2012 Mid-Atlantic Preview

By Alex Schiffer for D3baseball.com

Chris Cirlincione led all Kean starters with a 1.09 era in 2011. Kean athletics photo

The Mid-Atlantic Region returns numerous title contenders this year in Kean, Rowan, Keystone, Alvernia, and Johns Hopkins. All teams have taken a hit from graduation but have nevertheless reloaded their rosters with some of the best high school talent around. The NJAC, one of the nation’s best conferences, features Kean and Rowan, but you can never count out Johns Hopkins in the Centennial. As for the CSAC, Keystone is expected to dominate. The Giants went to Appleton last year, and are looking to pick up were they left off. As for the MAC Commonwealth, Alvernia will look to avenge its collapse in the Mid-Atlantic Regional final as it will bring back many of its top hitters and pitchers. Our pick is to once again see Kean in Wisconsin in late May.

New Faces

Brian Hirschberg, Drew: Hirschberg joins the Rangers as their new skipper after serving as Lehigh’s hitting coach. Lehigh led the Patriot League in hitting as it posted back-to-back 20-win seasons with Hirschberg on the staff. Hirschberg played at Bucknell, where he graduated in 2004.

Mike LaRosa, Widener: LaRosa takes over a Widener team that had a noteworthy season last year (24-15). LaRosa comes from nearby Neumann where he was primarily used as an infield coach. Don’t be surprised if LaRosa has some early success, for Widener is returning a lot of pieces that made it the conference’s best team offensively.

Jesse Leonard, Juniata: Jesse Leonard, a 2006 Juniata graduate, will return to the program to serve as head coach. Coaching the Eagles' baseball squad is not entirely foreign to the former standout Juniata left fielder. Upon graduating in 2006, Leonard accepted a year-long assistant coaching position with the Eagles.

Jeff Pinder, Penn State-Berks: Jeff Pinder has been coaching baseball for over 15 years at various levels. He joins Penn State-Berks after spending two seasons as an assistant with Division II Kutztown. While at Kutztown, Pinder served as the hitting coach as well as worked with infielders and outfielders. The Golden Bears won the 2010 Atlantic Region and earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship in Pinder’s first season with the coaching staff. In 2011, the Golden Bears had the highest batting average (.323) and slugging percentage (.438) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

Jerry Smith, NJCU: After posting a .632 winning percentage at the high school level, Smith comes to an NJCU program that’s in great need of his talents. It will be an uphill challenge as the Knights finished near the bottom of NJAC standings, posting a 10-28 record. Known for his creativity and work ethic, Smith will look to build NJCU into an NJAC contender.

Ken Spangenberg, Arcadia: Ken Spangenberg becomes the fifth full-time head coach since Arcadia’s program began as an NCAA Division III program in 1995. A four year starter on the Knights' baseball team, playing under then tenured head coach Stan Exeter, Spangenberg emulated the Division III student-athlete through his exemplary leadership both on and off the field and through his pursuit of academic excellence.

Anthony Williams, Pitt-Greenberg: Frostburg State alumnus Anthony Williams is the new Pitt-Greensburg head coach. Most recently at the collegiate level, Williams was an assistant baseball coach at NCAA Division I UMBC, where he worked primarily with hitters and infielders while also specializing in base running and speed/agility. Aside from being the Bobcats new head coach, Williams currently works in the Video and Advanced Scouting department for the Pittsburgh Pirates where he is responsible for assisting with preparing advanced scouting reports and video for the Pirates Major League Affiliate.

Doug Yager, Lancaster Bible: Doug Yager will once again coach the Lancaster Bible baseball team for the 2012 season. In the process, he will also become the school's first full-time coach. Yager will teach six credits each semester in the health and physical education department, work in the LBC athletic department and coach baseball.

New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC): The NJAC has been dominated the past few seasons by Kean, a perennial top 25 team. The team will go into the season with one of the best pitching rotations in the land. The team returns D3baseball.com preseason All-American Mike Russo, who was 10-2 with a 1.93 earned run average. The team will also bring back junior Kevin Herget and senior Julian Diaz to round out the starting pitching staff.

CJ Szymczak will be key to Rowan's success on the diamond in 2012. Rowan athletics photo

Challenging Kean for the NJAC title will be Rowan, Ramapo and Montclair State. Rowan has always found a way to contend and last year it was through its pitching rotation. With junior backstop CJ Szymczak returning to the lineup, look for the Profs to make some noise in the NJAC.

Ramapo returns this year as a major threat for conference supremacy. The Roadrunners will return next year with a solid rotation of their own, led by Travis Zilg. The team will have almost all of its key pieces back from last year’s team. Look for the Roadrunners to assert themselves as a regional power this season.

Montclair State returns this year with a more experienced lineup and a rotation with veteran leadership. Despite going 21-18 last year, the Red Hawks are expected to finish among the top teams in the conference.

Centennial Conference: Johns Hopkins has won the Centennial Conference championship the past five seasons as they enter the season gunning for a sixth. The Blue Jays enter the season with a team filled with veteran leadership. Key will be slugger Jeff Lynch, who split time between first base and the outfield last season.

Haverford also enters the season with strong chances at the Centennial crown. The team went an impressive 14-4 in conference play but was unable to handle the Hopkins offense in the conference championship game. Last season, one of Haverford’s keys to success was its pitching staff. This year the Fords will rely on it again as the dynamic duo of Jonny Williams and Bryan Henrick will look to pitch the team to a conference championship. Williams will also look to break the all-time school record for wins.

Keep an eye out for Swarthmore this season as coach Stan Exeter will look to continue his promising reconstruction of the program.

Esteban Meletiche was a first team D3baseball.com preseason All-American selection at second base. Keystone athletics photo

Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC):  Keystone enters the season locked and loaded for another run at the national championship. The Giants had one of their best seasons last year, going 17-1 in conference play, and then taking the conference title and the New York Regional. Keystone made a deep run at Appleton but came up short, earning a top five ranking. The Giants return reigning conference Player of the Year second baseman Esteban Meletiche, who batted .423.

Gwynedd-Mercy will serve as a threat to Keystone’s title hopes this year as the Griffins possess the talent to do so. The team will be led offensively by outfielder Josh Martin. Martin is expected to break out this season as well as break the school’s record in career stolen bases. Martin batted .276 last season after batting .409 his freshman year. Martin’s athleticism can take the Griffins far this season. Also look out for a potential draft prospect in Andrew Sinon who was 3-3 last season with an earned run average of 3.76.

Landmark Conference: Last year the Landmark had Cinderella written all over it with a memorable run by Catholic to win the conference tournament. Its success continued into the Mid-Atlantic Regional with an upset win over eventual champion Kean. Catholic lost four seniors to graduation, including staff ace Ron Esposito and are looking to duplicate its success in 2011.

Moravian's Brendan Close went undefeated in 2011. Photo by Jon Fink

This year Moravian will look to redeem itself for its fall in the Landmark tournament. The Greyhounds will return one of the best starter-closer combinations in the country in Brendan Close and Kyle Longnecker. Close was an All-American for his 10-0 record along with his earned run average of 1.00 and is the reigning Landmark Pitcher of the Year and clearly one of the best pitchers in the nation.

Head coach Mike Bartoletti and his Scranton team may be the team to play Cinderella in the conference this season. After finishing second in the regular season, the team was prevented from a playoff berth by Catholic.

MAC Commonwealth (MACC): After the Mid-Atlantic Regional last season, Alvernia starts the season looking to end their season in Appleton, Wis. Andrew Kirk returns as the ace of a young but strong rotation that can take the Crusaders far. Chris Ray’s explosive bat will help the Crusaders cause as well. Ray, the 2011 Commonwealth Player of the Year, batted .419 and drove in 41 runs.

Messiah returns as another Commonwealth power. The Falcons managed to capture the Commonwealth crown last year but made an early exit in regional play, which was surprising for such an offensively opportunist team.

First-year head coach Mike LaRosa heads a Widener team that can give its coach some early successes this season due to its returning starters. Last year’s Cinderella, Elizabethtown is returning 21 total players, giving them all the talent they need for another memorable run. 

Kenny Durling is one of the top offensive threats in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Misericordia athletics photo

MAC Freedom (MACF): Defending MAC champion Misericordia returns this season looking to repeat as conference champs. The team returns junior Kenny Durling, a heavy-hitting outfielder who batted .382 last season. Durling, an honorable mention preseason All-American, was also named to the regional Gold Glove team for his defensive play for the Cougars. Also returning to the team is Matt Karabin, who will look to re-break his own school record of seven saves in a season.

Freedom conference runner-up DeSales returns eight starters this year, including outfielder Ethan Moser. Moser batted .311 for the Bulldogs last season. FDU-Florham will look to fill the offensive hole left by last year’s Player of the Year Matt Oliveto.

Meanwhile, look for King’s to go deeper into the conference playoffs behind the bat of Chris Sweeney. Already the school’s home run king in just two seasons, Sweeney will look to take the Monarchs to even more success in his junior year.

Delaware Valley will benefit from a veteran team in 2012. Tops on the offensive side of the ball will be outfielder Pete O'Hara. O'Hara has the potential to be around when All-American lists are announced. The biggest hole in the lineup will be left by departing utility player, Zach Chodur.

Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC):  Defending champion Penn State-Altoona returns this year, facing plenty of teams that have the talent to take the title for themselves. The Lions bring back heavy-hitting outfielder Cord Heine, who batted a team-best .418 last season with 41 runs batted in.

La Roche returns a veteran team that is poised to make a run at the conference crown. Junior pitcher James Connelly will look to make a run at the program's all-time wins record. Connelly is currently six away from the record of 17. Mount Aloysius returns its two big bats in Matt Cornetti and Aaron Kovach. Cornetti led the team with a .420 batting average, while Kovach batted .393 for the Mounties.

North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC): Last year it was Husson, the East Division winner, that defeated the surprise winner of the West Division tournament, Penn State-Berks.  The West-Division will see some competition between last years top teams (SUNYIT and Penn State-Abington) but it is Penn State-Abington that is expected to emerge on top. With just two position players graduated, the Lions will have an experience team. With AJ Vagilani, a transferring player from Alvernia, replacing Enrique Meletiche at catcher, the expectations are high. Look for pitcher/designated hitter Dan Hill to break school records and speedster Dustin Kology to try to better his single season stolen base record of 41.

When Gallaudet sophomore William Bissell graduates after the 2014 season, he should own every Gallaudet school hitting record. Gallaudet athletics photo

SUNYIT tied with Penn State-Abington for the conference lead and is expected to be at the top of the standings again. All six SUNYIT All-Conference players in 2011 return, including Patrick Baker, the NEAC Pitcher of the year. The biggest shoe to fill on the offensive side will be Dan Orza. Orza broke the program record for career runs batted in last season.

Gallaudet is a team on the upswing. The Bison showed promise in their last year in the CAC and in their first in the NEAC, showed a 13 game improvement in the win column, setting a school record for wins. Leading the success is 2012 D3baseball.com preseason All-American William Bissell. The defending NEAC Conference Player of the Year will have some offensive and defensive with shortstop Tommy Barksdale, a potential All-American candidate in his own right.

Cazenovia has brought in a strong freshman class and will look to improve on a fifth-place showing in the conference standings. The biggest loss for the Wildcats will be Bryan Wilgocki, all-conference in both 2010 and 2011. The 2012 version of the Wildcats should the best team in a number of years on the mound and defensively. With depth at each position, Cazenovia could very well become a productive offensive team. Catcher Anthony Desarro will be the team captain in 2012.

Both Penn State-Harrisburg and Keuka will be looking to make the four team tournament after missing it in 2011. Penn State-Harrisburg centerfielder TJ Houseal will add to his school record in stolen bases and could become the school leader in hits, runs, games, singles, walks, at-bats before the season ends. Keuka's goal is to finish .500 or better for first time in program history. With all their offense back except third baseman Michael Marsh, there is a chance for the Storm to do just that. That is if they find a solution to a pitching staff hit hard by graduation with three pitchers leaving in 2011.