The American International College baseball team looks to climb the ladder in the Northeast-10 this season. The Yellow Jackets return 17 players from 2008, only seven of which are upper classmen, and welcome 15 talented newcomers to the squad.
AIC posted a record of 11-30 last season, including a 9-21 mark in the Northeast-10 and a record of 5-12 against the six teams that qualified for the NE-10 tournament - Bentley, Bryant, Franklin Pierce, Pace, Southern Connecticut and UMass Lowell.
“We have a very young team this year, but we’re still looking to make the Northeast-10 tournament,” said head coach
Nick Callini, who is entering his sixth season at the helm of the program. “Our goal is to play consistent baseball, if we’re able to do that things will go well for us and we’ll be where we want to be at the end of the season.”
Sophomore
Anthony Arrichiello (Yonkers, N.Y.) will take over the catching duties this year, replacing a former all-conference selection in Jeff Rustico. Junior
Brenden Blaschke (Southington, Conn.) and sophomores
Nicholas Devine (Springfield, Mass.) and
Corey Ketterer (Plymouth, Mass.) will also compete for time behind the plate.
Senior
Kevin Farrell (Wilbraham, Mass.) will once again get the nod at first base, with junior
Dan Bassani (Naples, Fla.) serving as a potential backup. Sophomore
Dan Mooney (Bennington, Vt.) returns at third base.
The battle for the middle infield positions is wide open with seven players - sophomore
Jake Collins (Westfield, Mass.), Devine and freshmen
Brad Brothers (Palmer, Mass.),
Jared DePatto (Marshfield, Mass.),
Clifford Laraway (Westfield, Mass.),
Tyler McElman (Marlborough, Mass.) and
Kenny Rollins (Ayer, Mass.) - contending to replace David Dest and Jason Rustico.
Senior captain
Dan Fey (Plymouth, Mass.) returns in center field after starting all 41 games in center a year ago. He was the team’s third-leading hitter with a .274 batting average, ripping 40 base hits in 146 plate appearances with 14 RBIs and a team-best 22 runs scored.
Sophomore
Kyle McNiff (Westford, Mass.) started each of his 24 games played last season and will patrol right field this year. He ranked second on the team with a .275 batting average in 2008, recording 22 hits in 80 plate appearances with 10 RBIs and eight runs scored.
Bassani will be the Yellow Jackets’ primary option in left field, with senior
Jon Thorpe (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore
Dillon Fontaine (Amenia, N.Y.) also battling for time in left. Sophomore Chris Hewins (Westfield, Mass.) and freshman
Greg Caruso (Stonypoint, N.Y.) could also see some time in the outfield.
This years biggest question will be how well can AIC’s starting pitchers perform. Fontaine is the lone returning starter from last season, in which he posted a record of 2-3 in his nine starts with a 4.58 ERA and 36 strikeouts.
Sophomores
Zach Bunszell (Medford, Mass.) and
John Shivo (Ayer, Mass.) will join the rotation after coming out of the bullpen last season, with freshmen
Eric Cuadrado (Yonkers, N.Y.) and
Geoff McCowat (Sterling, Va.) filling the fourth and fifth slots. Classmates
Julian Concepcion (Woodstock Valley, Conn.) and
John Hanna (Dudley, Mass.) could also see some starts this season and will fill the role of long relievers out of bullpen.
Sophomore
Sean Stevenson (Holyoke, Mass.) returns as the team’s closer after a very successful freshman campaign. He posted a record of 2-0 with four saves in 17 appearances in 2008 with a 1.19 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched.
Senior captain
Dan Nugent (Cambridge, Mass.) appeared in 12 games last season, posting a record of 1-1, and will be the first option out of the bullpen. Collins, sophomore
John Scanlan (Glastonbury, Mass.), and freshmen
Tim Bailey (Chicopee, Mass.), Caruso,
Nick DePaula (Woodstock, Conn.) and
Dennis Duffy (Warwick, R.I.)) will also be used in relief roles. Duffy could also get some starts and see time in the outfield or at shortstop.
Senior
Mike Massery (Pittsfield, Mass.) is the leading candidate to be the designated hitter. Bassani, Devine, Farrell and Ketterer could also see some at-bats as the DH.
“We played well last year and picked up some wins against teams that made the conference tournament, but the consistency wasn’t there,” added Callini. “We know we have a good team, now we have to prove it on the field.”