Now we're done

Four days of rain effectively ended our fall season. Our Alumni game was washed out today (we are going to shoot for next Saturday). I will post our thoughts from the fall over the next week.

PITCHING
Pitching is deep. We have 12 arms -- 13 if we count Nowak, a real competitor and a solid hitter in our everyday lineup.We have a lot of strike throwers and most guys have three quality pitches. Our off season goal is to get stronger and increase velocity. We have a lot of pitchers in the high 70's. At the same time, practice three days a week limited what we could do this fall.

In order to get stronger, our pitchers are going to need to have a plan and push each other. Sean Larson and Steve Sturm have been doing the 90 MPH Club workout. Both picked up some speed from last year. They are two very motivated players. The other staff members need to follow thier lead.

Our only senior pitcher, Dan Greco, missed a lot of the fall to to an undisclosed illness. He also missed a lot of mound time last year with a pulled muscle, but did play a lot of outfield. Junior transfer Josh Gascon also missed some time as he is on the Rugby team. Both should factor big into our plans.

We also have four lefties this year after having only one last year. Ace Sciandra is now a junior. We got sophomore Kyle Grey on a rebound -- he went to another college as a freshman. Not only did he live around the corner from former All SUNYAC pitcher Ricky Carlson in Frewsburg, but he throws just like him.

Steve Ramsdell and Tommy Morris, both freshmen, are the other two lefties. We plucked Ramsdell from across the border -- Northeast, Pa. He had only one walk this fall and will see a lot of mound time. Morris has great stuff. We screwed around a lot with his pitches and tried some different things with him. He throws low to mid-80's with the best breaking ball on the team (according to Ronnie Mannella). He has some funk and could be an everyday reliever and work in some starts this year. he bounces back quickly.

Our two returning juniors Zach Murray and Ace have pitched like, well, themselves. They are pretty much the same everytime they throw. When we send them out to the mound, they give the same solid effort each time. The challenge for them now as the two staff veterans, is to push everyone else and get stronger.

Zach Hugg made the team as walk on fron Corning CC. No walks the entire fall. He got better everytime he threw. He picked up things quickly (fielding his position, a change up, etc.), and will learn a lot in the coming year. Five more MPH on his fastball, and he could be real tough.

Fellow junior transfer Joey Tingue transferred from Jamestown CC and showed great stuff. One small mechanical adjustment and he could be a horse for us. He throws hard and has a great breaking ball. Consitency is the key. He's a lot like Jordan Hibbard who turned into our ace last year as a senior.

Rounding out the staff are Zach Jordan, Ben Senior and Evan Carmello.

Zach had a great fall and may figure into our rotation. He never said much, so I won't say much about him, other than he's a big righty and reminds me of the original Hoss, Brandon Miller. He is also our team's SAAC rep along with Ramsdell.

Ben missed most of the fall with a twisted ankle. They must not have stairs in Angola. At 6'3'', he has good potential (which is French for "he hasn't done anything yet"). He was a three-sport athlete in high school, so it'll be good to have him focus on one sport year round.

Carmello only threw once, and may be more of a hitter -- batted over .350. He's smart and was the No. 1 pitcher at Fredonia HS this past season. His role is as of yet undefined, but he is a baseball player and very smart. His dad, Al, played at Fredonia State back in the day.