After a couple years in the doldrums, the NYIT Bears have begun to turn the corner as a program.
Head Coach Bob Malvagna–who took over the program in July 2012–with his first recruiting year being the year after, had his eyes focused on turning the team around.
“Definitely pleased with the improvement,” said Coach Malvagna. “I mean when I first took over the program my first recruiting year I brought in 15 freshman and that class is now the junior class. The guys have grown and matured tremendously both as young adults and certainly as baseball players.”
2016 comes with optimism as Coach Malvagna’s team improved by 10-wins from 2014 to ’15 and he brought in seven new pieces to fill in for the nine that packed their bags after 2015.
The Bears graduated Michael Auriemmo, John Duggan, Nick Sebastian, Nicholas Leggio, Lewis Rion, James Moussa, Matt DiBiase and Michael Iglesias. Sebastian, DiBiase, and Auriemmo played a large role on the squad last season with Sebastian and DiBiase both playing in at least 38 of the 44 games played. Auriemmo posted a respectable 3.98 ERA in 16 appearances from the hill.
Coach Malvagna welcomed a freshman class with tons of potential. Of that group, he sees a first baseman with power as the guy who can have the biggest immediate impact.
“If I had to say off the bat it would be Jake Lebel,” said Malvagna. “He is a big 6’5”, 268 lb. right-handed hitter from Maine who hits the long ball. I think that if he adjusts to college pitching right off the bat he’s certainly going to be a presence in the middle of our order, that’s for sure.”
Joining Lebel this season as first year players are infielders Matt DeAngelis, Eric Zeppa, outfielder Nicolas Lombardi and pitchers Matthew Bartnik, Brandon Alberto, and Diego Pastrana.
Looking to step in the rotation right away will be transfer Dixon Marble. The Utah native has made stops at the University of Arkansas and the College of Siskiyous, where he was named Pitcher of the Year for the Golden Valley Conference. He has the size of Tim Lincecum with a power fastball that should play well.
The biggest recruit was transfer Frank Valentino, a 6’3” power righty from Suffolk Community College. He is coming off a tremendous year in which he boasted a 1.31 ERA, while recording 84 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched in 2015. Valentino will be expected to anchor the rotation and bring consistency to a staff that compiled a 7.53 ERA last year.
“I think he is going to be a huge addition to our team, our pitching staff,” said Malvagna. “I don’t generally dictate number ones, number twos, number threes but he will certainly be at the front of the pack– that’s for sure. And if we win the conference he will certainly be one of our weekend starters.”
Returners will also be key for the Bears in 2016 as Coach Malvagna’s initial recruiting class takes over as the upperclassmen this season. Juniors Louis Mele, Anthony Caradonna, Gerson Sotolongo, Robert Flato, Frank Sanacore, Anthony Mertelli and Thomas Joannou all saw significant time in 2015.
Mele was named to Baseball on the Island’s All-Long Island team. He led the team in batting average at .364 and led Long Island with nine home runs, while Caradonna wasn’t far behind boasting a .314 average in 21 games played.
Seniors Joe Daru and James Bulva will be pivotal pieces for the Bears. Bulva returned from injury in 2015, pitching 12 innings and recording a 2.25 ERA. Despite a slight drop in production from freshman to sophomore year, Coach Malvagna is high on his leadoff hitter.
“I’d like to see Joe hit for a higher average, he is the prototypical lead off hitter,” said Malvagna. “Our offense is going to go around him, he lead the nation last year in stolen base percentages and at one point he was leading the nation in stolen bases. We need for him to get on base, to steal bases, to score runs for our offense to go.”
The Bears will open their season this weekend with a three game series in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, February 20 against Coppin St. Their first home game will be on Friday, March 4 versus Albany (N.Y.).
