DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (Feb. 17, 2023) – The Mercy College baseball team looks to continue its success over the last five years under Head Coach Chris Schoen. The Mavericks return several key contributors from last year's team that qualified for the ECC Tournament for the second straight season and played in the ECC Tournament for the first time since 2010. Mercy opens their 2023 season on Saturday, February 18th when they face Goldey-Beacom College and Le Moyne College starting at 11 a.m. in Cary, North Carolina.
Mercy went 21-25-1 in 2022 and secured their second straight ECC Championship berth. The Mavericks also tied the school record for ECC wins with 14 and tied the highest winning percentage (.667) in ECC play in school history. Mercy has posted 20 or more wins in three of the last five seasons under Schoen and had their first winning record since 1990 in 2021 when they went 18-11.
Five Mavericks were named ECC All-Conference last season and senior Nolan Giblin, graduate student Kevin Seckler and sophomores Jaden Caballero and Nathan Rodriguez are the All-Conference recipients from a year ago that return for the 2023 season. The Mavericks were picked fourth in the ECC Preseason Poll and will look to finish above their third-place finish a year ago.
"We are looking to build off of last year's success. We have added a lot of new talent thanks to Coach Mendez's hard work and with the experience the guys got last year we are very excited to see how it all plays out over the course of the year. The goal is to compete for the ECC Championship which will be a tall order with the talent this conference has returning," stated Schoen.
Infield
Leading the returners in the infield is Giblin who was named Second Team All-ECC last season at third base after appearing in 45 games with 44 starts. He hit .365 with 61 hits, 40 runs, six home runs, 35 RBI, nine doubles, two triples and 10 stolen bases. The senior led the team in average, runs, home runs and RBI and was second on the team in hits.
Returning at second base is sophomore Frankie Asaro. He appeared in 34 games making 20 starts, ending the season with four RBI, 13 runs, 17 hits and three doubles. Junior Jared Hernandez also returns and will see time at third base after hitting .266 with eight RBI and 10 runs in 19 starts last season. Senior Ryan Gonzalez returns after making 24 starts last season primarily at first base. He ended the 2022 season with 18 hits, five RBI and 11 runs.
At catcher, senior Justin Glennerster returns after making 41 starts a year ago. He finished last season with 28 RBI, 32 hits and 13 runs. The senior ranked third on the team in RBI. Sophomore Alfred Hoti also returns behind the dish after being named ECC Rookie of the Week once last season. He had 14 hits, eight runs and nine RBI in 21 starts last season. Sophomore Connor Ruland returns after making eight starts last season with eight hits and three RBI.
Son of Head Coach Chris Schoen graduate student Steven Schoen headlines the newcomers for the Mavericks. Schoen transfers from Division I Sacred Heart University where he hit .327 with five home runs and 23 RBI in 39 games last season and will start at first base. Sophomore Joseph Gonzalez will look to start at shortstop after transferring from Rockland Community College where he hit .365 with 30 RBI and 21 stolen bases. Southern New Hampshire University transfer Marcos Feliz will also look to compete for time at shortstop.
Freshmen Sean McAdams and Niko Sorice will compete for time at second base and catcher, respectively in their first season on campus.
Outfield
Caballero joins the outfield ranks after being named First Team All-ECC last season at shortstop. He was named ECC Player of the Week once and ECC Rookie of the Week three times a year ago. The sophomore started 47 games and hit .365 with 66 hits, 36 runs, 14 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 28 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He led the team in average, hits, doubles and stolen bases. Caballero was second on the team in runs and third in RBI. He will serve as the starting centerfielder for the Mavericks this season. Also returning in the outfield is senior Isaiah Ortiz who appeared in seven games last season.
Leading the newcomers in the outfield are junior Gabe Sanders and senior Janiel Ramirez. Sanders transfers in from Central Alabama Community College where he hit .253 with 17 RBI in 37 games played last season. Ramirez transfers from The College of Saint Rose where he appeared in 20 games in 2020 and 2021 with 10 RBI and nine runs scored.
Freshmen Zach Ashline, John Nisco and Kolongi Goins will also see action in the outfield. Ashline was named a First Team All-Star twice at Colonie Central High School and Nisco hit .500 with four home runs, 25 RBI and 31 hits at Sleepy Hollow High School.
Pitchers
The pitching staff will be led by Seckler who was named Second Team All-ECC and ECC Pitcher of the Week once last season. He appeared in 15 games on the mound making nine starts going 5-1 with a 4.26 ERA, one complete game and 38 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. He tied for the team lead in wins. Also returning is sophomore Scott Scheppy who had a strong freshman season where he won three games with a 4.31 ERA, three complete games and 40 strikeouts in 71 innings.
After missing last season due to injury, junior Ryan Rozinski returns to the mound. The junior was named Second Team All-ECC in 2021 after going 3-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 49.1 innings with 46 strikeouts. In 2021, he led the team and ranked fifth in the ECC in ERA. Rodriguez also returns after making three starts on the mound. He was named Second Team All-ECC after pitching 20.1 innings with 15 strikeouts and hit .247 with 15 RBI and 13 runs.
Senior Anthony Burgio also returns after having his 2022 season cut short due to injury. The senior was named ECC Pitcher of the Week once last season and went 3-4 in 51 innings with 49 strikeouts and one save. In 2021, he was named Second Team All-ECC after going 5-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 49.1 innings.
Junior Joshua Alvarado and sophomore Matthew Manzoeillo also return after pitching a combined 41.2 innings a year ago. Senior Ryan Dieguez returns after missing the 2022 season due to injury. He made three starts in the 2021 season with 5.2 innings pitched. Senior John Gillespie will return after missing last season due to injury. He made five appearances in 2021 with a 3.18 ERA and eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work.
Junior Gaetano Pennisi posted a 3.52 ERA in 7.2 innings with 10 strikeouts in seven appearances in 2021 and graduate student Ryan DeMille will see his first action as a Maverick this season after sitting out last season due to injury.
Joining the pitching staff this season and looking to compete for time are freshmen Brian Zbytniewski, Greg Friedman, Diego Wirz, Ryan Ehret, Riley Williams, sophomore Denis Garcia and juniors Gabriel Soto and Nelson Perez Jr. Feliz and Sanders will also see time on the mound.
