Birdball Sets Out On Road To Omaha
February 16, 2021 | Baseball
Loaded with a deep and experienced roster, the Eagles aim high for 2021.
The Boston College baseball program was built for 2021. The season’s opening act was cut short and a new year arrives with college baseball teams across the country more loaded than ever before. The Eagles, however, are riding the momentum of opening its new ballpark, the Harrington Athletics Village, in 2018, a 31-win season in 2019 and the opening of the Pete Frates Center for player development in 2020. The goal now for 11th-year head coach Mike Gambino and his BC squad is to push beyond the label of a pesky, New England upstart and into the role of true Omaha contender.
The Eagles return eight batters to its lineup, every inning pitched from the shortened 2020 season and feature three preseason All-America juniors in right-handed pitcher Mason Pelio (San Diego, Calif.), infielder Cody Morissette (Exeter, N.H.) and outfielder Sal Frelick (Lexington, Mass.). This year BC will be captained by Frelick, graduate right-handed pitcher Michael Marzonie (Greenwich, Conn.) and junior catcher Peter Burns (Reading, Mass.).
The season features a 50-game schedule, including 36 ACC contests. Boston College opens the year at Charleston Southern (Feb. 19-21) followed by the ACC-opening series at Duke (Feb. 26-28). The home opener is slated for March 10 vs. Holy Cross. The Eagles are set to welcome North Carolina (March 19-21) to Brighton for the first league series of the season on the Heights.
PITCHERS
Pelio earned Preseason ACC Pitcher of the Year honors from D1Baseball.com and Baseball America during the preseason and returns to his spot as. BC’s Friday night starter. He went 1-2 with a 4.09 ERA, including a six-inning, two-run, five-strikeout game at No. 23 Clemson in his final outing of 2020. Pelio, who throws in the mid- to high-90s with a plus-changeup, was an All-ACC Freshman Team honoree in 2019 and spent part of that summer with the Team USA Collegiate National Team.
The 6-foot-5 junior right-hander Emmet Sheehan (Darien, Conn.) has pitched in 16 career games with five starts. The Eagles’ Sunday starter last season, he has struck out 36 batters in 28.1 career innings. Another junior righty, Joe Mancini (Fairfield, Conn.) brings 14 career starts to the staff and provides a quality weekend rotation or midweek starter option. He has struck out 51 batters to just 36 walks in 71.2 innings of work.
Joining the Eagles’ pitching staff following a four-year career at Yale is graduate right-hander Alex Stiegler (Dallas, Texas). He will factor in to the weekend rotation or as a key relief ace role to pitch multiple times each week. At Yale, Stiegler was a two-way product and earned First Team All-Ivy in 2019 with a 6-4 record and 3.52 ERA, while leading the Bulldogs to a NCAA Regional.
The back-end of the BC bullpen will be anchored by graduate lefty Joey Walsh (Plymouth, Mass.) and sophomore right-hander Max Gieg (Lynn, Mass.). Walsh was named the Futures League Relief Pitcher of the Year last summer after posting a 3.26 ERA and .246 batting average against in the spring. He made two starts before returning to the bullpen, where he recorded two saves in 2019. Gieg, a 6-foot-5 product with mid-90s fastball and plus-slider, was rehabbing toward a return to the mound for his collegiate debut when the 2020 season was suspended.
Two intriguing arms on the left side are redshirt-sophomore Samrath Singh (West Windsor, N.J.) and freshman Joe Vetrano (Shrub Oak, N.Y.). Singh missed his freshman season due to Tommy John, but returned to the field in just one year to make his debut against Fairfield in late-February. Vetrano, the No. 19 ranked left-handed pitcher in the country last year by Perfect Game, is an additional option on the mound to swing from the rotation to the bullpen.
The veteran ranks of right-handed pitchers is headlined by Marzonie, who overcame injuries that forced him to miss his first two seasons to appear in 17 games over the last two seasons. He is joined by fourth-year Nick Couhig (Falmouth, Mass.) and juniors Travis Lane (Georgetown, Mass.) and Zach Pitzl (Overland Park, Kan.). Couhig has pitched in just four career games, while Lane made 20 appearances as a freshman in 2019. He was hurt early in 2020 and did not return before the season’s abrupt ending. Pitzl, who made the team as a walk-on in the fall of 2019, pitched in one game during last season’s opening weekend.
Adding depth to the Eagles’ group of lefties are specialists senior Will Hesslink (Shelburne, Vt.) and junior Ryan Smith (Tarrytown, N.Y.). Hesslink has pitched in 28 games; totaling 22 strikeouts in 25.1 innings. Smith has made nine relief appearances and took a step forward as a sophomore with a 3.60 ERA and five strikeouts in five innings with one save last season.
Among the underclassmen, the Eagles are loaded with right-handed arms. The sophomore class features Jon Campbell Jr. (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Brian McMonagle (Moorestown, N.J.) and Evan Moore (Rocky Hill, Conn.), who will miss the season following a recent battle with cancer during the offseason. Campbell pitched to a 4.76 ERA and 1-2 record in six appearances, while McMonagle was 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA and one save in five outings. Moore’s productivity late in 2020’s brief campaign will be missed as he owned a 3.18 ERA with eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Freshman right-handers include Aidan Crowley (Shoreham, N.Y.), Brad Lombardi (East Greenwich, R.I.), Joey Ryan (Norwood, Mass.) and John West (Shrewsbury, Mass.). Crowley set the Long Island record for consecutive no-hit innings at 25 as a junior and Lombardi was the winning pitcher in the 2019 RI Division I State Championship game. Ryan (hockey) and West (basketball) were both two-sport stars in Massachusetts. Ryan earned All-ISL honors three times and the 6-foot-8 West was a two-time All-Worcester Telegram & Gazette pick in both sports.
Rounding out the lefties are redshirt-freshman Jake Krzemienski (Commack, N.Y.), who continues his road back from injury and freshman Charlie Coon (Duxbury, Mass.); a two-time Patriot League All-Star.
Additional options on the mound is two-way sophomore Daniel Baruch (Cranston, R.I.). A left-handed pitcher, he also plays first and the outfield. He made three relief appearances with a win and a 2.08 ERA.
CATCHERS
For a third straight year, Burns will receive the bulk of the work behind the dish. Wearing the Eagles’ No. 8 jersey this season, he has started 41 career games. A prolific defensive backstop and left-handed hitter, Burns’ .213/.339/.298 career slash line doesn’t paint a complete picture of his abilities at the plate; having slugged .531 with five extra-base hits in 11 starts last season.
Sophomore Parker Landwehr (Baltimore, Md.) played in four games as the third-string catcher last season and made one start; going 1-for-3 with a walk vs. Holy Cross. BC added two newcomers to its catching corps in graduate transfer Sean Harrington (Walpole, Mass.) and freshman Brendan Roney (Cudjoe Key, Fla.). Harrington, a left-handed bat, hit .317 with 125 hits at Babson and played in the 2019 Division III College World Series. Roney was a three-time All-County selection at Key West H.S.
INFIELDERS
Morissette capped off the 2020 season by becoming the first two-time All-American in program history and in the final game became the fastest Eagle to 100 career hits; doing so in 73 games, eight better than the previous record. He started every game as a freshman All-ACC Second Team second baseman before moving to third a year ago. Morissette, a left-handed hitter, is a career .346 hitter with a .914 OPS.
BC features an incredible amount of experience on its infield with the return of graduates Brian Dempsey (Potomac, Md.) and Jack Cunningham (South Riding, Va.). Dempsey, a four-year starter, has spent the last two seasons at shortstop. He is a career .297 hitter with 81 RBI and 80 runs. Cunningham is ranked as the No. 9 first baseman in the country by D1Baseball after posting a .424/.478/.576 slash in 15 games last season. He hit nine home runs in 2019 and two a year ago, while lifting his career average to .282.
Sophomore Luke Gold (Ballston, N.Y.) is the leading candidate to round out the infield. He started all 15 games of 2020, including 10 at second base, with a .246 batting average and .368 slugging percentage. Junior Lucas Stalman (Bedford Hills, N.Y.) has started 23 career games at second base, left field and designated hitter. He hit .246 as a freshman in 2019 with a .729 OPS. Also returning and competing for starts in the middle of the infield is sophomore Vince Cimini (Scranton, Pa.). He played in five games and made two starts at second base last season.
On the corners, junior Ramon Jimenez (Chicopee, Mass.), who can play first and third, and Vetrano, a first baseman, will likely earn starts at first or DH. Jimenez’s bat began to come to life as the season was abruptly stopped. He made seven starts and hit .250 with four doubles.
Freshmen Corbin Lanowitz (Kernersville, N.C.), a two-time All-State pick, and Patrick Roche (Milton, Mass.), a three-time Catholic Conference All-Star, provide added depth up the middle.
OUTFIELDERS
Frelick earned All-ACC Second Team and Freshman All-America honors in 2019 despite missing the final month of the season due to injury. He hit .367 that season and is a .332 career hitter with 47 runs and 25 stolen bases in 54 games. Frelick hit just .241 last season, but started the year on an 11-game hit streak, including a home run at No. 8 Arizona State, with a .350 average before ending the season in a 0-for-18 slump over the final four games. The BC leadoff hitter throughout his career, he is expected to move to center field, where he started 10 games as a freshman.
Graduate Dante Baldelli (Cumberland, R.I.) is back for a fifth season. He has patrolled center for most of the last three seasons, collecting 94 hits, scoring 77 runs and swiping 36 bases. Baldelli will compete for starts in left with senior Chris Galland (Sudbury, Mass.), who returns after taking off the 2020 season. Galland was the starting left fielder in 2018, when he was a Freshman All-American, and 2019 and will have the opportunity to earn his old spot back. He is a career .289 hitter with 110 hits, 75 runs and 45 stolen bases in 105 games.
Sophomores Barry Walsh (Sterling, Mass.) and Baruch will also compete for at-bats in the outfield. A pair of right-handed hitters, Walsh can play all three positions, while Baruch can play the corners plus first base in a pinch. Walsh went 2-for-6 in limited action last season and Baruch was 3-for-5.
Freshman left-handed hitter Cameron Leary (Bethpage, N.Y.) has showed promise as an ACC-ready outfielder and could be penciled in as the starting right fielder. Adding depth and athleticism to the outfield is Travis Honeyman (Massapequa, N.Y.), a former infielder and All-Long Island selection.
