By Chris Gionta
@Chris_Gionta
The 2022 Springfield College baseball season marked the end of a long and significant era for the program. Noah Bleakley, Jack Cooney and Jack Simonetty concluded their collegiate careers ﹣ all of which were after five years with the team.
Star players having to leave is a regular part of college sports, and the Pride know they have to grow from within to fill those empty spaces.
“It starts with who’s coming back,” said catcher and captain Cadin Maynard. “We have guys that sort of had a sample size last year that contributed well when they did, and they’re also going to have bigger roles this year.”
What the 2023 squad brings is a large senior class of 15 players, with 13 having been at Springfield their entire collegiate career.
“We’ve all grown up together,” said pitcher and captain Michael White. “We’ve all kind of learned under the same juniors and seniors ever since we came here as freshmen.”
The Pride are coming off a 19-20 overall season. However, they performed better in the most important games ﹣ featuring an 11-6 conference record. For 2023, the NEWMAC coaches poll places Springfield in the middle of the pack at No. 5.
In 2022, the Pride’s offense proved to be a major strength, and it will likely remain that way. Despite Bleakley, Cooney, and Simonetty all leaving after hitting over .300 and slugging over .500 last year, much of the lineup’s firepower stays.
Maynard was third in hits for Springfield behind Bleakley and Simonetty, and was also tied for third in doubles. Out of nine players on the Pride to have 100 or more plate appearances last year, Maynard’s .360 batting average and .444 on-base percentage led the team.
He worked in tandem to alternate as a catcher and designated hitter with Ryan Sorgi, who is in his junior year. Sorgi hit .359 and slugged .556 in 137 plate appearances in 2022. He was top-two on the Pride in walks (15), RBI (32), and was tied for the team lead in doubles with 10. He also serves as an important factor on the defensive front, as his elite arm from behind the plate makes it difficult for opponents to steal bases off him.
Joe Traversa, Michael Barrett, Noah Diamond and Andrew McCarty are all returning players who made consistent contributions to Springfield in its last campaign. Traversa was a very hard out to get in 2022, as the infielder put together a .463 on-base percentage in 95 plate appearances.
Barrett and McCarty were also great at reaching with .380 and .364 on-base percentages respectively. McCarty led the team in walks (18), while Barrett and Traversa tied for first in stolen bases with seven each. Diamond consistently came through with runners in scoring position ﹣ driving in the fifth-most runs for Springfield (26).
The Pride will also see higher volume from some of their role players from 2022.
“Luke DiMauro ﹣ last year, every time he got in, he played well,” Barrett said. “He’s gonna be a really big impact for our team this year… he’s pretty versatile in the outfield ﹣ he can play left, center, or right.”
Fellow sophomore Cole Zalegowski is also a candidate to get more at-bats after he hit .417 with a .512 on-base percentage in 43 plate appearances. The versatile infielder also walked more times than he struck out.
Springfield’s pitching staff has a lot of young arms being led by White along with seniors Blake Roberge and Jack DeGirolamo. Roberge had the most starts and strikeouts for the Pride, and also provided two complete games.
DeGirolamo was Springfield’s most reliable reliever in 2022, as in 27.1 innings he had the lowest ERA of anyone to pitch more than two frames for Springfield last year.
Some of the Pride’s biggest potential contributors from the mound are pitchers that have yet to throw a college inning.
“We’ve got two impact freshmen that come to mind ﹣ one was actually just named our fifth starter ﹣ Ryan Baker,” White said. “He threw four shutout innings [in our scrimmage] against Elms.”
White additionally mentioned first-year left-handed pitcher/outfielder Nathan Kelleher-Mochak as an arm to look out for this spring.
“He’s been electric this preseason, so I’m looking forward to seeing him shove,” White said.
Springfield brings a mix of experience and young talent that should make noise once again in the NEWMAC. The Pride are scheduled to begin their season with a doubleheader against Western New England on March 4 at 12 p.m.
Photo: Springfield College Athletics