2010 Farmingdale State College Baseball Preview
- With National ranking, the Rams gear up for competitive 2010 schedule -
Farmingdale, N.Y. – The Farmingdale State
baseball team gears up for the 2010 season ranked #13 in Collegiate
Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Division III Pre-season Poll. In
2009, the Rams captured their second consecutive Skyline Conference
Championship and their first-ever New York Region Championship to
advance to the NCAA Division III College World Series for the first
time in school history. As one of just eight teams to appear in the
World Series, Farmingdale faced DIII powerhouses Shenandoah and
Chapman.
With a final season record of 30-17 and a D3baseball.com ranking
of #18 in the Nation, the Rams graduated seven players but will
look towards the 15 returning upperclassmen (including 12 seniors),
along with some key transfers, to continue the Championship streak
under fifth year head coach Keith Osik. Osik holds a career
coaching record of 96-69 and was named the 2009 ECAC Metro and New
York Region Coach of the Year.
Highlighting the returners is junior first baseman and 2009
Skyline Conference Player of the Year, Kevin Curtis (Riverhead,
N.Y./Riverhead), who batted .407 last season while also leading the
team in hits (55), RBI’s (44) and total bases (70). Senior
outfielder Frank Ennis (Commack, N.Y./Commack) batted .336 with 34
RBI’s and 11 doubles. Senior outfielder Don Moscatelli
(Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) finished the year batting .342, was
second in RBI’s with 38 and had a team-high 152 at-bats.
Senior designated hitter Mike Labrozzi (Sag Harbor, N.Y./Pierson)
led the team with 39 runs scored. Senior centerfielder Frank Yera
(Manhattan, N.Y./Grand Street Campus) led the team with a .415
batting average and held a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage to win
the 2009 New York Regions ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Junior
outfielder Matt Weingartner (Westbury, N.Y./Clarke), who hit.484
with a .742 slugging percentage over 17 games, will be a key asset
once again this year.
Senior catcher Zak Nersesian (Nyack, N.Y./Nyack) and sophomore
catcher Frank Scarlato (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) had solid
years in ‘09, both offensively and defensively. Nersesian
(.333) and Scarlato (.354) split time behind the plate, catching
for a pitching staff that had a low ERA of 3.03 in Skyline
Conference games.
The pitching staff will feature key returners in sophomore right
hander Chris Phelan (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and senior
right hander Steve King (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport). Phelan finished
his rookie season with a 5-1 record and 3.97 ERA in six starts and
18 appearances. King held batters to a .189 average and went 5-4
overall in seven starts, posting a 4.12 ERA. Senior Patrick
Gilbride (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) will help out the
bullpen.
Notable transfers for this season are sophomore second baseman
Danny Devito (Plainview, N.Y./Holy Trinity), junior third baseman
Nick Wiwczar (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park), junior outfielder Ryan
Rubenstein (Deer Park, N.Y./St. Anthony’s), and senior
pitcher Ian Solomon (East Northport, N.Y./Northport). Devito and
Rubenstein, transfers from Suffolk West, helped the Longhorns
capture their third straight Region XV Championship in ‘09.
Wiwczar, a transfer from Suffolk East, will look to see his way
into the starting lineup at third base. Soloman, a transfer from
Division II New Haven, will help stack the rotation with some
talent. He threw for two years at UNH, making eight appearances his
freshman season and seven appearances last year.
Some freshman recruits for the Rams include Ron Remi (Massapequa,
N.Y), a shortstop from St. Anthony’s; Terrance Bohonan
(Patchogue, N.Y.), an outfielder from Patchogue-Medford; Vinny
Messana (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.), a pitcher from Centereach; Matt
Holder (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.), an infielder from Connetquot; and Eddie
Balzer (Shirley, N.Y.), a pitcher from William Floyd.
Farmingdale State opens up the 2010 schedule on Friday, February
19th with a trip to Methodist University in Fayetteville, North
Carolina for the Methodist/Diamond Baseball Invitational, where
they will face Frostburg State, Methodist, Huntingdon and Roanoke
in the two-day tournament. The Rams will return home and then
prepare for their spring trip to Florida for the 2010 RussMatt
Central Florida Invitational, going up against Grove City,
Augustana, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Gwynedd-Mercy and
Widener.
The home opener will take place on Saturday, March 6th against
Western New England, followed by home games against Cortland State
and two nationally ranked squads - Eastern Connecticut and Southern
Maine. On Saturday, March 20th, the Rams will begin the conference
schedule against NYU-Polytechnic and on March 24th the team will
face another nationally ranked squad - Kean University.
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