Baseball 2018 Team Guide Season Preview Last Season, the Cortland Eight Infielders Return in 2018
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CORTLAND baseball 2018 TEam Guide Season Preview Last season, the Cortland Eight infielders return in 2018. baseball team extended its NCAA Senior Pat Schetter earned first playoff appearance streak to 25 team All-SUNYAC honors last straight seasons, the third-longest season after making the move to current run in any division. The first base. Schetter batted .377 Red Dragons finished 2017 with with 28 runs, 10 doubles, one a 38-9 record and tied for ninth homer and 37 RBI in 45 games. nationally in the NCAA Div. III Senior Matt Michalski returned to playoffs, one win shy of making the lineup last season after missing their fourth consecutive World almost all of 2016. Michalski batted Series showing. .225 with 12 runs, one double and 17 RBI and recorded a .971 fielding For the third year in a row, percentage. Cortland enters the season ranked first nationally in Div. III by both Junior Paul Dondero was a first Collegiate Baseball Newspaper team all-conference selection in and the web site D3baseball.com. 2017. Dondero, who also may play The Red Dragons are set to play in the outfield, batted .268 with 42 eight games against teams ranked runs, six doubles, three triples, two in one or both polls. home runs and 12 RBI in 41 games. He led the Red Dragons with eight While 19th-year head coach stolen bases in 10 attempts. Junior Senior catcher Jack Massa. Joe Brown loses two of his top Marcos Perivolaris batted .333 with Senior pitcher Patrick Merryweather. starters from last year’s rotation 25 runs, six doubles, three triples, and a handful of solid relievers, the Red Dragons return seven pitchers in 2018. one home run and 18 RBI in 30 games. Junior Dan Schweitzer batted .351 with six Senior Patrick Merryweather had a strong first season with the program in 2017. runs, one double, one triple and six RBI in 22 games. Merryweather appeared in 13 games with 10 starts, posting a 5-1 record with one complete game, a 3.83 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. Senior Mike Junior Billy Kozak missed most of the 2017 season due to injury. He batted Harrington also joined the Red Dragons last season, posting a 4-1 record with two .381 with 10 runs and two RBI in 11 games. Junior Dom DeMarco received the saves, a 3.55 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 13 games, including three starts. SUNYAC “Elite 20” Academic Award for baseball last season as the player with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the championship site. DeMarco Juniors Jake Casey and Andrew Barnes combined to go 6-0 in 25 appearances batted .167 with three runs and an RBI in seven games. Sophomore Dan DelGaizo as sophomores. Casey finished with a 4-0 record, one complete game, one appeared in eight games in 2017. shutout, a 2.23 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 12 appearances, including four starts. He was named to the NCAA Div. III Regional All-Tournament Team. Barnes earned Newcomers in the infield include sophomores Garrett Heaton, Wyatt Myers, five starts and eight appearances out of the bullpen, posting a 2-0 record with a Steven Salisbury and Ricky Sisto and freshman Alex Callaway. Sophomore Danny 3.08 ERA and 31 strikeouts. Coleman is listed as an infielder/outfielder, while freshman Austin Kaplan may see time in the infield and on the mound. Senior Jason Martin has a 2.53 ERA in 23 career games. Last season, Martin made eight relief appearances, posting a 2.70 ERA with five strikeouts. Cortland returns seven outfielders this season, including three players who Sophomore Anthony Visconte’s 1.76 ERA was the team’s lowest among pitchers started 28 or more games. Senior Nate Budge, who also may see time in the with more than 15 innings in 2017. Visconte, who appeared in eight games with infield, earned first team All-SUNYAC, second team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region three starts, fanned 20 batters in just 15.1 innings. Sophomore Sal Zafonte tossed and All-ECAC and third team D3baseball.com All-Region honors in his first year a perfect inning in his only appearance in 2017. with the team in 2017. Budge batted .363 with 22 runs, a team-high 11 doubles, two triples, two homers and 26 RBI in 41 games. Senior Jon Warner saw action in Newcomers to the pitching staff include senior Christian Dufresne, juniors 38 games last season, his first with the program. He batted .284 with 24 runs, one Jarrod Bellinger, Isiah Hudson, Kyle Naugle, Chris Puzakulics and Matt Valin and double, one homer and eight RBI. freshmen Daniel Gdanski, Kevin Glasser and Justin Grassini. Sophomore Colin BeVard Cortland returns a strong was named the SUNYAC Rookie contingency of players at the of the Year and second team catcher position. Senior Justin D3baseball.com All-Region last Teague earned first team All- season. BeVard batted .333 with SUNYAC, D3baseball.com and 26 runs, four doubles, one triple, ABCA/Rawlings All-Region and All- one homer and 15 RBI in 37 games. ECAC honors, as well as first team Senior Ralph Nuzzi, also vying for CoSIDA Academic All-America time in the infield, batted .156 with accolades in 2017. Teague batted 12 runs and two RBI in 34 games .374 with 26 runs, seven doubles, as a junior. He and BeVard each one triple, one homer and 28 RBI stole 5-of-6 bases. Sophomore in 43 games. Joe Tardif batted .216 with nine runs, one double and six RBI in 34 Senior Matthew Personius, games, while sophomore Casey who also may see time in the Komanecky hit .310 with three infield, batted .322 with 14 runs, runs, one double and eight RBI in four doubles, one triple, one 15 games last season. Sophomore home run and 14 RBI in 42 games Nick Shepheard appeared in five as a junior. Senior Jack Massa games as a freshman. earned first team All-SUNYAC, D3baseball.com All-Region and Newcomers to the outfield All-ECAC honors in his first season include freshmen Tommy Senior first baseman/outfielder Ralph Nuzzi. Senior infielder/outfielder Nate Budge. with the Red Dragons last year. Bianchi, Antonio Pragana and Massa batted .328 with 24 runs, Brian VanBeveren. Junior Noah Ernst and sophomore Frank Vesuvio are listed as 10 doubles and team highs of six home runs and 38 RBI in 44 games. Sophomore pitchers/outfielders. Jake Gursaly, also a candidate to see action at first base, went 2-for-2 in brief action in 2017. Freshmen Jake Sisto and James Varian join the team as catchers. CORTLAND Coaching Staff Joe Brown In 2012, Brown led the Red Dragons to a 41-9-1 record, a Head Coach SUNYAC title and a fourth-place national finish. The team posted its fifth 40-win season under Brown. In 2011, Cortland Joe Brown has led Cortland to a com- finished 36-10, won the SUNYAC title and tied for ninth na- bined 679-173-3 record, 18 NCAA Div. III tionally after placing second at the NCAA Div. III New York tournament appearances, 10 World Series Regional. In 2010, Brown led Cortland to a 40-10-1 record and a showings and 15 State University of New second-place national finish at the NCAA Div. III World Series. York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) titles The national runner-up showing was Cortland’s second, both in his first 18 seasons as the Red Dragons’ under Brown, with the first coming in 2005. head coach. His winning percentage of .796 is the best of any coach nationally In 2009, Brown led Cortland to a 31-14 mark. The Red Drag- (NCAA Div. I, II or III) with at least 10 years ons won the SUNYAC title and qualified for the NCAA Div. of experience and the second-best all-time among all Div. III III playoffs. In 2008, Brown’s team enjoyed a 42-5 record that coaches with 10 years as a head coach. featured a school-record 38-game winning streak. Cortland won the NCAA New York Regional title and tied for seventh Brown led Cortland to its first-ever national title in 2015. place at the World Series. In 2007, Brown guided Cortland to a The Red Dragons finished the season 45-4, including a 5-0 42-7 record and a fourth-place national finish with a 2-2 mark record at the World Series and a 4-0 mark in NCAA regional at the World Series. His 2005 squad finished second nation- play, and won the SUNYAC title. Brown was named both the ally with a 43-9-1 record. His 2000 and 2001 squads also won American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3base- NCAA New York Regional titles and tied for fifth nationally ball.com Division III National Coach of the Year, and he was each year. His 2003 and 2006 teams each tied for ninth na- one of eight finalists for the multi-division Skip Bertman Na- tionally and his 2002 and 2004 teams both tied for 17th. tional Coach of the Year award. His 2016 squad tied for third nationally at the World Series and ended the year 43-8, and In 2000, he had the best season of any Cortland first- his 2017 team finished 38-9 and year head baseball coach, leading the Red Dragons to a 36-9 tied for ninth nationally, one win record, an NCAA Div. III New York Region title and a tie for shy of making the World Series.