-4 record with 30 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched. Jocelyn pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief with one save in 2021 and will look to see more time on the mound in 2022. DeMille joins Mercy from Dominican College where he appeared in 15 games with 13.2 innings pitched over the course of three seasons.
Ruiz and Rank both had sold freshmen campaigns in 2021 and will look to continue to excel in 2022. Ruiz had a 4.09 ERA in 11.0 innings with 10 strikeouts and Rank had a 4.50 ERA in 14.0 innings with 11 strikeouts.
Mercy looks to qualify for the ECC Tournament for the second straight year and the tournament will take place on May 12-14.
