Nationally ranked Corsairs have returning veterans ready to make a run at Little East Conference title

(Dartmouth, MA) -- UMass Dartmouth's baseball team has five returning veterans and two experienced pitchers returning from last year's 31-12 team which was ranked 11th in NCAA Division III at the end of the season. One year after finishing second in the NCAA Division III New England Regional behind eventual national champion Eastern Connecticut, Coach Bruce Wheeler's Corsairs enter this season ranked 12th nationally in the 1999 Collegiate Baseball Top 30 poll.

UMass Dartmouth will have to replace the Division III Player of the Year in Pat Schultz and four other starters from a year ago who all hit over .300 as the Corsairs put together a team batting average of .358. The Corsairs will also have to rebuild their pitching staff after losing their top reliever and the LEC Pitcher of the Year.

Despite those key losses from last season, however, the Corsairs still have plenty to build on for the 1999 season. For starters, UMass Dartmouth returns a pair of Division III New England All-Stars back for another season, plenty of offensive firepower and a deep, although relatively untested pitching staff.

Leading the returning veterans will be senior captain and a three-year starter behind the plate, Eli Munkholm (Salem, MA). A New England Division III All-Star last year, Munkholm came on strong at the end of last season, earning All-Tournament distinction at the NCAA Division III New England Regionals. Munkholm was the All-LEC First Team catcher after hitting .377 with 9 HRs and 53 RBI.

Sophomore first baseman Brian Ronayne (Bridgewater, MA) capped an outstanding rookie season as an All-New England selection after earning First-Team All-LEC and Rookie of the Year honors. Ronayne was second in hitting for the Corsairs at .411 with 11 HRs and 63 RBI and a .724 slugging percentage. He was also 1-0 with two saves and a 1.13 ERA coming out of the bullpen in relief.

"Our offense will carry us for most of the season," Wheeler said. "Even though we lost some big bats from a year ago, we've got some big strong kids who can hit the ball and we've also got pretty good team speed. I know we can score some runs and that's something we're going to have to do until our pitching comes around."

Wheeler will also be looking for some offensive support from junior Jeff Cross (Holden, MA), a two-year starter at shortstop, sophomore third baseman Mike Williams (Florence, MA) and sophomore centerfielder Doug Kelsch (Wareham, MA). A former LEC Rookie of the Year, Cross hit .328 with 10 HR and 31 RBI, while Williams hit .315 with 2 HR and 5 RBI as a part-time player who will move into the starting lineup this year. Kelsch will also move into the starting lineup after hitting .326 with a 2 HR and 13 RBI in 27 games last year.

Among the other part-time players who will be looking for more playing time this season are junior outfielder Manny Santo (Warwick, MA) (.284, 10 RBI) and sophomore outfielder Jim Sfougaris (Brockton, MA) (.194, 4 RBI). Wheeler said a couple of first-year players may get a chance to crack the starting lineup this season.

"The real question this team faces is how consistent can the new players be," said Wheeler, who is entering his 28th season with the Corsairs. "We know what to expect from returning players like Munkholm, Ronayne, Cross, Williams and Kelsch. What remains to be seen is how will the players who are moving into the starting lineup going to react to their new roles on the team."

The Corsairs will need to find some more starting pitching and a new reliever after losing their top three pitchers from a year ago. Jason Hinchliffe (New Bedford, MA) and Tim Troup (Halifax, MA) are the two returning veteran pitchers from last season. Troup posted a 5-3 mark with a 4.75 ERA, while Hinchliffe was 3-4 with a 5.89 ERA. In limited action last season, sophomore Chris McLain (North Adams, MA) was 3-1 with a 5.13 ERA.

Rejoining the Corsairs' pitching staff after a year away from campus will be junior Steve Lauzon (Albion, RI). During the 1997 season, Lauzon posted a 3-5 record with a 6.75 ERA for UMass Dartmouth.

"Our pitching is a question mark heading into the season," Wheeler said. "Troup and Hinchcliffe pitched a lot of innings for us as freshmen last year, but we don't have a lot of experience on the mound. Lauzon should help us as well. We brought in several freshman pitchers who will be given a chance as the season goes along."

The road back to the NCAA national tournament will be difficult for the Corsairs because of their schedule this season. UMass Dartmouth competes in what has become one of the top Division III baseball conferences in the nation with the last two national baseball champions coming from the Little East Conference. On UMass Dartmouth's 36-game schedule, the Corsairs will play 10 games against nationally ranked teams as the season opens and 12 teams which qualified for the NCAA Division III tournament.

"We play a very tough schedule, both in our conference and in our non-conference games," said Wheeler, of his Corsairs who open the 1999 season with a 10-game road trip in California. "But given the quality in the LEC and the New England Region, if you want to be competitive you have to play the best teams out there. And that's what we try to do.

UMass Dartmouth opens the 1999 season against Moravian College on March 12 in California before returning to campus for the home opener against Division I University of Vermont on Friday, March 26.

Two new assistant coaches have joined Wheeler and Assistant Coach Bob Curran for the 1999 season. Michael Frates of Dartmouth and Randy DeBrosse of New Bedford have been added to the Corsair coaching staff.

Jim Mullins
Assistant Director, Sports Information and Daily News
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
285 Old Westport Road
Dartmouth,MA 02747-2300
Phone: News (508) 999-8965 Sports (508) 999-8720
Fax: (508) 999-9200
JMullins@UMassD.edu

 Last Updated On: 8/20/07