The Molloy Lions are looking to make noise in the East Coast Conference this year, with a bevy of experienced seniors and some underclassmen who are sure to excite.
Picked to finish third in the ECC preseason poll, the Lions look ready to build off a 2017 season in which they went 21-29, but reached the conference championship game after a postseason run.
This squad’s key component will be the leadership of their NCBWA Preseason All-East Region First Team stud, Angelo Navetta. The senior first basemen led his team in most major batting statistics last season, including home runs, triples, total bases and slugging percentage while batting .290 on the season. He was named our 2016 Most Valuable Player after a breakout season.
While Navetta may be the backbone of this team, other returning seniors such as Elijah Leerdam, Jack McCarty, Anthony Catinella, Kevin Hiss and Shawn Klotsche make up a strong group of leaders that “have helped with the younger guys,” as head coach Joe Fucarino said.
Their efforts will be buoyed by the return of promising sophomore outfielder, Jake Saltzman. He came on strong as the season wore on, earning more and more playing time while batting .295 on the year.
As Coach Fucarino said, “(Saltzman) has a solid work ethic and competes… With freshman, learning how long the college baseball season is helps them prepare mentally and physically in following years.”
Molloy will also get a big boost from local freshman products, Matt Overton and Jacob McCarthy as well as Nassau Community College transfer Nick Marino.
Considering that Molloy will lose four of their top seven batters from last year, each of the aforementioned newcomers will likely play a big role in their first year on the team. So far it seems to be going well as coach Fucarino told Axcess Baseball, “they are fitting in nicely with our plans.”
Another question mark the team must answer is on the mound, as three of their four starting pitchers graduated. This leaves Catinella as the obvious ace, but it will be interesting to see who can fill the void of the other departed arms.
Hiss and Klotsche could be in line to move from relief roles to starting spots. Hiss is probably the best bet considering he started three games last year and had seven outings with 3 innings pitched or more, including an impressive four-hit shutout against Caldwell University.
Klotsche never went more than three innings in any outing last year, but his team-low ERA may convince coaches to experiment and give him some extended time on the mound. If he remains in the bullpen, expect a lively competition between sophomore Anthony Vano, junior Ryan Doerschug, Bowling Green transfer C.J. Schildt and Nassau Community College transfer James Murphy for the remaining starting spots.
A key for Molloy this season will be finding a way to consistently win on the road. Over their last five campaigns, the Lions have gone 4-11, 12-7, 2-12, 5-10, and 7-9 in road games, while playing over .500 at home in each of those seasons.
They will need to do something to rectify that this year considering the overall depth of the conference. St. Thomas Aquinas and LIU Post return very strong groups, while New York Institute of Technology dropped down from Division-I ball to the ECC.
“The league is a battle every weekend,” Fucarino said. “There are no easy games and no team you can take lightly.”
With a solid foundation of leaders and some impactful new players in tow, the Lions look like they can build on last year’s postseason success with another playoff run.