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Fall Ball Series Powered by East Coast S & P: Hofstra University

Special thanks to East Coast Strength & Performance for sponsoring this year’s Fall Ball Series. Make sure to check out their website by clicking here._x000D_

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There is a direct correlation between continuity and winning baseball games at the collegiate level. Teams that return their impact players from the previous years typically improve on their success. Additionally, in this environment of advanced stats and OPS (on-base + slugging percentage), teams that outslug their opponents will typically perform well in the aggregate over a long season. Small samples sizes can cause some turbulent results but they even out over a 55-game season._x000D_
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Hofstra baseball was a prime example of small sample sizes leading to wonky results. The Pride led the CAA in hitting at .302 with a team OPS of .865. This is an impressive number whether you’re competing in the CAA, American League East or League 8 of Suffolk County._x000D_
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The top of the league leaders in batting average looked like this (minimum 10 games played):_x000D_

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  1. Hunter Hart, William & Mary (.417)

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  2. Austin Gauthier, Hofstra (.411)

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  3. Anthony D’Onofrio, Hofstra (.407)

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When the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no telling whether those players would continue to rake. There was also no telling whether the Pride would straighten out a pitching staff that 37 runs over a three-game series against high-powered New Mexico. To their credit, they did return home and defeat LIU, 9-5, on March 11. That happened to be the final game of the spring._x000D_
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Max Effort Training_x000D_
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Here we are roughly 7 months later, with the world still struggling to contain the coronavirus but schools gradually allowing a return to normalcy on campus – albeit under numerous guidelines set by the CDC and enforced by each universities’ administration._x000D_
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I was at Hofstra University today to watch their team workout. It looked much different from previous fall seasons. This workout featured every player wearing a mask and half the team sitting in the bleachers. On the flip side, the new batting cages are in mint condition and ready for the 2021 season – which appears more and more likely to begin on time thanks to the protocols on campus being followed. To this point, zero players have tested positive for COVID-19 and the fall semester will be ending on Thanksgiving week as opposed to the norm of Christmas week._x000D_
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Today was the team’s fourth workout, a much later start than Head Coach John Russo is used to – who is now in his 10th season at the helm._x000D_
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“The difficult thing for me was starting school and not having anything to do with baseball,” said Russo. “We had to go through all these hurdles and see what the covid numbers were. That’s never happened before. October 6 was the first workout. We entered school on August 18. That’s too long for guys not to get on the baseball field. We are used to starting our workouts right after Labor Day,” he added._x000D_
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In regards to the team, he said, “We have 46 kids on the roster and not one positive test. Hopefully we can finish strong and the weather cooperates until the fall semester ends,” he added._x000D_
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A few things stood out today – besides the sheer volume of the roster, which is 11 more than normal for Division-I baseball due to the players that returned from 2020._x000D_
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First and foremost, the team will have a lethal offense. As previously mentioned, they compiled a ridiculous .302 team batting average and they scored 100 runs over just 14 games. Coach Russo noted that 8 of the 9 regulars are returning from last year. All that continuity from an already-stacked lineup should equal runs once again. The offense will be relying heavily on Gauthier and D’Onofrio to pick up where they left off last year. They are also crucial to the team’s defense with Gauthier at SS and D’Onofrio in CF. Russo mentioned that Gauthier is already signed to play in the prestigious Cape Cod League next summer – that’s if he doesn’t get drafted first._x000D_
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Rob Weissheier is a player that will be in the middle of the lineup once again. The 5th year senior has progressed each year and batted .361 with a .611 SLG during the abbreviated 2020 season. He really took his game to the next level during the summer when he crushed an improbably 15 HRs during 23 games with the Night Owls of the Northern Virginia Baseball League. If you recognize the last name, it is because both of his brothers (Kevin and Matt) graduated from Hofstra. Rob also was a critical piece of Kellenberg’s 2016 championship team._x000D_
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A couple other impact bats that the Pride are returning is 6th year senior Brian Goulard, who batted a healthy .298 with 10 RBI last season and will play left field, and Alex Sica, who drove in 8 runs last year and will be the DH._x000D_
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Sophomore catcher Kevin Bruggeman and Sean Flaherty (nephew of former Yankees C John Flaherty) will split time behind the dish. Bruggeman batted an impressive .346 with .615 SLG over 26 at bats._x000D_
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So in terms of offense, the team should be able to put up some gaudy numbers._x000D_
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The next takeaway I had was that transfer John Mikolaicyk will be a problem for opposing batters. He sat 90-92 during his bullpen session and touched 94. Combine that with his nasty slider and that spells strikeouts. Coach Russo said he has the ability to be either a weekend starter or a closer. The sky is the limit for him._x000D_

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The rest of the weekend starters I did not see today, but am familiar with. The likely Friday night starter is Jack Jett. Back in January I posted the above video of him that garnered over 4,000 views on Twitter thanks to a ridiculous 18 inches of vertical drop. He is a legit stud when he is at his best – he just needs to maintain consistency. Last season, he started three games and compiled a 3.97 ERA over 11.1 IP. Joining him in the rotation is likely to be Jimmy Joyce and Ryan Rue. Joyce had his shining moment last season against Nevada, where he threw a two-hit complete game shutout. Unfortunately, he allowed 10 runs over his other two starts. Regardless, he is now a senior and will be counted on to provide length and quality innings. Our audience is certainly familiar with him from his days at Wantagh, where he won back-to-back-to-back Long Island Championships for the Warriors. Ryan Rue is the lone southpaw of the group. He performed well in 2020 with an ERA of 3.91 over four starts. His only blemish was in his final outing against New Mexico but he was stellar otherwise. He sits 88-89 MPH with his heater, which is plenty to get by with his pitchability._x000D_
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The bullpen will be counting on Andrew Mundy once again. The sixth year senior has been a key member of the bullpen dating back to the Baseball on the Island days. He sits in the low 90s and was preparing on 2020 to be his final one. You can read the piece he wrote back in March after the NCAA dropped the hammer. Another important arm will be Brad Camarda, a hard-throwing senior that is looking to return to his previous form. I’m also interested to follow Mark Faello, who overcame the toughest of obstacles to get back on the field playing the sport he loves._x000D_
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Lastly, I noticed how many local players are on the team._x000D_
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Scanning through the roster I counted 20 players from Long Island. Many are players I have covered in the past. All of them are players with tremendous upside. As for the newcomers, they are:_x000D_
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Danny Kelleher (South Side)_x000D_
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Ryan Levenberg (Hauppauge)_x000D_
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Luke Napolitano (Kellenberg)_x000D_
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Matt Pelcher (Merrick)_x000D_
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Anthony Pericolosi (South Side)_x000D_
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Cullen SantaMAria (Shoreham-Wading River)_x000D_
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Will Scarola (North Shore)_x000D_
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The 2021 schedule is not yet released, so we will wait on that. In the meantime, we have Stony Brook coming up next week on the Fall Ball Series._x000D_
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