UMass Dartmouth baseball team to feature pitching and defense in 2006

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Pitching and defense are essential to winning baseball games.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s baseball team will rely on pitching and defense as they battle the best teams in the Little East Conference this spring.

The Corsairs return their top three pitchers from a year ago. Junior Will Mahoney (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester Regional HS), senior Lee Marques (Fall River, MA/Diman Regional HS) and (sophomore) Rob Gleavy (Braintree, MA/Archbishop Williams HS) return to anchor the staff? Mahoney, Gleavy and Marques were ranked as the three pitchers in terms of earned run average, with Mahoney posting a 2-5 record, Marques going 3-4, and Gleavy serving as the closer.

“Pitching, team defense and speed will be our strengths,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Bob Curran. “Mahoney and Marques gave us a chance to win any game they pitched, and Gleavy was our closer. Competing for the other starting spots are senior lefthander Parker Harrington (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth HS), a co-captain, senior right-hander Eric Griswold (Taunton, MA/Taunton HS), and sophomore right-hander Brian Vanasse (Sterling, MA/Wachusett HS). Once we get into our league games, we’ll probably have to keep some guys back for the weekend.”

With Gleavy moving into the starting rotation, the closer’s position is up for grabs, but the Corsairs have the depth to succeed. Freshmen Joe Macchi (Franklin, MA/Franklin HS), freshmen Matt Kurth (Chilmark, MA/Martha’s Vineyard HS), Steve Watson (Haverhill, MA/Haverhill HS) and senior Jason Thompson (West Bridgewater, MA/Plymouth North HS) will work in relief. “Our pitching staff has to lead us,” said Curran. “With the fact that we will be playing better defense, they should all be successful.”

Several newcomers will see regular action for the Corsairs, but senior co-captain (Marlboro, MA/Marlboro HS) Dan Mancini is among the top returning veterans. Mancini hit .319 with one home run and 13 runs batted in a year ago.

“Dan is a three-year starter with an excellent glove who is a good line-drive hitter,” said Curran. “Dan will be backed up by (sophomore) Dylan Zygmont (Swansea, MA/Case HS) and (junior) Rob LoMuscio (West Roxbury, MA/, Catholic Memorial, who can play either in the infield and the outfield.”

Elsewhere in the infield, new faces will be in abundance. “I expect Peter Gomez, a freshman from (Bridgewater, MA) Bridgewater-Raynham, or Chris Riccio, another freshman, (Franklin, MA/Franklin HS) to play second base,” said Curran. “Another freshman, Dave Ogorzolek, (Rockfall, CT/Xavier HS) will be at shortstop, and freshman Dave McGuire (Plainville, MA/King Philip Regional HS) will play at third. Freshman Mike Burlingame (Canton, MA/Canton HS) can back up at third base and at shortstop. They all should do well.”

The theme for the Corsairs’ outfield will be speed. “Transfer Evan Britto from Bridgewater State (junior, Rochester, MA/Old Rochester Regional HS) will be in left field, along with Rob LoMuscio,” said Curran. “Our centerfielder will be either (freshman) Sean Smolinsky (Hull, MA/Hull HS) or freshman Mike Savastano (Salem, NH/Central Catholic HS), and the right field job will belong to either Dylan Zygmont or Kevin Raudonaitis (sophomore, Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth HS). All of our outfielders are good line drive hitters. They can all run very fast, especially in center field.”

The catching job should belong to either (junior) Mike Maclean (Spencer, MA/David Prouty HS) or (sophomore) Rob Towle (Jefferson, MA/Wachusett HS). “Mike Maclean and Rob Towle are fighting for the starting spot, with (junior) Mike Noce (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury HS) filling in and adding a veteran presence,” said Curran. “Maclean is a good hitter, and Towle is good defensively. I think we will be much better defensively this year, and that will help our pitchers out.”

The designated hitter’s spot will probably rotate. An outfielder can play there, as can one of the catchers who is not behind the plate, while Mahoney can also see action at the DH position.

The Corsairs may not be the most power-laden team, but they should be solid. “We’ve got a lot of good hitters,” said Curran. “They’re not home run hitters, but we’re going to steal and play hit and run baseball, and we won’t bunt unless it’s a dire emergency. We’ve got talented baseball players, and they all came here for a reason.”

The schedule is challenging. “Our schedule is as good as anyone’s in New England,” said Curran. “We have Springfield, Wheaton, Brandeis, Babson, Bridgewater State and Tufts. In our league, the teams to beat are Rhode Island College, which won the conference tournament last year, and the perennial powers, Southern Maine and Eastern Connecticut. Our California trip is a good test, with winnable games against good competition. The toughest team will be Chapman, which is a perennial power and won the College World Series a few years ago. We finish the trip against Wesleyan, which is a very competitive team.”

The Little East Conference tournament is a six-team, double-elimination tourney that is hosted by the regular season champion. “I’m optimistic,” said Curran. “We’ve got young kids who have worked hard, are very enthusiastic, and have an outstanding attitude.” If everything comes together, it could be a very good season.

                                                                        UMASSDARTMOUTH BASEBALL