Better Footwork = Better Defense

Footwork is going to be a major point of emphasis in our defensive work indoors this winter.  Here is a video with many different ladder drills to improve speed and agility through footwork.  The better a player gets at drills like these > the better his footwork gets > the better his defense gets.  [Two tips:  1) start with the more basic drills in the beginning of the video, don't be overwhelmed and 2) hold the space bar while the video plays to watch it in “slow motion.”]

Much like our last post noted how a swing is built from the ground up, an athlete in general is built in much the same way. 

In the outfield, it’s simple:  a player’s feet take him to the ball.  If he makes a good read, he must get to the spot quickly.  This requires good footwork.  If he makes a bad read, he must be able to adjust fluidly and quickly.  This requires even better footwork.  Indoors, footwork is easier to practice than reads.

In the infield, footwork may be overlooked, but it shouldn’t be.  Coach Tantillo recently told me the importance of footwork to him as an infielder.  Tommy will tell you he’s not the best athlete.  But hands down, he has the quickest release of any infielder I’ve ever played with.  He told me:

“That’s all footwork.  The only way you can make that throw right away is if your feet are in the right spot.  I don’t have a great arm, but I was able to make the plays because I always got my feet right.” 

Tommy attributed his good footwork to different agility drills, including the ladder drills in the above video.  When better than the offseason to work on these things?

Hitting Biomechanics

The single most important thing I've learned about hitting is the separation of the hips and the hands in the process of the swing.  The hips must fire first, while the batter must keep his hands back as long as possible.

This A) creates torque in the core of the body which greatly increases power, and B) allows the hitter to remain in position to hit an offspeed pitch if initially fooled (hips have fired, but hands are still back and loaded).

To emphasize this point, I found a video in the archives of this blog that highlights the biomechanics of this concept and showed it to our hitters.  I figured maybe hearing the concept in a different way might help make it click for some guys.  The narrator rambles (is boring) at times, but here are the times I found most insightful:

1:55-2:30 > benefits of good mechanics
7:42-9:54 > forward weight shift
10:24-12:28 > sequence: hips fire, then torso then arms then bat
29:46-30:44 > final step of sequence: throwing the hands
13:32-16:37 > whip analogy, graphic representation

Kids are the best

Every Monday and Wednesday, a group of four players heads down to School 4 in Dunkirk to visit the After School program in Mr. Adam's class. Mr. Adams played four years for the Blue Devils and was on the coaching staff for four years. Now an elementary school teacher, he has kept up with our program.

Below, Brian Sheehan works on the Promethium Board with a group of kids and Tommy Morris.

Zach Hugg, or 'Huggy', as he is known -- one of the favorites because he "is so good at video games" -- plays some baseball math. Huggy won.

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Future Rick Generete?

Dan Fetes got back into the mix this past Friday for the Blue Devil hockey team's first game. Here Dan interviews Brett Mueller (in an amateur video) following a 5-2 win over the Canton Kangaroos.

Dan, a communications major, is in his fourth year working with the campus radio and TV stations. Dan's career announcing highlights include sitting alongside Buffalo Sabres announcer Rick Generette during a Sabres broadcast.

A number of current baseball players played high school and club hockey. This year, Ryan Fitzgerald is in the scorer's booth as the clock operator at all home games. Be careful Fitz -- he missed all of last baseball season with a medical red shirt after "slipping on ice" in January.

Junior Matt Casilio -- former Section V Hockey Player of the Year and a State Champ -- works the hokey games, too (he and Dan were teammates at Webster-Thomas). He has an internship with coach Meredith and films various drills at practice and games, and helps break down film. Matt is an Exercise Science major.

Teaching the youth

Ryan Fitzgerald (white shirt) and Coach Bongiovanni (lavendar
shirt) pose with their students at Love Elementary.

  

Sophomore Ryan Fitzgerald is earning experience toward his childhood education degree. He has been assigned to Love Elementary School in Jamestown... and is wiorking under long-time Blue Devil assistant Chad Bongiovanni. Chad is a full-time teacher there in addition to helping out with the baseball team. Chad is also a high school umpire and gets behind the plate during some of our fall ball intersquads.

Ryan is also very active on campus. He is the official clock operator at home hockey games (he was a standout player in high shool) and he refereees intramuarals, all while maintaining a 3.0 in a challenging major.

Captains named

The team voted for captains on Monday. Congratulations to Angelo "Ace" Sciandra for being named the captain of the pitching staff. Ian Gallagher, Dillon Lowe, Dan Fetes and Brian Sheehan were voted captains as well. We went with five since all five received a large number of votes.

Ace was voted a captain for the second straight year. In addition to baseball, he is an honors student as an education major and has recieved a number of awards recognizing his teaching prowess.

Gallagher and Lowe were teammates at Pittsford-Sutherland HS in Rochester. It is one of the best run high school programs in the state. In 2010, they won the New York State Championship -- the year after they graduated. Thus, when referred to as a pair, they are called the 'State Champs'. Lowe is a 3.0+ student and is working towards a degree in engineering.

Dan Fetes is one of the most involved players I've coached -- color commentator for our home hockey games; has his own blog and radio show; represents the team on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee; has written for the school paper and maintains over a 3.0. He'll be employable when he graduates!

Sheehan is in his third season as the team's starting catcher and swings the only 34'' on the team. He runs the team from behind the plate and has been one of the most consistent players over the past three years.

Congrats, Captains!

Battling the elements

We battled the elements again this weekend -- another rainy Saturday. We got in a productive Friday, though. Kenny Johnston took home the Hammer with another solid performance. He's been very steady this fall. A double of the wall, several solid at bats sand a lot of positive energy.

Our fall is done and we will now move into the off-season. Bating cages, weight rooms, throwing programs and the library.

In general, it was a wet fall as far as the weekends. Here's something to get you in the mood to play some baseball:

Driving in runs

Thursday's practice saw coaches Greco and Tantillo set up a modified scrimmage. Each inning, we placed runners on base to start the inning (first and third; second base; third base only) and our goal was to drive in as many runs as possible. Productive outs, quality at bats.

The day started sub-par -- infield popups, strikeouts looking, etc. -- leading to a negative overall score with the Modified Greco Scoring System. The losing team ran a triangle after each inning.

By the final inning, the Crushers drove in all four runners from third base. Execution improved and both teams had positive scores the final three innings. A great improvement.

With starting catcher Brian Sheehan out due to classes, backup catchers Kyle Koslowski had a solid day throwing and blocking. Anthony Polvino, who is also competing for time behind the plate, took home the Hammer. He started poorly -- a couple defensive errors and popups, but he kept his head about him and delivered several hits and blocked well. Same positive attitude every practice. According to his junior college coach, Anthony Barone "Anthony is in my top five, all time. I love that kid." Anthony is an Energy Giver, for sure.

We haven't done any video lately, so here is a blast from the past:

Gaupp has big return to campus

Carl Gaupp played baseball and would later go on to teach chemistry at Fredonia State. Its been about eight years since he last participated in an alumni game. This past Saturday, Dr. Gaupp broke open a close game vs. the current Blue Devils with a bases-loaded triple -- using wood. the Alumis went on to win 11-2 over a group of current Blue Devils.

 

Needless to say, Andy Dlugosz picked up the win in relief -- has he ever not vultured a win?. Jamie Sapienza added a few safeties and almost stole second. Winston Woodard was at his 11th straight alumni game and gave up only one run over three innings. Tommy flew in from Florida and flew around the bases, stealing a couple to add to his career total.

 

Joe Mauer look-alike Matt LaPorte caught all nine innings (since Rob Herrmann showed up in street  clothes). Tim Cowan -- now the HS coach at Chautauqua Lake -- put in a solid day. dan greco, Tommy Tantillo and Jon Messina manged not to get hurt.

 

For the Blue Devils, freshman Carl Wolf flashed some serious leather, while Tommy Morris "big leagued" a few plays. Kenny Johnston got lit up and struck out twice to assist the alums to victory.

Fredonia Baseball welcomed alumni back to Ludwig.

The 2012 alumni game was a success as the old timer's defeated the rookies with an 11-2 victory at Ludwig Field. Mother nature finally cooperated with us as Saturday's weather was beautiful. The alumni squad pictured above, from left to right: front row- Tim Cowan, Jon Messina, Tom Tantillo, Tommy Dee, Dan Greco: back row- Andy Dlugosz, Carl Gaupp, Jamie Sapienza, Matt LaPorte, Winston Woodard. The alumni have kept tabs on the current baseball team and are a huge part of our success. It was nice to be able to give back as we all had some fun playing the game that we love.

Webster-Thomas wins again

Yesterday, Dan Fetes won the Hammer. Today, Matt Casilio took home the award. Both are Webster-Thomas grads. Matt has had a strong showing this fall, and put together another solid day. Nothing spectacular, just executes the routine very well. His team has not lost in recent memory.

Move over Dillon Lowe and Ian Gallagher -- there's some new State Champs in town!

Saturday promises to be fun. Larson v. Sturm -- bragging rights for the roommates. Following the intersquad, the alumni game will take place.

Execute the Routine

At the top of every practice schedule is the phrase "Execute the Routine". The great players have the ability to accomplish the routine aspects of the game every time. The focus of Frioday's intersquad was executing the routine plays -- a list of executions was provided to each team: bunts, pitchouts, hit and runs and pickoff plays were some of the required aspects of the intersquad.

We got off to a slow start. The Buslines team whiffed on it's first two attempts at bunts for a hit. Trying to be too quick instead of getting the ball down. We saw a couple of popups to the catcher on hit and runs. After a little conditioning to re-focus, execution improved. We executed three hit and runs and bunting improved.

In Fitz's first attempt at a hit and run, he popped up. His next attempt resulted in a ground ball. He also added a triple in the gap -- he made the adjustment. Great to see.

The Crushers downed the Buslines (I think it was a 7-2 final). Tommy Morris went seven strong for the Crushers and improved as the game went on. Kenny Johnston added three more hits and continues to be an Energy Giver. Newcomer Matt Casilio continues to play the game well. The Webster Thomas lefties can hit!

Fridays Hammer ended up with Dan Fetes. Four hits. It seemed Dan saw good pitches to hit all day. The key was he did not miss them. He also worked the count well and saw a lot of pitches and executed a hit and run. Dan's strength as a player is that he is determined to do what is asked of him. He gave a solid speech, but still not near what Jordan Hibbard used to deliver.

Run with the wise

Brian Sheehan talks about our progress with Fitz.

"Run with the wise"

For the first time we have introduced a Quote of the Week where we ask three players to answer what a specific quote means to them. This week, Ian Gallagher, Brian Sheehan and Steven Sturm were chosen to interpret "Run with the wise".

"This quote means that you should surround yourself with people whom will give you the best chance to succeed.  These people should be hard workers, should stay out of trouble, and should be able to help you with any questions you have."

"To me, run with the wise means associating your self with people who conduct themselves the right way on and off the field. Allowing their influence to effect you in a positive way can help spread that positive behavior throughout a team, which can benefit every player. Influence is a very powerful tool and can change the outcome of a season."

"Run with the wise means to follow those who are trying to make themselves better and are pushing themselves every day, not only in the game of baseball but in life as well."

You will take on the personality of the people you surround yourself with. Associate with positive people and avoid relationships with those that bring you down. Run with the wise.

Weekend highlights

We were able to intersquad on Friday. Brian Sheehan took home the Hammer with three doubles. Both junior Nate Lester and freshman Ryan Metz looked sharp on the hill with six solid innings.

Unfortunately, Saturday was a washout with the rain. Beautiful weather all week and rain on Saturday. All I can think about is Al Schoeneck quoting Rogers Hornsby: "People ask me what I do all winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."

It wasn't quite winter, but I spent Saturday staring out the window waiting to play.

In full swing

The Devils have shown the Need for Speed, swiping third base four times on Saturday.

We played our first intersquads this weekend. Friday saw us squeeze out three innings in the rain before conditions forced us to adjust.

Big Cat Lawrence took home the Hammer for a pair of RBI knocks. Coach Greco had the team work on hitting the other way during the week, and Lawrence drove a couple of balls to the right side. All but one our our hits was the other way on Friday. Lawrence spoke of his motivation being the Florida trip and SUNYAC play this year.

Saturday we looked sharp all the way around. Pitchers pounded the strike zone, we  ran the bases agressively and had many solid hitting performances. Some great D, too. Each pitcher threw around 50 pitches live, then went to the bullpen to simulate two more innings.

Evan Carmello took home the Hammer. He tossed 3 2/3 and threw under 40 pitches. He's back for his sophomore season, and made a nice improvement with his karate-chop curveball. Unfortunately, he was at the tennis courts covering our home match for me after his outing. Practice started late and ran long with Friday's shortened effort. We tried to have him make his speech via cellphone, but that did not pan out too well. We'll have him address the squad Wednesday.

Day 1: Completed

We just finished our first day of practice and a lot of the returnees showed some positive signs. We did some hitting, pre-grame, four line fungos and double plays to start the day off. Pitchers went over with head coach Matt Palisin to work on covering first base also known as PFP's in our program. They did some bands and worked on long tossing properly. We ended practice with speed camp while we recapped everything that happened today. It was a solid first day but many things need to be worked on like our hit and runs and double play timing. We talked with two of our players to get some insight on the first day and the above video is what they had to say. Ian Gallagher and Connor Lorenzo have some high hopes.

Alicia's newborn baby boy!

A special congratulations to Alicia our trainer who has recently given birth to a baby boy.  Alicia is always at our home games helping us out with ice for our arms, rehabs, stretching and taping whenever we need it. She even bakes us delicious brownies once in a while as well. Our program would like to send our congrats and best wishes to Alicia and her new family and hope to see her back in action sometime soon. 

Move-In Crew 2012



Dillon Lowe hyrdating after hard work.

The Fredonia State Baseball team welcomed in all the Freshman women in Alumni Hall to Fredonia this past Saturday. We volunteered to help with the annual move-in crew by assisting with carrying luggage, fridges, tv's and more into their dorm rooms in Alumni Hall. Dan Fetes and Ronnie Mannella were chosen as group leaders for the morning and afternoon sessions. This was a great way for the Blue Devils to connect with the student body directly as well as parents and future fans. Many parents were pleased and relieved to see six players swarm their car with enthusiasm offering to carry fridges up to the third floor. It was a great day overall and move-in day 2012 was a success.

Summer roundup

Congratulations to Dan Fetes, Ronnie Mannella and the Rochester Monarchs. They walked away with the inaugural Rochester Collegiate Baseball League title. Both Devils made the All Star Team.

Sean Larson competed for the Adirondak Trail Blazers of the NYCBL. The Blazers finished in second place at 22-18. Lars went 2-1 in five starts and was fourth on the team with 29 1/3 innings pitched.

Connor Lorenzo was the starting second baseman for the Geneva Twins in the NYCBL. He started 28 games for the 18-22 Twins.

Kyle Grey's Verdero team based out of Dunkirk in the U21 CEBA League captured the championship winning the regular season and playoffs.

The Lockport Buslines of the AAA Muny League in Buffalo had a strong season, finishing second to perrenial champion Diesel. Current Blue Devils Jake Nowak, Angelo Sciandra, Steve Sturm, Zach Jordon, Ian Gallagher and Dillon Lowe had solid seasons. Mannella played a few games as a sub while also playing in the RCBL. Alums Justin Nowak, Dan Greco and Taylor Gahagen were also on the team.

Send your Get-Well Wishes to Justin Nowak. For some reason, he was allowed to bat and play the field late in the season. The result was a broken ankle. Get Well soon, Sniper!!

Hitting the books

A tip of the cap to our 3.0 students -- Dan Greco, Justin Burns, Chris Messina, Jake Nowak Alex Foster, Adam Bronson and Steve Ramsdell. Its always a challenge to keep the grades up during the rigorous schedule of college baseball. Dillon Lowe, Dan  Fetes and Angelo Sciandra also carry over 3.0 GPA's overall.

Greco nailed down a 3.7 and graduates with a 3.7 GPA. He indicated at the start of the semester how difficult and time consuming his classes would be, but managed to finish strong -- best overall team GPA and a SUNYAC batting title.

Justin Burns came to us from Cortland H.S. Part of the reason I recruited him was that his high school coach said that he did a great job tutoring a teammate in an effort to keep his grades up. Academics are clearly important to him.

Chris was the Valedictorian at Dunkirk H.S. He had the highest GPA on the team this year with a 3.75. He and Alex Foster (3.54 this semester, 3.75 overall) will both graduate early due to their brains. Make some money and remember the program!

Jake Nowak is on the other side of the spectrum. He turned in a 3.46 and will return for a fifth year. He will earn a Bachelor's degree and three minors -- a major in Sport Management and minors in Business Administration, Communications/TV&Digital film, and Athletic Coaching. He received a medical redshirt in 2010.

Bronson and Ramsdell are our two Pennsylvania freshmen. Being from the Keystone State myself, it's good to see those two do well. Makes me feel smart. Ramsdell is here on our out-of-state scholarship.

Fetes and "Ace" (Sciandra) are two peas in a pod. Dan wrote this article about Ace in our school newspaper. They came into FSU as roommates. Fetes is an Energy Giver that does it all. He writes for the school paper, had a radio show on Mondays on the campus station, he is the color man for our home TV hockey games, writes his own blog, and much more.

Ace just received a major award from our Education program. He missed the Bradford game to attend the Banquet. He was voted as one of our captains as a junior.

Dillon is an Engineering major -- one of the toughest programs.

Thanks, Sully

Fifth-year senior Matt Sullivan spent this past season as an assistant coach as well as interning in my office (baseball and sports information) and worked the basketball games for me. He spent much of his office time on my computer HERE. Check this out if you're bored.

Sully has been offered the JV job at his alma mater, Bishop Timon. They are having some coaching changes. Legendary coach Jim Palano is calling it a career after this year. One of the longest tenured and winningest coaches in Western New York. Good luck, Sully.

CP

Brother Acts

We had a couple of younger brothers put together some solid performances this season. Jake (2013) and Justin (2010) Nowak both starred for the Devils as did Josh (2010) and Dan (2012).

Justin was in the rotation when the Devils went 26-12 and garnered a national ranking in 2009. Justin tossed 137 innings in his career and ranks in the all-time list of appearances (43 games). Jake played just about every position this year. He will be back for a fifth season in 2013 after missing most of his sophomore year with a medical red shirt.

Dan (RIT) and Josh (St. Lawrence) both started their careers at other schools, but found success as Blue Devils. Mental toughness characterized the Greco's. Both got the most out of their abilities and both are scattered about out record books.

I'd like to give a shout out to Shane Morrison (2006). He was on campus this weekend for his brother John's graduation. Fredonia State graduated three Morrison siblings all together. Shane will soon be known as "Dr. Morrison" and is residing in North Carolina. Still the Best Dressed Blue Devil in the past 10 years.

Congrats Danny and D-Lowe

Dan Greco and Dillon Lowe were selected first-team all SUNYAC today. I scooped myself (its not on our school website, yet). Both had great seasons and represent the team very well on the field, of the field and in the classroom. Congrats to all the players around the league that received the honor.

READ MORE

Click here for the full team.

I nominated a few other players that had solid seasons for us. Dan Fetes led the team in at bats (112), doubles (8), positions played, stolen bases (16) and positive enthusiasm. He was nominated as an outfielder since most of his conference games he played there. He came into the program as a catcher, and started this season at first base. He was our No. 3 hitter all season.

Brian Sheehan missed getting the nod from a strong crop of catchers. Four of the five catchers, including Brian, hit .315 or better in conference play. Brian was at .328 in the SUNYAC and .337 overall. He caught 17 of the 18 SUNYAC games.

Sean Larson had a very good year, but the pitching in the SUNYAC is among the best in the country. Lars was 2/3 of an inning from leading the league in SUNYAC-innings pitched. At one point, he started three conference games (Cortland, Brockport and New Paltz) in eight days. He finished that run with a 3-0 shutout over New Paltz. He was fourth in SUNYAC-only games with 3 wins. With one exception (his third game in eight days), he started our nine-inning game. The definition of a horse.

A couple other Blue Devils were nominated as well but did not quite measure up.

Congrats to Cortland's John Adornetto (Player of the Year) and Ray Angelucci (Pitcher of the Year).

Congrats, Seniors

Congratulations to our four seniors (although two could possible return next year).

Dan Greco ended up with the SUNYAC Batting title after hitting .417. His brother Josh led the SUNYAC for most of the year in 2009, before settling in at .394 (although Josh was an All Region player). A shout out to Don Kirsch -- word is Donny Baseball was Dan's personal hitting coach. Dan played one season at RIT then transferred to Fredonia State. He was elected team captain this year.

Tommy Tantillo. Tommy was a role player this year and did not see a lot of action. In his final game, he drove in three runs, stole a base and turned a couple nice double plays. After the game, he invited himself to eat at the coaches table at the Bradford Pizza Hut. Tommy will join the staff next year as a fifth-year senior. He played two seasons at JCC.

Jake Nowak. Like Dan, his older brother played at FSU. Similar to what older sibling Justin did in his final game, Jake earned the win on the mound (although he only tossed eight innings to Justin's nine). Oddly enough, it was Jake's mound debut for the Devils. Jake played SS, 3B, DH and 2B in his four seasons. Jake can come back next year -- he received a medical red shirt his sophomore year after playing in just 12 games. Jake led the team in George Bretts.

Josh Gascon. Josh may have another year left -- paperwork and credits need to be checked out. Josh had Tommy John surgery as a college freshman and took a few years off. Josh as quick to make friends, and did a great job on Open Mike Nights after wins. There is a nice article on Josh in this weeks Leader. You have to scroll down to the fourth story see it.

Playoff scenarios

Here is what we need to happen to make the SUNYAC Tournament:

We own the tiebreaker over Oneonta, so if we are tied with them, we're in. We own the tiebreaker over New Paltz as well. We need to win at least two over Oswego, so every scenario for us to get in would require us to minimally two of three from Oswego.

*Cortland          13-2

*Brockport         9-6

*Plattsburgh     9-9

Oneonta          7-8

Oswego           6-9

Fredonia          5-10

New Paltz        5-10

1. We win three over Oswego, Oneonta drops two at Brockport -- we're in.
2. We win twice over Oswego, Oneonta drops three to Brockport -- we're in.
3. If we drop two to Oswego, we are out.
4. If Oneonta takes two or three from Brockport, we are out.
5. If New Paltz sweeps Cortland and we lose one game, we are out.

A couple of weeks

I haven't posted in a couple weeks. Here's what we've been up to:

Gannon: We were rained out at Medaille, so we picked up DII Gannon. They are having the best season in program history, so it was a good tuneup for having 8 SUNYAC games in eight days. A five-run second by Gannon hurt us. We used 10 pitchers to get some work in. We finished with seven pitchers giving up one run over the final six innings. We scoed several runs late, and lost 8-6.

Cortland: We started game 1 off strong, but did not get strong relief pitching. Walks hurt us. Like anybody, Cortland can be pitched to, but when you add in a walk or error, or fall behind, they can pile up runs quickly. They hit the 2-0 and 3-1 pitches harder than most teams. Game 1 was not close.

In Game 2, we lost 5-2 as we only allowed two walks. Their big blow cam in the first. With two on, Dan Fetes was camping under a ball. One step back and BOOM, there's the fence. A three run homer that scratched the back of the fence on the way down was the difference.

We scored first in game 3. It was close until the fifth inning. Again, Cortland scored runs in a bunch. We did get five runs in the game. Coach Dlugosz coached third in the ninth and got us a few runs.

Brockport: We lost the opener 5-0. After a two-out error in the fifth, three straight walks and a bloop hit on a 2-0 count were the difference.

We scored seven times in Game 2, but gave up 10.We gave up five in the fifth, which proved to be the difference.

We also made a few lineup cages to jump-start the offense. Nowak has been sick all week, so he could not play. We had Kos make his debut at first and moved Fetes to left. Also, Gallagher was moved back to second where he played last year (he was playing outfield for us this year). Freshmen Kenny Johnston and Erik Krohl earned starting spots and played centerfield and short, respectively.

Bradford: At home against Bradford, we issued 10 free passes. Played from behind all day. Enough said. 6-4 loss. We did have a lot of loud outs and saw some bats come around.

New Paltz: We dropped the opener 13-5. Give the Hawks credit -- 17 hits, and most of those came early. As we have done all season, we contiued to score a lot of late runs. Nobody gave away an at bat. We had 10 hits and made some solid outs.

Another lineup change took place Friday night. Since every time coach Dlugosz coached third this year, we scored, he would be coaching third for Game 1.

On day 2, we saw a payoff of sticking with our at bats and lineup changes. We won 3-0 and 4-1.Of course, it helps when both starters don't give up a run. Roomates Larson and Sturm allowed only five runners apiece in seven innings. Tommy Morris slammed the door working the final two innings. He continues to throw well. He is from the 845, so his dad and grandfather had a chance to see him throw. Attack the hitters.

Defense was also outstanding. We watched Moneyball on the way to New Paltz. We're going to call Kos Scott Hatteburg  from now on. He made several nice plays.

The big key was getting runners on early. We had leadoff guys on all day, and we able to run the bases effectively. Lars took on their ace Chris Chismar (he was the ECAC NY Region Pitcher of the Year last year). We got his pitch count over 100 by the sixth. Getting runners on also made those high-stress pitches.

After winning Game 1, we had to stick with Andy coaching third base, and it again paid off. Steve Sturm continued to throw well. He left after seven with a 3-0 lead.

Dan Greco put together a solid week, accumulating 10 hits and solidifying the leadoff spot.

Taking two made the trip home a lot more enjoyable. A little open mike night. "I'm gonna get some coffee."

Carmody's House: We wrapped up the trip with dinner at Ryan Carmody's house. His folks had the entire team over for dinner. Great food, and good times!

I wanted to give a shout-out to Mike O'Dell. Mike called me on Thursday. He is a legendary intern and manned the original Press Box, The O'Dell Hotel. His son Ben just turned 3 and he hopes to bring him up this weekend.

Dinner at the Mannella Household

Following our April 3rd, last inning loss against Brockport, we traveled just a short distance to enjoy a bittersweet dinner at the Mannellas'.  Each player and coach ordered what type of sub they wanted and the Mannellas' surprised us with extra pizza and chicken wings.  For dessert, there were homemade FSU baseball and chocolate chip cookies.  The dinner would have been better if we had beaten Brockport but good food and good company seem to put smiles on our faces. 

The game featured great pitching and outstanding defense from both sides.  Unfortunately, one hit and one run from the Blue Devils was not enough.  Larson threw a great game and the "Johnny Whole Staff" from Brockport did as well.We look to seek our revenge against Brockport when they have to travel to the "Wig" and play us in a double header.

Thanks again to the Mannellas', they generously donated their house and the food so the players and coaches could have a fantastic meal.  According to Coach Bonge, "This was the best meal ever" even beating out the trip to Ruby Tuesdays in Oswego, from last year, where every player and coach ordered their own appetizer and dinner.

-AD

Good day in the rain; looking ahead to Brockport

We defeated Hilbert, 9-2, at home today. It was a wet one at the 'Wig. We got through the first seven, and with puddles developing on the field, and called it after one. Would have like to get some more guys some action today, but with Allegheny last Wed. and Hilbert today, we've only had 2 games in 7 days. We travel to Brockport on Tuesday, and its a big one.

We need to have a good practice Monday before hitting the road for a 3 p.m. start (weather permitting!!!). Looks like Brockport only got one of three in this weekend. Everyone in Florida and it was 70 degrees. Now we head up north and the rain is back.

Versus Hilbert, sophomore Steve Sturm went a complete game. Seven innings, two runs and NO WALKS. Nice job Steve. He's put topgether a string of strong outings. After his trip to the chiropractor, he's been able to get past 30 pitches. Looked strong all game. He's been working on getting more movement on his fastball, and it was moving today.

On Safari -- pictures from the Safari Grill on Wednesday

Jake Nowak, Dan Fetes and Ian "Eagle" Gallagher pose on an authentic elephant foot. Watch out for that polar bear!



Agrizzly and polar bear greated us at the door.



Grrrrrrr!



Small screen acting debut

Time to toot my own horn. I will be appearing in a movie, Signs of the Times, airing on PBS. It was my first gig. The film will air on public television stations around the country on various dates and times.  In the next few weeks, the film will be featured in the following cities/markets:

• Los Angeles
• Chicago
• Boston
• Atlanta
• Seattle
• Tampa
• Minneapolis
• Miami
• Denver
• Cleveland and more

Visit aptonline.org to type in your zip code for more detailed information in your area.  More dates and times will be announced in the upcoming months so check back often.

My speaking parts ended up on the cutting room floor. Just a close-up of me pitching at Fenway circa 1928 (actually a green screen was used at Ainsworth). A bunch of players from my summer league team were stand ins/extras. Even my dad ended up in the movie.

A shout out to John Fette who set everything up and is the catcher in the scenes shot at Ainsworth Field.

A special shout out to Brian Hershberg. He is now the head coach at Drew University. He literally snapped his ankle and bent it backwards sliding into home. They used his first take in the movie. But the third take ended up with broken bones and sent him to the hospital. He ended up coaching at Behrend College (as a grad assistant) that fall on a scooter. Scary at the time. The slide can be seen at the 3:01 mark of the trailer. Fette is making the tag.

Skeleton crew on Safari

Wednesday saw a portion of the team take a trip to Allegheny College for a midweek matinee game. We left 13 players behind to catch up on classes. We named the starters and took a few fill ins. A group we like to call the Skeleton Crew.

We put up a season-high 19 runs and all 20 players got in. Kenny Johnston made his first start of the season in centerfield and made it count. Another double and three hits mixed in with some SB's. Adam Bronson also had a good day. He came on to catch in the sixth. He roped a two-run double. Adam grew up just across I-79 near Allegheny, so he got to play in front of his family.

The two shared The Hammer for the day (although the actual Hammer is still in Ramsdell's bag). Adam spoke of how he watches the starters play hard every day and felt their support when he got his chance. He really feels like his teammates are behind him. Kenny spoke of the team continueing to win. We have a couple Sunday before heading to Brockport for a single SUNYAC game.

After the game, we had dinner at the Safari Grill. A shout out to Brandon Crum -- former Gannon U. catcher -- for recommending a place to eat. He also coached Adam in legion ball.

At the Safari Grill, there were polar bears, grizzelies, an elephant, zebra -- everything. Pretty sweet. Right on the ninth green.

A good game followed by a good dinner -- can't beat that!

2 out of 3

We dropped the final game to Oneonta on Sunday. They scored in the second inning and held a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth. They threw a pretty good freshman lefty that kept us from stringing hits together.

In the eighth, we managed to load the bases and chased him. We got a bases loaded walk and Greco followed with a clutch hit to score a pair to tie it up. Oneonta tacked on three in the top of the ninth. We did get a couple baserunners before the game ended.

The team showed great resolve all weekend. We came back late today (Sunday) despite the loss. We had a 1-1 game on Saturday before we scored a bunch late -- similar to our win over Plattsburgh in Florida. A lot of hits but not a lot of runs, until late in the game. That is the type of effort that will keep us going.

The arms were pretty good all weekend. Sunday, Ace had a couple walks in the first and only went one. Hugg stepped in and went five strong. He worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second with a Billy Chapel-esque play to end the inning, and really settled in after that.

A couple things that hurt us were trying to do too much. A missed cutoff that landed out of play and trying to throw the ball before catching it hurt us. If we get down a run, limit the damage.We have consistently come back late all season. Oneonta had bases loaded and no out in the ninth. We could have escaped with only giving up one run -- a manageable score given the no-out circumstances.

A couple guys gave us some big pick-ups today. Urck made a great diving catch going back on the warning track to save a few runs. Dan Greco's eighth-inning hit scored a pair to tie it at three. Sheehan gunned down one stolen base attempt, and Ace picked off the other. In conference play, we have retired well more than half of the runners that have tried to steal against us. Rob who??

We have three non-conference games before a trip tp Brockport next Tuesday. A chance for some reserves to get some action. We went with the exact same lineup for all three games this weekend.

Defending the 'Wig

A great day at Ludwig Field. We took two from Oneonta -- 3-1 and 6-1. Game one saw Lars pick up his first SUNYAC win of the season. Five innings before giving way to the Big Guy Zach Jordan who finished with the save.

The start of the game was under slick conditions. We put up three in the first two innings before their starter (Tyson) settled in. The lefties continued to produce with Fetes, Greco and Sheehan providing some clutch AB's. Very good D helped.

Lars battled all day, but avoided big mistakes.

Game two started under ideal conditions. Absolutely no wind -- a first at the Wig -- but finished under slick conditions. Rammy spun a nice CG. 142 pitches, but we extended him with our next conference game for him at least 9 days away. He only gave up a few hits and we let him roll. A nine-inning CG from a lefty. Haven't seen that since Ricky Carlson did it every week.

We hung around with a 1-1 game until the bottom of the eighth. Lowe led off with a rope. In a bunt situation, Sheehan roped a ball of a charging infield. Following an IBB, we got and infield error on the throw home, a walk to Fos, and a few more good at bats to put it away.

Hugg got up in the pen about five times, but couldn't work into the game. Soon.

Nice to win two after a less-than-impressive game at Behrend. A couple runs in the first of Game 1 set the tone and kept us in the game.

The Hammer was split between Sheehan and Rammy. Sheehan had a bunch of hits and threw a runner out at second after backing up an overthrow at first base.

We'll look to Ace on Sunday to close things out. Work fast, change speeds, throw strikes.

Florida recap

Three former Blue Devils made the trip to Florida. Senior Dan Greco checks in with brother Josh, Taylor Gahagen and Josh Melquist.

Zach Murray and Angelo Sciandra -- roommates back in Fredonia -- combined on a no-hit shutout of Skidmore.

That's all

We wrapped up our trip on a high note – a no-hitter. Heading into the game, Skidmore sported a 6-1 record, its only loss an 11-15 setback. They had scored 65 runs in six games heading into the series, so it was a nice win against a quality program. Holding them to four runs in Game 1 was pretty good, too. Unfortunately their ace(Zach Rudman) held us to one run. Last season, he led Division III in fewest hits per nine innings.

Let’s give credit to Zach Hugg from Game 1. He only gave up a couple of hard-hit balls, too.

With the no-hitter/shutout, Ace and Lurch were given the option of a free steak dinner or pitcher’s BP. Without hesitation they chose the BP. Get Sam Miller ready! (just kidding, Sam).

The night before, erstwhile pitching coach Matt Sullivan and Andy, Tommy Dee and I had a discussion about when the last no hitter was. Go figure. Sully left in the morning so was not able to watch the game. Sully – You’re fired!

In the next week, I’ll post some of our Florida videos and thoughts on the trip. In the meantime, I’d like to give a shout out to Josh Melquist, Josh Greco, Taylor Gahagen and Tommy Dee. All four took in some games during the week.

SUNYAC play

We opened up conference play in Florida. Unfortunately, we went 1-2.

In the opening game, we did a lot of things well. We picked off three runners, and gunned down a stolen base attempt. We threatened several times early in the game, and stuck with things offensively. Eventually we exploded in the seventh and eighth. The big thing was a lot of extra-base hits. Three doubles in the final two innings, and six on the day.

Overall, we had a more hard hit balls in the game -- even our outs. Heading into the game a few players began to step up after seeing actual action in live games.

The Hammer went to Alex Foster for the day. Fos was inserted as a defensive replacement late in the game and made a diving catch in his first play. He also had big hits in both the innings. He hadn't got much of an opportunity until then.

Game 2 was all Plattsburgh. They threw their ace and limited us to four hits. At least two were doubles.

Game 3 was back and forth. A couple of crazy plays. With Nowak on first, Fetes grounds to the firstbaseman. He throws to second and hits Nowak squarely in the back with the throw. The ball somehow ricochets to the shortstop who steps on the bag. Tough break, but it should have been an out anyway.

Plattsburgh also had a crazy bunt. They like to push bunt. We had Lowe crashing in from third base. Their 2-hitter squared punched at the ball. The bunt landed just out of reach of our SS Bennett on the edge of the outfield grass. Crazy.

We did get another strong outing from Zach Jordon -- no walks in 6.2 innings and only one earned run.

Tomorrow is Skidmore. Let's hope for a sweep! I'd like to give a shout out to Donnie Kirsch. He's checks the blog regularly. Donnie -- we are looking to get good pitches to hit!

Baruch Bearcats

Unfortunately, we dropped a pair of games to Baruch. Four runs in 14 innings won't get it done too often. As a team, we need to do a better job of seeing what the other team is doing and adjust. I believe Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Let's make their pitcher adjust.

Positives today were that some of our young arms did well. In Games 1 and 2 combined, freshmen Zach Jordon, Ben Senior, Tommy Mo and Steve Ramsdell combined for 15 -- yes 15 -- strikeouts in their eight innings of work. Better yet, they allowed only one walk. Tommy had six K's over two innings to pull out the Hammer for the day.

Offensively, Chris Messina homered and Lowe continued some good hitting with a triple. Brian Sheehan and Ian Gallagher turned in two-hit games.

Tonight, we will have a freinds and family picnic in the parking lot of the Valu Place. Tomorrow is off and we will prepare for the three-game set vs. Plattsburgh. Get your popcorn ready. Should be a good series. Word is, Terry Park has been re-named Ludwig Field.

Split with St. Lawrence

We played a sub-par game and bounced back with a nice game vs. St. Lawrence today. We faced their ace in game one, and he kept the ball down -- a sidearm sinkerballer. We made several mistakes on the bases, but they were all aggressive mistakes. Unfortunately, it cost us. We lost 9-4, and a few runs early on would have made a difference.

Fortunately, we played well in Game 2, winning 12-3. We had out best at bats of the year and several extra-base hits. We have used six different lineups in six games, and we will likely continue that trend. Some guys are starting to fill some roles and be comfortable in what they are asked.

Josh Gascon gave us a shot in the arm with his solid start. We had an 11-1 lead into the fifth. He kept pounding the zone and gave up a couple more after the game was out of hand.

Today's Hammer went to Justin Burns. His double started a big ralley for us. His next at bat resulted in a triple. He finished with an RBI groundout. He has had little opportunity yet, but has been showing up to every day. Great to see him come through. He's got some great tools.

Today, we were also blessed with the presence of Tommy Dee. He'll be staying with the team the next four days. Word is, a couple more alums are on the way down. First thing Tommy brought up was the time Hoss dumped cocktail sauce all over his french fries during his senior meal and blamed Tommy for not looking out for him.

Game on!

We made it to Florida on Wed. morning . Right before the trip, we watched a video in the Lounge. Dan Greco interviewed all the players and added some clips and commentary. Great way to start off our journey to F-L-A.

Right now,  we are four games in heading into an off day. Some late nights and early mornings made it difficult to get in some updates. An off day tomorrow means Greenwell’s for putt putt, video games and go carts this evening.

A summary of the games so far:

We dropped a pair of games to Wheaton. They hit 40+ home runs last year, and we opened with them. A stiff wind was blowing straight out, and they connected for four long balls. They had about eight games under their belt and were really hitting their stride offensively.

We looked rusty that game – offensively and some situational defenses and communication.  Not too many good at bats, and we did not adjust to much. Their pitchers pretty much threw the ball over the plate and we didn’t do a lot with them – we did not make their pitchers adjust, leading to only two runs on the day. The only positive was a lot of guys played, especially some freshmen and new players, and hopefully they settle in. 

Freshman Ben Senior took home the Hammer. Ben missed much of the fall with a twisted ankle, but threw well. He improved a lot since then. Looks like he’s got a bright future.

Day two was a different story. We started a pair of freshmen on the mound. Steve Ramsdell cruised through the first five with about 45 pitches. No runs, no walks. He tired a little in the 88 degree heat, and gave up a few in the sixth. Kyle Grey slammed the door. He may be our next Andy Dlugosz – throw everyday in relief. He fields his position well, throws strikes and knows how to play.

Zach Jordon started Game 2. He went three strong and we pulled him. We want him ready later in the week with our conference games coming up, so it was a short outing. He threw a lot of strikes.

Zach Hugg relieved for the second game in a row. He picked up (vultured) the win. No earned runs, but gave up three. He allowed two infield hits, and two balls blooped in front of our centerfielder. He also was on the short end of a tough call at first. He pitched with a lead and went after the hitters.

Grey came in and picked up his second save. Did a good job reaching back for the mustard. He relished the opportunity, if you know what I mean.

Offensively, Conner Lorenzo got on base in all eight plate appearances. Four hits, two walks and two reached on errors. Former leadoff hitter Jordan Basile had a knack for getting on base on errors. It’s no coincidence. Conner plays hard and is fast. So was Prime Time.

Dillon Lowe took home the Hammer. He had four hits on the day, and made a diving tag on an attempted steal of third, and picked a runner off second after getting the relay from right fielder Ian Gallagher. Solid all-around game.

Dan Greco also had a solid day. A couple of rangy catches, productive at bats and some really heads up plays on the bases. He reminds me a lot of our former second baseman. Word is, there is one more Greco boy coming down the pipeline in a few years.

Freshman Ryan Carmody is making a mark early. He’s played in all four games and is good to have at the bottom of the order.

I’d like to give a shout-out to a couple of second basemen – Josh Greco and Tommy Dee. It’s fun to watch little brother Dan play – heads up and never takes a play off. Great leadership, too, just like Josh. Tommy is coming up for a few games on Sunday. Maybe he can attend his fifth Senior Dinner. Arguably the most popular Blue Devil ever.

Josh Gascon and Kyle Koslowski check in after a round of golf as John Bennett watches.

The annual go-cart rides at Greenwell's.

 

The Athletic Pitcher

Our pitchers have been using the Athletic Pitcher program for the past four years. Newcomer Evan Carmello is a veteran of the program -- he has been doing several years prior to coming to Fredonia State.

Evan impressed his teammates with his speed on the med ball/trunk rotation workout. Here is a video of him showing some quick core explosion with a 12-pound med ball.

Evan was the last pitcher given an opportunity in the fall (he also plays second base), but has proven to be very consistent. Good to see him work hard an show his teammates a thing or two.

I'd like to give a shout out to his father, Al, who played for FSU back in the day. 

Urck and Messina take a swing

We spent half our practice inside, and the second half we hit the turf field until sundown. Despite the cold after the sun went down, energy was good.

Here Dan Greco catches up with Sean Urckfitz(right) and Chris Messina (left).

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Here is some action on the turf.

Youth Clinic

A major fundraiser every year is our Youth Winter Clinic Series. Saturday, the team hosted over 40 youngsters to teach skills and participate in competitions to accumulate Scrapper Points. The Points will carry over to next week's clinic when the C.O.D. (Camper of the Day) is announced. Here, assistant coach Chad Bongiovanni interviews a veteran clinic participant, Michael.

The team enjoys doing the clinics, and you can see it on the kids' faces. One thing I try to instill in our players is to enjoy what you are doing. I'm not exactly sure what is going on in the background, but you give the players a camera and a little leeway...

Friday's practice saw Kyle Koslowski take home the Hammer. He won the hit-and-run competition. In his speech he spoke about how he appreciates being around teammates that not only come to practice and work hard, but how everyone looks forward to coming to practice everyday. Everyone wants to be there and is all in.

Just like we stress in our clinics, there is a lot of satisfaction in making the decision to show up with a positive attitude everyday and enjoying what you do.

I'd like to give a shout out to Jordan Hibbard. His speeches were legendary, and it was great to see him develop into the ace of our staff in two years at Fredonia State. We have had a lot of great speeches by different players this semester, and every great speech is compared to one of Hibbard's. He set the standard!