Western Ct. State University Baseball

WestConn dugouts get facelift

New sidewalls

Additional seating

New seating from back

New roofing

Colonial's welcome in class of 2014

Top recruit breaks ankle , will miss fall work outs

The 2011 recruiting class for WestConn will be arriving to campus soon. This year's incoming group is a little smaller than years past, due to the youth of the Colonial squad. That said, the staff is excited about the new blood, and hopes many will be able to inject the right electricity to get WestConn back into title contention.
One of the Colonials top 2011 recruits, first baseman Austin Howard from Bristol Ct, recently sustained a broken ankle and ligament damage in the Ct. State Legion tournament. Surgery will be the second week of August, and hope is that he will be ready for the spring season after a 2 month rehab. To add to their youth in the infield, the Colonials bring in two All Conference middle infielders, Jeff John who hit .324 for Trumbull HS, and Bobby Coyne from Morgan HS. Coyne also had an (8-2) record on the mound with a 1.67 ERA. Second baseman Scott Sheppard from Brewster HS in New York hit .420 for the Bears last season. Other incoming freshmen infielders include Xavier Ortiz fom Naugatuck, Greg Ryan from Seymour, Joe Crisalli from New Milford and Sheldon Poole from Hamden.
The Colonials also bring in four strong outfield candidates looking to make a name for themselves. All State player Clete LoRusso is from near by New Milford High, and also played in the Ct. State Senior All Star game. Andrew Plaskon hit .387 for the Lawmen of Jonathan Law in Milford last season. Jake Szyndlar hit right in the middle of the powerful Holy Cross of Waterbury line up last season, and just finished off a successful legion season for Terryville where he was selected to the All Star team for his zone. Lefty John Fracker from Newtown High hit .326 for the Nighthawks.
Utility player Luke Altieri from Milford Ct. and catcher Tom Payne from Ridgefield High also look to find their nitch on the Colonial squad.
Pitching is always much needed, and WestConn hopes to find the next ace in this year's class. Marshall Szyndlar from Holy Cross of Waterbury (twin brother of OF Jake), is a crafty 6'2" lefty with the look of a future weekend starter. Throwing in the low 80's with good command and lots of movement on his pitches, he helped guide Holy Cross to an outstanding season last year. Right hander Zack Philippas from St. Joes of Trumbull, went (3-1) with a save last season, posting a 2.81 ERA. Righty Nick Briatico from Bristol, is coming off a tendon injury, but will look to see if it is healthy enough to secure a spot on the staff. Chris Daniel from Milford Ct, Mitchell Gilbertie from Westport, Ct. and Phil Rogers from Guilford Ct. all look to try to earn a spot on the Colonial pitching staff.
Red shirt freshman Jake Lisowski (6'4" LHP- Foxboro, Ma.) was sidelined last year with knee surgery. He is coming off a successful American Legion season and ready to join the Colonial staff. Red shirt freshman Dave Salemme (OF/LHP- ND-Fairfield, Shelton Legion) will also be back this fall after a successful summer season hitting and pitching.
The Colonials have three incoming transfers trying to make a name for themselves. Former Bethel HS catching standout Cody Sestito transfers in from Southern Ct., Stamford outfielder James Russell transfers in from West Virginia Weslyan, and former Bethel HS pitcher Zach Zaylor transfers in from Sacred Heart.
The Colonials start camp on Tuesday September 7th. They will be working out for 4 weeks in hopes of finding the right combination of players to capture a title in 2011.

WestConn 2010 season shows promise for the future

Colonials had season full of high notes

WestConn ended it's season finishing (16-21), (5-9) in the LEC missing the final playoff spot by one game. After a (3-7) southern swing, the Colonials played nearly .500 ball up North going (13-14). The team boasted big wins over both #1 teams in the LEC (ECSU and Keene co champs).
The offense was the Colonial's most impressive feature this season, led by Senior batting title winner and MVP Sam McNeil. His 58 hits, 11 doubles, 36 runs, and .455 OB% were all team bests. He also surpassed DJ Mulhall as the All Time Hit leader at WestConn (173). Senior Dan Bacarro finished his WestConn career with another strong performance, hitting .368, leading the team with 42 RBI's, 6 homers amd a slugging % of .576. He also reached 100 hits and 100 RBI's for his career. The offense was aided by many future Colonial stars. Sophomore outfielders Mike Yates (.333, 22 RBI, 30 Runs and 9 doubles) and Anthony Ruffo (.263, 36 runs and 17 stolen bases) had impressive years. Three freshmen were even more impressive with their offensive help. DH Jon Conlon had 7 doubles and 5 homers, and third baseman Bill Eannotti hit .341 with a .588 slugging %. Second baseman Chris Alberto was the Rookie of the Year and hit .330 with 36 hits, 10 doubles 22 runs and 20 RBI's. Also sophmores Kyle Savo and Tim Nelson contributed solid years by hitting .341 and .324 respectively, Nelson had 9 extra base hits, Savo had 6.
The pitching was once again led by Billy Armstrong. The Junior lefty led the LEC in strikeouts with 75, he was (4-3) with a 3.39 ERA. Senior Joe Postemsky broke the All Time Games Pitched mark for a career finishing with (67). He was (3-1) out of the Colonial pen. Senior Miles Scribner reached the 100 career strikeout milestone. Senior Jeff Gordon was very impressive at the back end of the pen, going (1-0) with 1 save and a 1.74 ERA in 10 appearances. He also hit .317 platooning with freshman Eannotti at third. Freshman Conor Bierfeldt was (2-0) for the Colonials in 4 starts, also hit .292 playing part time in the outfield. Sophmore Justin Schultz was (2-1) with an impressive shut out win over Albertus Magnus, and Josh Vaghi pitched well out of the pen, throwing to a 3.78 in 8 appearances. Freshman Matt Rosbrough did a very impressive job catching the Colonial staff. He fielded .990 committing only 2 errors, thowing out 6 of 27 runners.
Also, seniors John DiGiovanni (1B/DH), Steve Bainer (RHP) and Dan Amarante (OF) finished off their 4 year careers with WestConn, which had it's largest senior class under Coach Susi. Seven of the eight seniors competed all 4 years, one three.
The Colonials now look to add a few more valuable pieces to an already impressive squad for 2011, in hope of getting back into LEC title contention. The incoming 2010 recruits will hopefully be the missing links, and look for an atrticle on them in the coming weeks.

Senior Day versus Manhattanville on May 4th, final home game

Baseball to start Alumni Association

See WestConn Baseball Alumni Association page for details

Little East Conference web site

www.sanmarinobaseball.com

Official WCSU Athletic web site

This site is managed by current Head Coach John Susi

Coach Susi can be contacted at: susij@wcsu.edu