After posting a 4-8 record during their annual California swing in March, UMass Dartmouth returned to campus and put together its most impressive stretch of the 2002 season. The Corsairs ran off 11 consecutive victories and climbed into the New England Division III college baseball rankings in the middle of April.

But the Corsairs cooled off after their torrid start to finish the season with a 19-19 overall mark and a 7-7 record in the Little East Conference standings. Seeded fifth in the LEC Tournament, the Corsairs season ended when they were eliminated in the tournament quarterfinal round.

The 2002 season produced a career milestone for head coach Bruce Wheeler, who earned his 700th career victory during his 31 seasons. At the end of the season, Wheeler's career record stood at 711-496-3. The 700th victory was a 6-0 shutout victory over Amherst College on April 2, 2002.

Despite going 1-9 in their final 10 games to fall to fifth in the LEC, the Corsairs had several strong individual efforts during the season. Junior Brian Pereira (New Bedford, MA) finished as the leading hitter among the regulars with a .330 batting average with 4 HR and 17 RBI. Freshman Robert DelDuca (Methuen, MA was second in hitting at .329 with a team-high 42 singles and 17 RBI. Junior Tom Jachimczyk (Marion, MA) had a solid season, hitting .316 with 3 HR and 24 RBI along with a team-high 12 doubles. Among the Corsairs' other top hitters were junior Jason Orlando (Gloucester, MA) (.309, 5 HR, 30 RBI), sophomore Geoff Nettleton (Marlboro, MA) (.297, 6 HR, 30 RBI), senior co-captain Mike Dougan (Marlborough, CT) (.284, 3 HR, 18 RBI) and sophomore Kevin Walsh (New Bedford, MA) (.281, 6 HR, 20 RBI).

Junior Pat Reedy (New Bedford, MA) and senior Butch Langton (Carver, MA) led the Corsair pitching staff with four victories each. Langton was 4-2 with a 5.27 ERA with 41 strikeouts (5.53 Ks per nine innings) and 18 walks in 66.67 innings of work. Reedy finished 4-5 with a 3.60 ERA (4th best in the LEC) in 85 innings, striking out 59 (6.24 Ks per nine innings) and walking 21.

UMass Dartmouth had a pair of steady relief pitchers in junior Jason Daley (Andover, MA) and sophomore Kyle Darrow (Marlboro, MA). In 12 appearances, Daley was 1-1 with a pair of saves and a 0.90 ERA. Darrow appeared in 16 games for the Corsairs and picked up three saves with a 2.78 ERA. In 35.67 innings of work, Darrow struck out 19 and walked 12.

Among the other Corsair pitchers who saw significant action, senior Mike Gikis (Gardner, MA) was 2-2 with a 6.00 ERA, while senior co-captain Jason Devincent (Natick, MA) posted a 2-4 record with a 5.20 ERA. Freshman Dan DeCosta (Somerset, MA) was 2-1 with a 6.35 ERA and junior Andy Marshall (Middleboro, MA) was 1-1 with a save an a 6.48 ERA.

As a team, UMass Dartmouth hit .286 and the Corsair pitching staff posted a 4.47 ERA, third best in the LEC for the 2002 season.