Successful Fall Comes to an End for the Pride

Transcription

1 HOFSTRA PRIDE BASEBALL NEWSLETTER Successful Fall Comes to an End for the Pride On September 13 with a new turf infield, 80 degree weather and 21 new Hofstra Baseball players the Pride were set for fall practice. There was energy in the air and high expectations for this team coming off 61 wins in the past two seasons. Head Coach John Russo made it very clear that this team was going to play at a very fast, explosive and exciting pace this spring. The term 0 to 60 was heard on a daily basis at University Field. Fall World Series Co-MVP Dalton Rouleau This is a team centered around a great group of seniors (Rob Cafiero, David D Errico, TJ Ehrsam, Matt Ford, Chris Harkey, Kenny Jackson, Cody Normand, Dalton Rouleau, John Schilt, Brett Schreiber and Graham Tebbit) who have taken Coach Russo s philosophy of 0 to 60 and turned it into the norm. This pace of play made for an exciting Fall World Series which took all five games to decide a winner. In game one David D Errico took the mound for the Blue Team vs. junior David Jesch for Gold. D Errico earned the win after throwing five innings and giving up three runs. Freshman infielder David Leiderman led the Blue Team, going 2 for 4. Leiderman s single in the sixth inning scored catcher Rob Cafiero for a 4-3 lead. The Blue Team s bullpen came in and threw four scoreless innings by junior Kevin Weissheier, Graham Tebbit, John Schilt, and junior Luke Noone. In game two junior pitcher Nick Kozlowski took the mound for the Gold Team, down in the series 0-1. Junior college transfer Alec Eisenberg took the mound for the Blue Team. Both starting pitchers threw extremely well. Kozlowski went 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run. Eisenberg threw three innings, giving up zero runs with four strikeouts. The 0-0 tie was broken up in the fourth inning when Cafiero scored on a groundout by junior college transfer Brian MacDonald for a 1-0 Blue lead. The Blue Team would go on to score three runs in the eight with TJ Ehrsam, Matt Ford, and Cafiero crossing the plate. The Blue Team bullpen received six scoreless innings from Kevin Weissheier, Noone and Schilt. After two days the Blue Team had a commanding 2-0 lead over Gold.

2 Fall World Series Co-MVP Ryan Donovan MacDonald took the mound for the Blue Team in game three with a 2-0 lead while Chris Harkey took the mound for the Gold Team. In the third inning freshman catcher James DeNomme broke the 0-0 tie, scoring on a single by Dalton Rouleau. For the rest of the game it was a hit parade for the Gold Team as Rouleau went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored, junior Ryan Donovan was 2 for 4 with a triple and a home run, sophomore Kevin Brantley went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and freshman John Taurinsky went 2 for 3 with a run scored. Harkey earned the win by going 5 2/3 shutout innings. Junior pitcher Everett Keller and freshman pitcher Greg Boyle finished off the game, helping the Gold Team to a 10-2 victory. The pitching matchup for game four was a battle between junior college transfers Luke Noone for the Blue Team and Greg Carroll for the Gold Team. The Blue Team s Ehrsam led the game off with a double, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cafiero. In third inning the Blue Team tacked on two more runs by Ehrsam and freshman Dylan Stouffer. The Gold Team bounced back in the fifth inning, scoring three runs as Rouleau, Brantley and DeNomme crossed the plate. The Gold Team scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh by Rouleau, which gave freshman pitcher Matt Weissheier breathing room to close out the game for a Gold Team victory. Junior pitcher Brendan Mulligan earned the victory for the Gold Team, pitching two innings of relief. GAME 5 In the fifth and final game of the Fall World Series we saw each team s ace toe the rubber. The Blue Team sent out senior David D Errico, while the Gold Team threw junior Nick Kozlowski. Just as pictured, we had a pitchers duel with a 0-0 ballgame going into the sixth inning. The Gold Team scored three runs in the top by sophomore Kevin Brantley, junior Ryan Donovan and junior Michael Bradshaw. The Blue Team came back and scored one run by freshman David Leiderman on a sacrifice fly by freshman Dylan Stouffer. The Blue Team comeback fell short due to a great four inning bullpen performance by junior pitcher David Jesch as the Gold team posted the 3-1 win. In Jesch s four innings of relief he gave up one run, with five strikeouts, and one walk. Fall World Series CO-MVP s The Fall World Series Co-MVP s were senior Dalton Rouleau and junior Ryan Donovan. During the series Rouleau hit.526 with five runs scored and had five stolen bases. Donavon hit.300 with two triples, two home runs and four runs scored.

3 The Keene Swamp Bats won the 2013 New England Collegiate Summer League Championship. Matt Ford, Rob Cafiero and Nick Kozlowski were all part of the championship season. These three players played vital roles in their quest to bring Keene a championship. New England Collegiate Summer League Champions During the summer Ford hit.272 with 24 runs scored, four doubles, one triple, one home run and six stolen bases. Cafiero led the team in hitting with a.341 batting average, had two doubles, one triple, one home run and four stolen bases. Kozlowski had a 3-0 record with 23 innings pitched, a 1.95 ERA, 18 strikeouts and only five walks. Off to the Next Level Kevin Flynn - Washington Nationals Kevin Flynn a native of Morristown, New Jersey, came to Hofstra in the fall of 2010 after spending two years at County College of Morris. Flynn was a two-year starter for the Pride, seeing time behind the plate as well as third base. In the spring of 2010 Flynn played in 43 games, hitting.281 with six doubles, three home runs and 18 RBIs. Kevin threw out 17 would-be base stealers and was a Johnny Bench Award nominee. During the spring 2011 Flynn had to take a redshirt. In 2012 he came back to play in 49 games, hitting.325 with 15 doubles, one triple, and one home run. In conference play he played in 29 games hitting.340 with nine doubles, one triple, one home run, and seven stolen bases. Kevin was the core of Hofstra s record setting 34 win season. This past spring Kevin signed a free agent deal with the Washington Nationals. He spent the summer in Florida playing for the Gulf Coast Nationals, winning a GCL Championship. Kevin still resides on Long Island, where he is finishing up school and helps out the Hofstra Baseball team. He is still under contract with the Nationals and will leave for spring training in February.

4 Bryan Verbitsky - San Diego Padres Off to the Next Level Bryan Verbitsky a Long Island native from Levittown, New York, and Island Trees High School, came to Hofstra as a two-way player in the fall of In his freshman year Bryan led the team with a 3.31 ERA. He appeared in 17 games, recording 16 strikeouts to just eight walks. During his sophomore year Bryan appeared in 21 games. He had a team-leading five saves. Offensively Verbitsky hit.322 with six doubles, one triple, four home runs and had five stolen bases. After his sophomore year Bryan went to play for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod Collegiate League. He posted a 4.15 ERA in 21 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts, 10 walks and four saves. Bryan was named to the Cape Cod All-Star team. Following a successful summer, Bryan came into his junior year with high expectations after being named the 2013 preseason CAA Player of the Year by Baseball America. Bryan began the spring as a closer, but eventually earned the role as Hofstra s number one starter. He threw 44 innings with a 2.66 ERA, 51 strikeouts, 13 walks, three saves, and a 3-4 record. Bryan currently ranks 12th all-time at Hofstra in appearances (57) and second all-time in saves (11). On June 7, during the second day of the MLB first year player draft, Bryan was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 3rd round, 86th pick overall. Bryan spent his first year of professional baseball in Eugene, Oregon, playing for the Eugene Emeralds in the Northwest League A short-season. He threw 49 1/3 innings, with a 4.01 ERA and had 47 strikeouts. This fall Bryan has enrolled back in school at Hofstra and plans to earn his degree in criminology. Matt Reistetter was a three-year starter at Hofstra before signing with the Washington Nationals. Matt came to Hofstra from Hauppauge High School in Hauppauge, New York. In his freshman year Reistetter started 35 games hitting.270 with four doubles, one triple and 13 RBI s. In his sophomore year Matt started 41 games hitting.283, seven doubles, one triple, 19 RBIs, scored 27 runs and stole five bases. Matt earned Second team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors his sophomore season. Last spring Matt started in 47 games leading the team in hitting with a.326 average, had ten doubles, one triple, two homeruns and 34 RBI s. Reistetter signed a free agent contract with the Washington Nationals following his junior season. Matt spent his first year of professional baseball playing for the Auburn Doubledays in the class A Short-Season New York- Penn League. Matt hit.253 in 79 at bats with one double, two triples, one home run and five RBIs. Matt will leave for spring training at the end of February as he looks to have another successful season with the Nationals. Matt Reistetter - Washington Nationals

5 Where Are They Now Danny Poma came to Hofstra University from Monterey, California, after playing two years at Cuesta College. Poma was a two-year starter for the Pride, capping his senior season as a First Team All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. Danny was also CAA Player of the Year, First Team All-CAA, a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and was the Howdy Myers Award winner as Hofstra s Male Athlete of the Year. In his senior year he hit.430 with 102 hits, 79 runs, 32 doubles, seven home runs, 48 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Danny was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 10th round of the 2012 MLB First Year Players Draft and spent his first season of professional baseball in Washington playing for the Yakima Bears in the Northwest League. He hit.228 in 202 at bats with four doubles, one triple, two home runs, 22 RBIs and eight stolen bases. Danny spent his second season of professional baseball playing for the Laredo Lemurs in Laredo, Texas. In 157 at bats Danny hit.319, with five doubles, one home run, 15 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. During the offseason, Poma was traded to the Washington (PA) Wild Things of the Frontier League. Danny Poma - Hofstra ( )

6 Pride of the Future Recruiting Class The Hofstra Baseball team announced the addition of eight players in its early signing class of Coach Russo and his coaching staff went in the direction of recruiting all high school players in this class. With the success of the past two years, the Pride were able to sign one of the best recruiting classes in school history. This recruiting class has multiple players ranked nationally in the top 1000 according to Perfect Game. Coach Russo on the 2014 recruiting class: The last two seasons we have been very competitive in the CAA. But we just don t want to compete, we want to have sustained success. As any coach can tell you, recruiting is the lifeline for a program s success. In recent classes we have been able to upgrade the talent base at Hofstra and build more depth than we have ever had. However, with the recruiting class of 2014 we did more than bring in guys to create depth, we brought in eight student-athletes that we feel are impact players from the day they step on campus. In addition to the infusion of this talent, we were able to get the players we wanted from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. These young men realize how good the Colonial Athletic Association is. They understand that they do not have to travel south to play college baseball. We can offer that in our conference every weekend. They also like the fact that we travel everywhere in the country to play our nonconference schedule. I can t be any more proud of our staff for the efforts put forth in this Recruiting class. Recruiting Class Matt Annunziata 6-0 INF/OF Manorville, New York Jacob Fallon 6-0 OF Morristown, New Jersey Steven Foster 5-10 OF Holbrook, New York Nicholas Hagerty 6-0 C Bronx, New York Adam Heidenfelder 6-5 RHP Wantagh, New York Jesse Russo 5-10 INF/OF Westbury, New York Adam Seibert 6-6 RHP West Chester, Pennsylvania Chris Weiss 5-11 RHP/INF Ridge, New York

7 Follow the Pride on the Road-Spring 2014 The 2014 schedule consists of seven weekend road trips. Four of the seven weekend series will be non-conference. Head Coach John Russo will take his team to play College World Series runner up Mississippi State, Grand Canyon University, University of Incarnate Word and Furman. The CAA road series will be against Towson, UNC Wilmington and William and Mary. Below is the hotel information for all seven weekend road trips. HOTEL INFORMATION MISSISSIPPI STATE La Quinta Inn and Suites Contact Person: Jordan Gullentine 982 Mississippi Starkville, Mississippi GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY Holiday Inn Phoenix Downtown North Contact Person: Fred Pratt North 28th Drive Phoenix, Arizona UNIVERSITY OF INCARNATE WORD FURMAN UNIVERSITY Courtyard Greenville-Spartanburg Airport Contact Person: Brent Pilkington 115 The Parkway Greenville, South Carolina TOWSON UNIVERSITY Baltimore Inner Harbor at Camden Yards 110 South Eutaw Street Baltimore, Maryland Contact Person: UNC WILMINGTON Courtyard by Marriott Wilmington Contact Person: Kip Damrow 151 Van Campen Boulevard Wilmington, North Carolina WILLIAM AND MARY The Williamsburg Hotel and Conference Center 50 Kingsmill Road Contact Person: Laura Green Williamsburg, Virginia

8 2014 Spring Schedule DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (ET) February 14 Mississippi State Starkville, MS 5 p.m. February 15 Mississippi State Starkville, MS 12 p.m. February 15 Mississippi State Starkville, MS 3:30 p.m. February 16 Mississippi State Starkville, MS 2:30 p.m. February 21 Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ TBD February 22 Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ TBD February 22 Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ TBD February 23 Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ TBD March 5 Albany University Field 3 p.m. March 7 Incarnate Word San Antonio, TX 7:30 p.m. March 8 Incarnate Word San Antonio, TX 2 p.m. March 8 Incarnate Word San Antonio, TX 5:30 p.m. March 9 Incarnate Word San Antonio, TX 12 p.m. March 12 Rutgers Newark, NJ TBD March 15 Furman Greenville, SC 12 p.m. March 15 Furman Greenville, SC 3 p.m. March 16 Furman Greenville, SC 1 p.m. March 19 Fordham University Field 3 p.m. March 25 St. Johns University Field 3 p.m. March 26 Marist Poughkeepsie, NY TBD March 28 Towson Towson, MD TBD March 29 Towson Towson, MD TBD March 30 Towson Towson, MD TBD April 1 Manhattan University Field 3 p.m. April 2 New York Tech University Field 3 p.m. April 4 James Madison University Field 3 p.m. April 5 James Madison University Field 1 p.m. April 6 James Madison University Field 1 p.m. April 9 Farmingdale State University Field 3 p.m. April 11 UNC Wilmington Wilmington, NC 6 p.m. April 12 UNC Wilmington Wilmington, NC 2 p.m. April 13 UNC Wilmington Wilmington, NC 2 p.m. April 15 New York Tech Old Westbury, NY TBD April 16 Manhattan Riverdale, NY TBD April 18 Delaware University Field 3 p.m. April 19 Delaware University Field 1 p.m. April 20 Delaware University Field 1 p.m. April 23 LIU Brooklyn Brooklyn, NY TBD April 25 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA TBD April 26 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA TBD April 27 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA TBD May 2 Northeastern University Field 3 p.m. May 3 Northeastern University Field 1 p.m. May 4 Northeastern University Field 1 p.m. May 9 College of Charleston University Field 3 p.m. May 10 College of Charleston University Field 1 p.m. May 11 College of Charleston University Field 1 p.m. May16 UMass Lowell University Field 3 p.m. May 17 UMass Lowell University Field 12 p.m. May 17 UMass Lowell University Field 3 p.m. May CAA Championships TBD TBD May 30-June 2 NCAA Regionals TBD June 6-9 NCAA Super Regionals TBD June College World Series TBD

9 Hofstra Pride Club On behalf of Hofstra Baseball, we invite you to join the Hofstra Diamond Club for the 2014 season. This exclusive membership, comprised of our most generous supporters including alumni, parents and friends, directly impacted our program through their support last season. Funds provided by the Hofstra Diamond Club enables our coaching staff to continue to deliver the best possible experience for our young men as we prepare them to be successful on the field and to be leaders in the University community while they earn their Hofstra degree. The Diamond Club is a fund-raising initiative for the baseball program under the umbrella of the Hofstra Pride Club. Each member of this elite club will be asked to donate $25, $50 or $100 for each victory earned in the 2014 season. All contributors to this program will be recognized as a Hofstra Pride Club member and will receive all benefits afforded to them through the Pride Club. We will be in touch in January, with more information, however, if you are interested in joining today, please contact James Barone at (516) or him at james.v.barone@hofstra.edu. Alumni Game and Banquet The Hofstra Baseball Alumni game will be March 22, 2014, at 1 p.m. Following the alumni game there will be a team banquet at 5:30 p.m. Coach Russo would like to invite all alumni, family and friends to both the alumni game and team banquet. These events are taking place the weekend before the baseball team begins conference play. In this years alumni game the 2014 roster will play against the alumni. Coach Russo wanted to get back to the tradition of alumni playing versus his current roster. Coach Russo hopes that going back to this game will bring a great showing for the game and banquet, creating excitement as we head into conference play! We hope to see you all out on the weekend of March 22nd. Go Pride!

10 FROM HOFSTRA BASEBALL