Anthony Scialdone leads all of last year’s returning players with a batting average of .361.
By Carmine Vetrano
The Central Connecticut State University Baseball team is looking to make another splash in the NEC tournament, after they were ousted in extra innings in last year’s tournament.
The Blue Devils lost to top ranked Wagner in the 10th inning after they watched a 5-2 lead vanish. Wagner’s Van Avella capped off the comeback with a solo homerun in the top of the 10th, and the Blue Devils could not answer in the bottom half, to close out their 2009 season.
Last year, CCSU finished with 26-22 record, which placed them with the number three seed in conference post season play.
This season, the Blue Devils were picked to finish third in the NEC with two first place votes in a ranking produced by all the conference coaches.
The Blue Devils are returning with their top ten hitters, which only means more runs on the scoreboard for a team that hit .323 at the plate. However, the pitching staff needs to bolster up after hey displayed a poor 6.67 team ERA.
Coming back to the bench is head coach Charlie Hickey. Hickey is in his 11th year behind the captain’s deck running the Blue Devils baseball team. He guided the team two three NEC conference championships, which allowed the team to reach the NCAA tournament.
Senior infielder Anthony Scialdone returns to the diamond, as he leads all returners from last year with a batting average of .361. He collected 46 RBIS to go along with six homeruns and 61 hits.
Another senior that is looked upon for leadership is outfielder Richie Tri. The Everett, Washington native led the outfield in batting average with .348 and started in 44 games for the Blue Devils. He had .972 fielding percentage and is looking to leave him mark on the team in his final year.
Junior Pat Epps, who still has one year left of play, is another infielder that finished third on the team in batting. Tri, from Watertown, CT, had 63 hits and 57 RBIS. His .346 BAA is second for infielders. Epps provides a staple point for the coaching staff to build for next year’s infield class.
The Achilles heel for the Blue Devils was the pitching staff. Last season, the team allowed 579 hits and 361 runs. No pitcher on the team had an ERA under three, as former Blue Devils Ken Kerski led the staff with a 4.79 earn runs average.
Coming back to the bump is senior right-hander Dan Markoya. Markoya went 1-4 last season with a 4.99 ERA. The Blue Devils lost arms over the summer, which added to more than half the wins of last year’s team.
Sophmore Jack Greenhouse went 8-3 in his senior year before Central, and is looking to add depth to the pitching staff. Last season he went 1-0 in seven appearances. Todd Savatsky, Nate Strurgis and Jason Foster are other sophomores looking to make a dent in the rotation and give the team some innings.
The rest of the preseason rankings are as follows: Wagner regains the top seed, followed by Monmouth at two; Scared Heart sits behind the Blue Devils at four, with newcomer Bryant at five and Mounts St. Mary’s at six; Quinnipiac, Farleigh Dickinson and Long Island round out he bottom three.
With a good core coming back, the Blue Devils have high hopes on a return to the NEC postseason.
