The St. Thomas Aquinas baseball team will open the 2010 season this afternoon against Felician College at the Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ. The 2010 Spartans hope to continue their winning ways of the two previous seasons. The 2008 and the 2009 teams finished 1st and 3rd respectively during the regular season with records of 17-10 and 16-9 while surpassing the 25 win total in each season.
The Spartans were selected 3rd in the East Coast Conference Pre-Season poll voted upon by the conference coaches. Coach Muscat remarked, "We believe we'll finish higher than that, but the 3rd place ranking is appropriate based on our history. The 2010 team is well equipped to make a serious challenge for the conference championship, and that is our goal."
Gone to graduation is pitcher Scott Sadowski, who with a .77 ERA led a pitching staff that finished fourth in the East Region with a 2.98 ERA. The Spartans will also miss two-time All-ECC utility man Kevin Connors (.286, OB% .423, 19 RBIs) and 4-year starting catcher Joe Giustino (.279, 1 error). In the classroom this fall the Spartans once again maintained a 3.1 GPA. The coaching staff was fortified with former Spartan and 4-year letterman Jon Garvey who has assumed the catching instruction responsibilities and began many of the recruiting responsibilities. Pitching Coach, Joe Curreri returns for his 2nd season after a successful first year with the Spartan Pitchers.
OFFENSE
Offensively, the Spartans return enough fire power to score the runs needed to consistently win. Among the returning leaders is All-ECC outfielder Matt Smith (Paramus, NJ) who led the team with a .321 avg, .425 slugging %, and game-winning hits and runs. Fellow outfielder Nick Barbalato (Mahopac, NY) returns for his sophomore year after hitting .310 and leading in stolen bases (16). He also notched ECC "Rookie of the Week" the last three consecutive weeks of the 2009 season. Vin Malzahn (Sparrowbush, NY), the all-time STAC homerun leader (21) returns for his senior year and hopes to push his homerun mark past 30. This past summer in the NYCBL, Malzahn hit .298 with 8 homeruns in 100 at-bats. Dan McDermott (Levittown, NY), two-time All-ECC third baseman, returns for his junior year after hitting .310 in his first two seasons. The 2010 Spartan offensive attacked will once again be anchored by excellent team speed, but enhanced with greater power and increased contact at the plate.
INFIELD
The corners are anchored by returners Malzahn and McDermott. The 6'5 Malzahn presents a large target for the infielders. The shortstop duties will be handled by transfer Andrew Ahn(Roslyn, NY).The Bishop Cardoza graduate comes to STAC equipped with excellent middle infielder tools. Ahn will most likely hit in the #2 spot behind Barbalato. The second base vacancy is filled by two very solid infielders Frank Salerno (New City, NY) & Mike Apreda (Teaneck, NJ). Salerno was an All-County shortstop at Clarkstown South, hitting .391, scoring 20 runs and driving in 20 runs. Apreda handled second base duties on the powerful Don Bosco team. Matt Marotta (Suffern, NY), last year's starting shortstop moves into the starting pitcher role, but will serve as the infield utility man and is quite capable of playing all three infield positions. Both Kevin Ryan (Levittown, NY) and Mike Puka (Wantagh, NY) will add depth at first base and both are left-handed hitters. The Spartans fielded at .960 in 2009 and feel strongly they can surpass that mark in 2010.
OUTFIELD
The Spartans return the entire starting outfield.SeniorFernando Peralta (Pine Bush, NY)will man centerfield and is arguably the best defensive outfielder in the conference, possessing both a great arm and great speed. Barbalato is in left field and Smith in right. Both are above average runners with good instincts in the outfield. Joe Antenucci. (Emerson, NJ) returns after hitting a solid .278. In only 79 at-bats he scored 19 runs, ripped 4 doubles, coaxed 11 walks, and struck out only five times. Transfer Ryan Spicer (Pearl River, NY) and freshman Joe DePool(New City, NY join the Spartan outfield. Spicer was a NJCAA All-American at Rockland Community College with the third highest batting average in the nation (.518). In 114 at-bats he stroked 12 doubles and drove in 46 runs. DePool, and exceptional two sport athlete at South possesses an excellent arm and great speed.
CATCHING
The catching corps is anchored by returning sophomore George Wargo (W. Haverstraw, NY). With an excellent arm and improved hitting approach, the 6'3 sophomore is ready to take over the starting catching duties. TransferFred Moore (Woodbourne, NY)and freshman Matt Kaldon (Montgomery, NY) join the Spartan this season. Moore transferred to STAC after leading JUCO Sullivan County in batting average (.390), hits (41), doubles (10), and RBIs (33). The 6'3 power hitter also has an above average arm comes to STAC ready to contribute immediately. Kaldon is a smaller and quicker catcher and proved this fall that he ready to play on the college level.
PITCHING
The pitching staff will be led by two senior lefties Brian LaMarr (Flushing, NY) and Matt Matcovich (Suffern, NY) and two junior right-handers Mike Aviles (Suffern, NY) and Matt Marotta (Suffern, NY). LaMarr led all Spartan hurlers in innings pitched (60) and victories (5) while maintaining a 2.97 ERA. Matcovich led all Spartan starting pitchers with a 2.20 ERA in 49 innings of work. Aviles has already notched 10 wins in his first two seasons for the Spartans and could be the winningest Spartan pitcher ever since STAC move in into the NCAA DII division. Aviles has made big improvements in his off-speed pitches and dialed his fastball up to 90 mph a few times this fall. Marotta moves into the rotation after a successful stint in the Spartan bullpen last season (2.50 ERA, .175 opp. avg.) and equally successful summer season as a starter for the North Jersey Eagles in the ACBL. Marotta showed the ability to touch 90 mph as well.
Mark Fochesato (Middletown, NY) returns after an injury riddled sophomore campaign. The junior hopes to regain his freshman dominance in which he appeared in 22 games, had 2.29 ERA, notched 7 wins, and limited opposing hitters to a meager.172 average (led ECC). Freshman Robert Frank(Closter, NJ) is slotted to be the 5th starter. The righty served as the closer for St. Joseph Regional. He has above average stuff, great mound presence and great mechanics. Junior college transfer Sean Marsiglia (Warwick, NY) looks to be a big contributor after a solid sophomore season at Orange Community College where he worked 49 innings and posted a 4-2 record. Marsiglia has the make-up and the stuff to be a starter or late inning finisher. Lefty Kevin Ryan (Levittown, NY) will have the opportunity to serve as a third left-handed starter after posting a 3.41 ERA last season. His curve ball can be a dominant pitch.
A sophomore trio of right-handers Jared Randazzo (Suffern, NY) Joe Ferrara (Congers, NY), and Ken Frawley(White Plains, NY) solidify the bullpen. Randazzo had a 3.86 ERA in his freshman year and at times showed good action on the slider and good velocity on the fastball. Left-handed reliever Tom Enright (Nanuet, NY) lowered his release slot and looks to be a difficult pitcher to hit out of the bullpen. Joe Klemowitz (Middletown, NY), another OCC transfer, worked 35 innings out the bullpen as a lefty specialist for Orange and is projected to do that and more this season. Freshman Dan Diaz (Nanuet, NY) comes to STAC after notching All-County accolades at Nanuet High School where he put together a stellar senior year, striking out 74 batters (6th in the section) in 46.3 innings while going 6-1.
Chris Schoepe (Prattsville, NY) returns for his sophomore year and is slotted to be the Spartan set-up man. As a freshman he worked 43 innings with a 3.41 ERA as a reliever. Dave Schwartz (Nanuet, NY) returns as the Spartan closer. The senior had an excellent junior year, his first as a pitcher, saving six games while holding a 1.63 ERA. Due to an injury, he will most likely not see action until midway through the season.
The season will open today against Felician College at 3:00 p.m. at Diamond Nation in New Jersey. The following weekend they'll travel to Adelphi and then head to Florida and take on three tough NE 10 foes: Southern Connecticut, UMass-Lowell, and New Haven. The first East Coast Conference series will begin March 18th versus C.W. Post. New to the schedule is a 5-game series format in which Spartans will play each ECC opponent in a 5-game consecutive series for a total of 30 conference games. The ECC enters its third year playing exclusively wood bat.