2010 Farmingdale State Baseball Preview

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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