1B Thomas Colombo hit .303 with 5 HR last season and will be a middle of the order bat once again pic.twitter.com/FMeGTly77Q
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) October 23, 2018
If not for an improbable victory by Merrimack over New Haven in the NE-10 Championship, it would’ve been Adelphi receiving an at-large bid in the NCAA East Regional.
Nevertheless, it was a 26-win season for Dom Scala’s crew in his 15th year at helm. They are locked and loaded for another playoff run, and this year’s team features even more fire power on offense and a staff loaded with more power arms than last year’s unit.
Leading the offensive charge is a group of upperclassmen with a track record of success. 1B Thomas Colombo, 2B Brett Malm, SS Tyler Becker, 3B Lucas Terwilliger and CF Lawrence Cicileo.
They all put on clinics during BP with the exception of Malm, who is recovering from an offseason wrist procedure that shouldn’t hinder his status for the season.
Colombo is a true power bat, he smacked 5 during the regular season to go along with a .303 AVG. He finished runner-up in our Home Run Derby back in August using his sweet left-handed swing. He also plays a stout defensive first base, and his presence undoubtedly helps the overall infield defense.
Malm is moving from third to second this season, where he played in high school at Pat-Med. He led the team in RBI with 35 and 35 runs scored. Becker took a quantum leap last year becoming one of the top offensive middle infielders in the conference. He batted .331 and developed serious power while playing in the Hamptons League this summer, finishing towards the league-leaders in HR with nine long balls. Terwilliger led the team in hitting at .336 with 26 RBI. He was an All-Region right fielder but will be shifting to third to better suit the needs of the team. Lastly, Cicileo is a junior that led the team in slugging at .545. The coaching staff has been pleased with his progress and believe he has added power in the offseason that will improve his game even more.
Behind the dish, Jack Ryan will likely see the bulk of the action. He moved up the depth chart and wound up starting 20 games for the Panthers, which coincided with the team’s turnaround in the second half of the season. The pitching staff has been extremely complimentary of his receiving skills and calming presence behind the plate.
Freshman outfielder Tim Feliz has a chance to nail down the starting job in right field, having impressed this fall. Senior Brandon Morse will likely start in left field, he batted .272 with 19 RBI last season.
Kyle Olsen is another freshman that could log significant at bats. He is likely to take over the starting first base job in 2020 after Colombo graduates.
The pitching staff definitely turned heads today. They lit up the radar gun continuously.
Staff ace Ed Baram led the team in innings with 64 and compiled a 3.38 ERA. His fastball sits 89-91 MPH and can touch 94. He has a dangerous splitter that is a strikeout pitch. He has a chance to get drafted, and his success will likely be an indicator of how far the Panthers go this season. They have had great success over the past decade getting pitchers to the next level (Bobby Lanigan, Keith Couch, Dillon McNamara, Jonathon Mulford) and he may be the next.
Daniel Taggart, Josh Rovner, Max Steele, Troy Simpson, Tom Ambrosino and Nic Luc all hit 90 or above today–no small task for a Division-II team. This means half of their team will have the capability to notch significant strikeout numbers.
Taggart, Rovner, Steele and Luc will likely round out the rotation. They also have senior Mike Demarest who compiled a 2.88 ERA over 40.2 IP. including eight starts.
Nothing is given in the ultra-competitive NE-10 conference, but there is no reason to think Adelphi will not make a run to win their first conference championship since 2011.
